Details

LOT 0350

Greek Corinthian Helmet

LATE 7TH-MID 6TH CENTURY BC

8 1/4" (850 grams, 21cm high).

A substantial bronze helmet of domed form, raised from a single sheet, large eye openings and arched cheek protection, the long nose guard with rounded end and two rivets from an ancient repair; a decorative band of incised lines around the edge of the opening, a single row of holes around the eyes, cheeks and nose guard for the attachment of inner padding, some holes with rivets still in situ; flaring neck guard, the crown of the helmet pierced for the attachment of a crest.

Provenance

Ex Bernd Gackstatter, Frankfurt, Germany, in 2006; previously acquired in 2001; formerly in the private collection of Mr M B., Mainz, Germany, 1990s, previously in the Axel Guttmann (1944-2001) collection, acquired in Berlin in the 1980s; accompanied by a nine page examination report from Dr. habil Mikhail Treisteran and an academic report by military specialist Dr. Raffaele D'Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10320-169246.

Literature

See Kunze, E., VII. Bericht uber die Ausgrabungen in Olympia, Berlin, 1961; Snodgrass, A.M., Arms & Armor of the Greeks, London, 1967; Bottini, A. et al., Antike Helme, Sammlung Lipperheide und andere Bestände des Antikenmuseums Berlin, Mainz, 1988; a near identical helmet in Berlin, probably from Olympia and another helm from Toscana, see Bottini, A. et al., 1988, pp.398, 402.

Footnotes

This helmet type was a significant innovation in ancient metallurgy, because when fashioned from a single sheet of bronze (or from two sheets in some models) it effectively protected every part of the head. The helmet of this typology belongs to the second stage of production of Corinthian helmets, an early variant of the rounded shape, dating to the 7th-mid 6th century BC (Pflug, 1988, pp.73-86). The cut-offs at the base of the bowl, which separate the front part from the neck-guard, allow to collocate it in the so-called Myros group, and more in detail to the type with side-nicks (Helmen mit Seitenzwickeln) according to Künze classification.

CONDITION