Helmet possibly 17th century Yi or Nuosu people (Lolo) The Nuosu (also formerly known as Lolo) are part of the Yi peoples and have lived in mountainous sections of southwestern China, covering parts of Sichuan, eastern Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces, for approximately the past one thousand years. Arts and crafts flourished in traditional Nuosu culture, including weaving, embroidery, silversmithing, and lacquerwork. Notable among the lacquerwork is Nuosu armor, which is made of lacquered leather in a style that is unique to the region and can be recognized by its form, construction, and decoration. Examples of Nuosu armor, while not common, do exist in several museums, and almost invariably consist of one distinctive form of body armor, covering the torso and hips, such as an example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 20.142). Nuosu helmets, however, are extremely rare in either public or private collections. The majority of surviving Nuosu armor is decorated with relatively sim