The Silk Road Designs Armoury

The Bill - A simple plate, extending perpendicularly from the bottom of the dome, this defense looks like the "visor" of a modern Basebal cap or police and military dress cap.
Bills were used on the majority of Roman helmets prior to the adoption of the "Romano-Sassanian" helmet, they were used by the Eastern nomadic peoples throughout, and, by the 15th century, they were on the vast majority of Turkish, Persian, and related helmets (with the notable exception of the "Turban Helmet"). A Roman helmet is illustrated at the left. Turko-Persian helmets with Bills are illustrated at the discussion of Round domes and Shishak domes. A Sino-Korean helmet appears as the last illustration at the page on Helmet Side and Back Defenses.

In Japan, during the early incursions from the mainland, the local helmets were displaced by the Mabizashi Tsuki Kabuto -- based on Mongol helmets of the time and named for the Bill which the earlier local helmet did not have. The Mabizashi Tsuki Kabuto is illustrated above right, opposite the Roman helmet.
As did the Lamellar, which displaced the local body armour at the same time, the helmet underwent modification to make it trully Japanese. While the Bill was retained, it was heavily altered. However, in the late 15th century in the town of Saika, a helmet began to be manufactured which hearkened back to either the early mainland-based helmet, or to contemporary Turko-Persian helmets. Known as Saika bachi, for the town, it was said to be based on a mysterious helmet which washed up on shore. The Saika Bachi had a higher dome than the standard Japanese helmet, and the front of the dome was far deeper -- reaching to mid eye level, and cut out to accomodate the eyes much in the way of many mainland helmets. It also had a Bill again similar to that of the Turko-Persian helmets. While the Saika Bachi later often lacked the Bill or the eye cut-outs were eliminated, both mainland characteristics re-entered the repertoire of Japanese helmet manufacture.
The Saika Bachi is shown on the left below the Roman helmet, and a more standard Japanese style is on the right, below the Mabizashi Tsuki Kabuto. A Japanese Folding Helmet with a mainland-style Bill is illustrated at the discussion of Folding Helmets.

The Nasal - This is a bar or plate extending down the face from the center of the helmet dome. As the name implies, this is principally intended to guard the nose of the wearer.
Initially a feature of helmets used by the Scythians and Sarmatians (the Central Asian nomads who were the early forerunners of the Huns in interacting with the Roman Empire), the Nasal became a common feature of the Romano-Sassanid helmet and later a standard of the Western European helmet until the 13th century. It continued in use in the East while armour was worn, undergoing some modification and development.

There are two types of Nasal, the Rigid and the Sliding Nasal.
Rigid Nasals appear generally on early helmets (though there are a few exceptions, even into the 19th century). These are made either in one piece with the dome or riveted to the dome. Commonly they are of plate, shaped as a rectangle, or roughly approaching a triangle, expanding downwards to follow the shape of the nose, though some more elaborate shapes are to be found. When they were riveted to the dome, the part that was on the dome was often shaped in some design with a part extending upwards, and part crosswise over the brows. At the left is a seventh century Viking helmet with an elaborately shaped Nasal. At the right is a helmet from Prague. The Nasal is a simple plate with a shaped brow piece, which is, however, decorated with an abstract anthropomorphic image (possibly either a crucifiction or a "pagan" god/priest image).

Sliding Nasals are common on helmets found throughout the East. Earliest actual finds that I am aware of date to the 15th century, but it is likely that these slowly replaced the rigid Nasals by the 14th century. These consist of a bar or plate of uniform width with some form of expansion at the top and bottom, held to the dome of the helmet by a bracket riveted to the dome.
The most basic form has a "tear-drop" shaped plate at the top and a small "bump" at the bottom to prevent it from falling out of the bracket. There is nothing in this design to control the position of the Nasal, though often helmets having this also have a hook to lift the Maile curtain off the face. When the Maile is thus lifted, it creates a pocket which also keeps the nasal up. This nasal is illustrated on the Turban helmet (where the hook is evident) at the discussion of the Shishak and the helmet with bands to protect the neck at the discussion of the Round dome.
A design where the position of the Nasal can be controlled has a "set screw" in the bracket, which holds the Nasal by use of friction. This is illustrated on the first helmet at the discussion of Ear and Back Plates below, and on the helmet with Ear Plates at the discussion of the Shishak. A far less common design has a hook on the Nasal and a loop on the bracket which can hold the Nasal up out of the face, while gravity will allow it to slide back down before battle. A detail of this is illustrated at the left.
While all Sliding Nasals have, as their base, a simple bar of uniform width, there are a variety of end designs. As mentioned above, the most basic is a teardrop design at the top. Often this is balanced by another such shape (this one inverted) at the bottom. Other common shapes are that of a leaf, a trident, a "Hamsa" (the shape of a hand, often with the thumb and the last finger of the same shape), or a spade. Sometimes, the lower plate is quite large, creating substantial plate protection for the lower part of the face. A Nasal with a "Hamsa" at the top and a heart-shaped bottom is illustrated on the first helmet at the discussion of Ear and Back Plates.
Sliding Nasals were quite important beyond their protective value. Their common appearance on Soft Helmets has led many to believe that they often served as a type of identifier (similar to a heraldic device).

