Original Crimean War Era Imperial Russian Brass Mounted P1848 Leather Helmet from the 26th Belostok Infantry Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have a very nice mid 19th Century Russian P1848 leather helmet, almost certainly a British soldier’s “bring-back” from the Crimean War, which lasted October 1853 to February 1856. The result of this Victorian Era conflict was that Russia lost to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom and Sardinia. Many stories, paintings, and other art have been created to commemorate the War, which was equally famous for its acts of bravery as it was for those of utter incompetence on the part of military leadership.

The immediate cause of the war involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, which was part of the Ottoman Empire. The French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, and Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of the Russian Empire in the preceding Russo-Turkish Wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe. It has widely been noted that the causes, in one case involving an argument over a key, had never revealed a “greater confusion of purpose” but led to a war that stood out for its “notoriously incompetent international butchery”.

The helmet is in very nice condition, with a very impressive Front Plate, showing the Imperial Russian double headed eagle, over a number 26 on the bottom for the 26th Belastok Infantry. The design of the bottom of the plate is a wide “eagle tail” shield, similar to other Polish helmets of the period, as Belastok (Polish: Białystok) is an area today in Central Poland. Throughout the 19th century up to the end of WWI, Poland had been partitioned between Prussia / Germany and Russia.

The helmet is in very nice condition, though the internal headliner now missing. It has a great “flame” top spike, which rotates to open the vents on the base, and has a lovely of leather backed brass chin scales. The interior is bear leather, and there are no markings that we can see. Truly an impressive helmet, it would present wonderfully as part of any collection.