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Jennifer Purtle's article on medieval art during the Yuan Dynasty looks deeply into the cross-cultural exchanges that occured under the Mongol Empire, which brought about extensive European and Mongolian collaboration. This work can be seen in this Mongolian helmet, which is adorned with elaborate gold inlay which includes traditional Mongolian script and symbols blending multiple cultural motifs. Like the European objects created in Yuan China, according to Purtle, the helmet exemplifies the complex interplay of between cultures, as European artisans brought their practice into the Mongol courts, where they eventually blended with local traditions. Similarly, this helmet represents the Mongolian's adaption of foreign artistic ideas, which capture's Purtle's claim of objects as carriers of "languages—firstly, of mimetic form; secondly, of iconography, pictorial convention, and text; and, thirdly, of materiality" that gave them meaning within the global medieval world (167). Furthermore, The detailed decorations and valuable materials not only suggest the helmet's purposes as both an aesthetic and functional tool, but also its role as a cultural symbol within the the Mongol Empire's diverse regions.

Expatriate Medieval Art & The Mongols

Purtle's article and the image of the Mongol helmet contribute to our understanding of Global medieval art by displaying the intricate weaving of artistic traditions across vast empires during the medieval period. According to Purtle, the Mongol Empire facilitated significant cultural exchanges that dismantled conventional geographic and cultural boundaries, as European artistic techniques (which were completely foreign) became integrated within the larger Sino-Mongol context. The helmet, with its gold inlay and traditional Mongolian script, acts as a physical manifestation of this cultural synthesis, as it embodies Purtle's observation that "European ways of making and seeing objects were not wholly discrete from Sino-Mongol ways of making and seeing objects" (167). This cross-connectivity of artistic ideas under Mongol rule paints a picture of an incredibly dynamic and diverse medieval world, where art served as a medium for both expressing and creating new cultural identities.

The Mongols & The Global Medieval World

1. How does the stylistic/functional nature of this helmet compare to typical or previous Mongolian designs during the medieval period? 2. Are there any particular features of European armor that can be identified in the design of this helmet? If so, where? 3. Given the European influence, can any Christian influence or motifs be found on the helmet? Were the Mongols as accepting of Western European religious traditions as they were of their physical artistic practice(s)?

Questions to Consider