This is the first in a long series of sculptures by Moore to feature one form enclosed within another. A strange figure stands inside the helmet which is half-protective and half-menacing. There are several sources for this piece. It relates to Moore's mother-and-child drawings in which the child is protected by the mother's arms. It also relates to his drawings of shells, in which a complex internal structure is contained within a simpler outer form. Moore was also involved with Surrealism at this period, and was influenced by the idea of the mind being an independent 'being' contained within a head. More specifically, in 1937, Moore had made studies of an ancient Greek helmet with eye-like holes pierced in the top.