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LOT 1089
Italian Foot-Combat Helm
21ST CENTURY A.D.
14 1/2 in. (3.9 kg, 37 cm high).
Comprising a pivoting visor, one piece skull raising to a small medial comb and fitted at the nape with a plume holder, flower-shaped pivots, front and rear gorget formed of a single plate.
ProvenanceThe Kusmirek Collection, UK.
LiteratureCf. a similar combat helm in Pyhrr, S.W., Of Arms and men, Arms and Armour at the Metropolitan 1912-2012, New York, 2012, fig,6.
FootnotesThe helmet is a reproduction of a foot-combat helm, or great bascinet, used between the end of 15th and the first half of 16th century in the battles and tournaments. A similar helmet is that of Sir Giles Capel (1485-1556), a prominent figure at Henry VIII's court. These helmets were characterised by a unique rounded pierced visor with (here 60) slots for sight and ventilation. Helmets of this massive size and distinctive type were intended for foot-combat, a sporting contest fought by two fully armoured warriors armed with poleaxes, spears or swords. However, in this reproduction the visor has been mounted upon a separated collar.
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Medieval Iron Hand Cannon Collection
15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Each comprising a touch hole to base. 5.6 kg total. 9.5-12 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
At the beginning of the 14th century, among the infantry troops of the Western Middle Ages, developed the use of manual cannons (such as the Italian schioppetti, spingarde, and the German Fusstbusse). The new weapon had, compared to the bow and the crossbow, the advantage of not needing any particular care, of being manufactured more quickly and of being cheaper. -
Massive Late European Bronze Age Finely Ribbed Socketted Spearhead
Circa 10th century B.C.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Formed with an elongated leaf-shaped blade, the socket extending into the blade in the form of a tapered mid-rib with decorative raised central grooves. 449 grams, 45 cm
Acquired from John Cummings, UK, in 1988. Ex Lord Alistair McAlpine collection.
This spear seems to have parallels to those found in the tombs of the 'sword bearers' of central-southern Europe, an aristocratic class of the Urn Fields civilisation who had its last period of splendour between 10th-9th centuries B.C. The weapons were deposited with various objects inside incineration graves, but the spears were often ritually damaged (see tomb 5 of the necropolis of Pontenuovo di Gazzo Veronese, broken into three parts). Our spear, in the upper part, seems to show traces of oxidation due to the fire of the funeral pyre, and probably came from a tomb. -
Amlash Type Spearhead
12th-11th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Long, parallel-sided with deep midrib, broad tip, round-section neck with V-shaped recess to each face and thick square-section tang. 468 grams, 47 cm
Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.
This weapon belongs to the type 1 of the spear-head classification of Khorasani, mainly from Marlik or Amlash areas. Similar pieces have been dated by Stutzinger to 1200-1100 BC.
