A pair of full length bronze greaves with pronounced anatomical details for knees and ankles, embossed knee-cap with well-defined muscles to the calf; a shallow double border with holes along the perimeter for fastening the inner lining; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [2]

PROVENANCE:
Previously with an important London, Mayfair, gallery; formerly in a private German collection; acquired in the 1970s, thence by descent; accompanied by an archaeological 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.10196-167377.

LITERATURE:
See Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at war, London, 1981; Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 1, London, 2002; Spatafora, F., 'Vincitori e vinti: sulla deposizione di armi e armature nella Sicilia di età arcaica', in Guerra e pace in Sicilia e nel Mediterraneo antico (VIII-III sec a.C.). Arte, prassi e teoria della pace e della guerra, I, Pisa 2006, 215-226; Christie's, The Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, part 2, London, 2004; D’Amato-Salimbeti, Bronze Age Greek Warrior, 1600-1100 BC, Oxford, 2011; see similar greaves from the Guttmann Collection, Christie's, auction, 6, November 2002, lots 80/4; other examples in the Axel Guttmann Collection: AG 008/R 2; AG 177/R 153; AG 268/R 57; AG 333c/R 82; AG 622/R 152; a further similar example in Cahn, D., Waffen und Zaumzeug, Basel, 1989, p. 62.

FOOTNOTES:
Greaves were used as protective equipment from as early as the time of Homer (Iliad, X, 8, 613), with archaeological finds from earlier and contemporary Achaean warrior graves (D’Amato-Salimbeti, 2011, pp.36-38). They continued to be used in Greece during the Geometric and Archaic periods, attested at least from the 7th century BC, where they became an important part of hoplite armour. The primary purpose was to protect the tibia from attack: a successful attack on the shin would result the leg being rendered useless, significantly hampering one’s ability to maneuver, a great danger for a man fighting in a phalanx. This type of greave was pulled open and clipped on to the leg, but they were often strapped to the leg in Italy, and all of them were lined with leather or fabric (Connolly, 1981, pp.59-60).