NAM.1960-05-73-2

Helmet plate, other ranks’, 26th Infantry Regiment, Russian Army, 1855 (c). Brass. Associated with the Crimean War (1854-1856). This object is said to have been taken from Russian Grenadiers by a Major Priestley at the Siege of Sevastopol. Full-dress for Russian infantry entailed wearing the tall pickelhaube-style leather helmet, although most Russian soldiers in the Crimea wore the soft fatigue cap instead. The brass helmet plate, with the Russian double-headed eagle perched on an Amazon shield, the edging lined and beaded, and two decorative curls to each side, was common to all infantry regiments; only the regimental number, which in the case of officers was picked out in silver, was subject to change.

Sevastopol, Siege of, 1854-55 (Crimean War 1854-1856)