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_900x900.jpg "Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet")
_200x200.jpg "Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet")
_900x900.jpg "Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet")
_200x200.jpg "Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet")
.jpg "Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet")
.jpg "Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet")
LOT 0253
Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet
6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
12 1/4 in. (2.7 kg total, 31 cm high including stand).
Of domed Illyrian typology IIIA, variant 3, raised from a single sheet with protective cheek-pieces, two parallel corrugated raised ridges to the upper face, running over the crown from front to back, square-cut frontal opening with smooth edges, short curved rear flange developing from behind towards the forward curving cheek-protectors, the latter having two holes at the extremities for the fastening of a chin-strap; button pin at the centre of the back for attachment of a crest, pierced hole in the front for the corresponding pin.
ProvenanceEx Mr G. Grimm collection.
Acquired from a French auction house.
Ex important London gallery.
The Kusmirek Collection, UK.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.10194-167379.
See Pflug, H., 'Illirysche Helme' in Antike Helme, RGZM Monographien 14, Mainz, 1988, pp.43-64; Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at war, London, 1981; for an example of similar helmet with golden mask, from the grave 115 in Sindos, today in the archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, see Pflug, 1988, p.60; an example with similar elements from the Axel Guttman collection (Christie's, 2004, p.80) showing the same long cheekpieces and short rear flange.
FootnotesThis helmet was probably fitted with a high crest, attached with animal glue and composed of horsehair. It was positioned inside a holder worn between the raised ridges and fastened to the front and back pins, one of them still visible. The recent finds of Illyrian helmets without reinforced edges have suggested that the variants of this typology of helmet could have evolved as their own group, during the late period of its employment (from mid 6th to 4th century B.C.). The earlier specimens have been found in Olympia and Trebeniste (North Macedonia), although the neck protection of these helmets was still in the style of archaic Illyrian types. The helmets from Sindos introduced the characteristics of such late evolution. The diffusion of this typology shows that it was preferred by Macedonian warriors, by the Illyrian fighters and by the Greeks in Sicily and Peloponnesos, considering that the finds are concentrated in the corresponding areas.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0253
Greek Bronze Illyrian Helmet
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000€17,400 - 23,200 (for guidance only)$20,250 - 27,000 (for guidance only)
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Medieval Crossbow Bolt Group
12th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Comprising four bolts with lanceolate-pyramidal heads. 166 grams total, 68-88 mm
From a private European collection, formed in the 1980s. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. -
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English Cuirassier Single Bar Burgonet
Circa 1620 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680
Iron fronted with visor, nasal guard bar and front and back gorget plates, the lifting visor marked with parallel lines; the front and back plates secured with a single hook. 2.25 kg, 34.5 cm high
Acquired on the UK art market. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no. 11766-203985.
During the latter half of the 16th century, the heavy 'knightly' lance gradually fell out of use, possibly because of the widespread adoption of the infantry pike. Also, the lance required a great amount of practice to perfect its use, whilst proficiency in the use of firearms was considerably more easily acquired. The lancer or demi-lancer, when he had abandoned his lance, became the pistol-armed cuirassier or reiter. The adoption of the pistol as the primary weapon led to the development of the stately caracole tactic, where cuirassiers fired their pistols at the enemy, then retired to reload whilst their comrades advanced in turn to maintain firing. Following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective, as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers, could easily outgun the cuirassiers. The change from cavalry being reliant on firearms, to shock-capable close combat cavalry, reliant mainly on the sword, was attributed to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the 1620s and 1630s, but was actually already widely practiced throughout Europe since the invention of pistol-armed heavy cavalrymen in the late 16th century. -
Viking Age Iron Axehead
11th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Composed of a sub-circular socket, lozengiform flanges above and below, rectangular hammer-style butt and axe head with straight upper and curved lower edge, convex cutting edge. 729 grams, 17.8 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
