LOT 1082

Roman Bronze Military Helmet Face Guard Section

3RD CENTURY A.D.

5 1/8 in. (75 grams, 13 cm high).

From the right side of the face mask, the upper edge with a band of embossed diagonal lines, probably intending to represent stylised hair, embossed spiral to the centre, a symbol clearly connected with the worship of the sun; a hole for the fastening thongs at ear-level which originally linked the face-guard to the bowl.

Acquired 1960s-1990s.
Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.

See Robinson, R., The Armour of Imperial Rome, New York, 1975; Garbsch, J., Römische Paraderustüngen, München, 1979; Born, H., Junkelmann, M., Römische Kampf-und Turnierrüstungen, Band VI, Sammlung Axel Guttmann, Mainz, 1997; D'Amato R., Negin, A.,Decorated Roman Armour, London, 2017.

The spiral decoration of the face-guard is connected with the solar cult. The spiral represents the rotary movement of the sun, and the spiral is probably the oldest known spiritual symbol connected with the sun, together with the swastika or tetragammadion. The connection can also be seen in Celtic art, where the representation of the spiral also follows the path of the sun, describing the movements of the heavenly body over the course of a solar year. The third century was characterised by diffusion of the solar cult, the Sol Invictus, among the Roman soldiers, with its symbols often represented on arms and weapons as an apotropaic element of protection.