Materiality Analysis

The artifact that I decided to analyze is the helmet of King Leonidas. The designer of this helmet definitely had a plan when deciding how to design it. The material used for it is brass, while non-royal helmets were mostly made of bronze. I attached a picture of a non-royal helmet for comparison. Notice that the king’s helmet is much brighter. Also, notice that the king’s helmet has actual hair coming out of the top, while the other helmet is all bronze, even at the top where the hair on the king’s helmet is. This is obviously done in order to show the importance of the king. Also, this probably helped the king stand out during battle, even though I don’t know why anyone would want his enemies to know exactly which guy he was during a war.

The helmet has great luminosity. The brass material gives the helmet great shine and brightness. Also, the brass keeps the helmet rather smooth. Compared to the bronze helmets, this brass helmet is in much better condition. The bronze material does not seem to stay in very good condition over the years. Also, brass has a similar color to that of gold, which helps signify the importance of the royal family.

The design of the king’s helmet seems to meet multiple needs. First and foremost, the helmet’s main purpose is to protect the person wearing it during battle. Another purpose, I believe, is to intimidate enemies. I believe this is why the helmet is so tall. The top of the helmet where the hair comes out does not seem to help in physical protection as much as it does in intimidation. This makes the king seem both taller and bigger, thus more intimidating. Also, the mohawk look about the helmet seems to give it a certain intensity about it.

Overall, the design not only serves to protect, it also helps signify the importance of the person wearing the helmet. The designer wants everyone to know that it is the king wearing that helmet.

~ by jdoughn2 on October 15, 2008.