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LOT 1087
Greek Fragmentary Bronze Pilos Helmet
5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
3/8 - 9 5/8 in. (951 grams total, 1-24.5 cm).
Conical in shape, comprising a thick hammered bowl and broad rim with carination to the upper edge; remains of crest at brow and rear; a restoration project. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, Germany [1944-2001].
with Hermann Historica, 13 October 2010, lot 2169 [Part].
Cf. Waurick, G., 'Der Pilos-Typ' in Antike Helme, RGZM Monographien 14, Mainz, 1988, pp.151-158, spec. no.K48, p.437; Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at war, London, 1981, pp.66,70; Sekunda, N., The ancient Greeks, Armies of Classical Greece 5th and 4th centuries BC, London, 1986, pp.25-26, 30-31, 47-48, 56-57, pls.F,G,H; Hixenbaugh, R., Ancient Greek Helmets, a complete guide and catalogue, New York, 2019, figs.H185ff.
FootnotesThis type of helmet (called ‘bell-helmet’ by Connolly, 1981, p.70), named pilos after the Greek felt cap (in the Laconian shape, but distinguished from the cap by the noticeable point and the shape of the rim), had a conical shape and was pointed or rounded at the top. Its introduction was linked with the streamlining of Hoplite equipment, and it soon the replaced the closed Corinthian helmet. The helmet was widespread in the Greek and Mediterranean world from the last quarter of the 5th century B.C. and was widely used by continental Greeks, South Italian Greeks and Italic people, Etruscans, and even Romans.
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Hellenistic Bronze Armour Section with Herakles Fighting Hydra
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Comprising an embossed fragment of a breast-plate from muscle-type armour (thorax statos) representing Herakles fighting against the Hydra of Lerna; three-quarters of the hero's body preserved showing him naked in a dynamic position, wearing a fluttering short cloak (chlamys), overlooking the body of the monster of which the long tail covered with scales and fins is visible; fragment of cloak preserved separately. 122 grams total, 3.4-17.5 cm
Good portion of armour, extremely rare
Acquired on the French art market before 2000. From an EU collection before 2020.
This kind of armour is very rare, especially for this period, when most of the attested armour is plain or only slightly decorated. The young Herakles appears in heroic nudity running to the right, but, as on the cheek-piece from Gurlo, his head was probably turned in the opposite direction. The plasticism of the scene finds a good match in the Thracian tradition of the representation of weapons and armour, and the embossed elements with the highly prized work of the Panagyurishte treasure. The warrior-theme and the representation of Herakles or other fighting scenes on the Thracian and Hellenistic armours was a reference to the spirit of the immortal fighter. -
Post Medieval Stone Grapeshot Ammunition Collection
Circa 17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Group of spherical grapeshot balls of various sizes. 32 grams total, 14-17 mm
Private collection formed in the 1990s. Acquired from a central London gallery. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Flat Axe
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Flat in cross-section with a convex cutting edge and rounded butt. 178 grams, 20.3 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
This flat axe belongs to Type 1, sub-type a.4 of the Çetin-Bilgi classification of flat axes. They have concave-sided blade, rectangular in section, a splayed cutting edge and a narrow butt. The first examples of axe-type weapons appear in the last phase of the Late Chalcolithic Age in the Middle East and Anatolia.