Occulars - The "next step" after the Nasal. This is a sort of "Half Mask" or "Goggles" protecting the upper part of the face. Commonly, this is similar to a Nasal but has extra plates which extend from the Nasal, around the eyes back to the helmet dome.
All of the Occulars of which I am aware are attached rigidly to the helmet. However, the Soviet film "Alexander Nevsky" shows an Occular which is hinged so that it can be lifted off the face. While movies are not to be taken as sources, Soviet movie makers often did a fair amount of research so that this armour should not be discounted outright but bears searching for.
Generally, the Occulars are an early form of visor, found with Russian and Nomad armour prior to the 15th century. However, at least one 17th century Indian illustration shows this in use. The Indian helmet is illustrated at the left. The Russian/Pecheneg form of this visor generally has a nasal which extends down to the bottom of the face, which distinguishes it from the Viking Occulars, which tended to have no extended Nasal. This Russian form Occular is illustrated on one of the helmets at the discussion of Conical domes. An alternative form of Occulars which are sometimes found in Russia and among the Eurasian nomads is an anthropomorphic form -- which is a half mask in the shape of a face extending to the bottom of the nose. This is illustrated at the right.

Mask - The complete full face protection. Eastern full face armour consisted of a plate, or plates shaped to look, more or less, like a human face.
Armour of a similar type has been commonly found in Roman sports helmets. On these, the mask is very finely shaped with a great amount of detail and elaboration in a light steel. Earlier, there are a few Greek helmets, where the already close cheek plates are filled in with a stylised nose and beard to make the helmet completely sealed. Finaly, there are a number of pre-Common Era and early Common Era images from Persia and elsewhere in the East which are believed to represent full face masks. This, however, is a difficult judgement, based on comparing the statues and reliefs to others of their time and place for things like stylisation differences and the angle of the face or beard.
Another important series of mask visors are those on some late Romano-Sassanian helmets, the most famous of which is the "Saxon" helmet found at Sutton-Hoo. These are very stylised, simplified images of the face, with a rudimentary nose, mouth, and moustache, but generally no realistic detailing. In this design, the eyebrows of the mask were par of the helmet dome and the mask itself began at the level of the eye cutouts. The Romano-Sassanian helmet presented above, in the introduction of the Parts of a Helmet, includes such a mask.

The most commonly found masks in the East of the middle ages come from Persia, Russia and the Crimea, from Eurasian nomads like the Pechenegs and Kipchaks up through the 15th century. These differ from the Romano-Sassanian masks described above, and may hark back somewhat to the earlier Persian and Classicaly Roman ones in that they are full face masks with more detailing. That is, rather than starting at mid eye level, these masks include a "forehead", with the eye slits cut into the mask. They are more shaped in that they have such features as basic raised brow-ridges, inset eye shapes, and shaped cheek bones.
Generally, these have long moustaches, sweeping to the edge of the mask and they often have ears extending out from the mask. The eye slits of these helmets are not as small as those of the Classical Roman helmets (which were aproximately of the size and shape of a real eye), but they are far smaller than those of the Romano-Sassanian, "Sutton-Hoo" type helmets (which were fairly wide and broad -- about the size of a goggle lens). Rather, they were long narrow slits, tapering from the nose outwards.
A Persian helmet with a mask is to be found at the top of the Helmet introduction page and a Kipchak helmet at the discussion of Kolpak style domes. Another Nomad mask (Kipchak, Khazar, or Pecheneg) is illustrated at above left.

One other mask which bears mentioning is that often found, into the 19th century on Soft Helmets from the Indian region of Sind. These helmets of Maile and Plates commonly have a curtain of Maile with a separate triangular flap, padded with fabric, which covers the whole face, leaving two round eye-slits. Often, this face-flap is supplemented with plates which create a flat, very stylised mask with round eye-slits and very basic, triangular nose. A Soft Helmet from Sind is illustrated at the right.

Masks were also worn in Japan. However, while also Anthropomorphic, these were of a different structure from those of the mainland East. While the face protection described above may be said to build downwards from the dome -- starting with a Nasal, expanding to Occulars, and expanding further to a full-face Mask, the Japanese face protection was not attached to the helmet but rather built from a separate cheek defense and neck defense.
The Japanese Masks had finely sculpted, abstract, often grotesque, facial features. Hair was often attached to the mask to form a beard or moustache. As pictured at the right the defenses, called Men Gu (face armour) are:
Happuri (# 1) - more properly cheek pieces, these are the earliest Japanese "face defense", already in use by the tenth century.
Nodowa (# 2) - a Gorget or collar - a defense for the neck which appeared in aproximately the eleventh century.
Hoate (# 3) - a defense for the face below the eyes and excluding the nose. This armour appeared at aproximately the same time as the Nodowa. It was originally a separate piece of armour but soon came to include an integral Nodowa.
Hanbo (# 7) - This may be considered an expanded Nodowa or a reduced Hoate, as it duplicates the gorget but also covers the chin and lower cheecks. It begins to appear by the 14th century.
Me No Shita Ho (# 5) - Again incorporating the gorget, this mask covers the face below eye level. Many of these have the nose section attached to a Hoate by hinges or hooks and can be disassembled into these lighter defenses. I have shown this on my illustration and hope it is clear. Again a 14th century development.
So Men (# 4, 6) - two are illustrated. Full Face Mask. This was not a common defense. It covers the whole face, including the forehead. The earliest seem to be a combination of a Hoate and a Happuri, with a T-shaped opening for the nose and eyes (4). Quite quckly, this opening was filled in, so that most have only small round eye holes. Some continued to be made in several parts, so that they could be reduced to Hoate or Me No Shita Ho (6).

Further Information on Helmets