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LOT 0300
Villanovan Bronze Helmet
8TH CENTURY B.C.
12 in. (1.7 kg, 30.5 cm wide).
With rounded bowl and flared rim; three sets of paired piercings for attachment of leather cheek-flaps; cracked; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceAcquired early 1990s.
Ex private American collection; thence by descent.
Private European collection since 1998.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11573-199009.
Cf. Coussin, P., Les Armes Romaines, Paris, 1926; Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at War, London, 1981; Fossati, I., Etruscan Armies, Milano, 1987, p.50, fig.4; Egg, M., 'Italische Helme mit krempe' in Antike Helme, RGZM Monographien 14, Mainz, 1988, pp.222ff., figs.1, 2, 34 and items 58-59, for type; Sekunda, N., and Northwood, S., Early Roman Armies, Oxford, 1995; Connolly, P., Greece and Rome at War, London, 2006; D'Amato, R., Salimbeti, A., The Etruscans, Oxford, 2018, pp.21ff. and pl.B3; D’Amato, R., Negin, A., Decorated Roman Armour, London, 2017, pp.8ff. and fig.2.
FootnotesThe ‘pot’ or ‘bell’ helmet, found in contexts as early as the 8th century coffer grave (ad arca) from the Esquiline (Rome) and other graves (Coussin, 1926, p.88, fig.23; Sekunda, Northwood,1995, p.6, grave 94) was made from a single piece of bronze, while later Italic variants were fashioned from jointed plates (Connolly, 1981, p.102, figs.2-2a; Egg, 1988, p.223, variant Vetulonia). The skull was somewhat spherical, with a flared rim: in some Etruscan and Italic specimens, this was rivetted for strength.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0300
Villanovan Bronze Helmet
Estimate £10,000 - 14,000€11,600 - 16,240 (for guidance only)$13,500 - 18,900 (for guidance only)
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Avar-Byzantine Silver-Gilt Sword Belt Mount Group
7th-9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Comprising three belt mounts later remounted onto brown leather comprising: a rectangular strap end with rounded terminal, decorated with granulated borders, lozenges and chevrons; two roughly D-shaped mounts with apex flourish and waisted sides, also decorated with granulated lozenges and chevrons. 26.5 grams, 12.2 cm long
Fine condition.
Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Ex an important central London gallery, London W1.
This type of belt element, decorated with granulation, is present in the Avar graves of the second half of the 7th century, and was most likely produced in the workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire, from where they reached the Avar lands as imperial gifts (tomb of Kunbàboni) or spoils of war. They were part of multiple belts, to which sabres and knives were attached, commonly used among Avars, Bulgars and Romans during the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Group
14th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising ten triangular arrowheads with tangs. 203 grams total, 8.1-15 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
Some of these arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A and C according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran described by Negahban, subtypes A and C of type V are larger arrow heads with barbed shoulders and triangular heads. These types of arrowheads were commonly used in Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types. -
Late Roman Iron Sword of Herulian Type
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
The double-edged spatha with parallel-sided blade and pointed tip, battle nicks to both cutting edges; the hilt and tang extending over the blade as a tight-fitting sleeve; remains of rivet on the tang. 604 grams, 89 cm
Ex private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s. Acquired from the above, 2004. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no. 11939-210916.
This sword belongs to the group of spathae of late Roman typology, widespread among the Germanic and Abkhazian foederati, and garrison troops of the Northern Black Sea and Caucasus. These swords could have been the prototypes of the Eastern Roman spathia, classified in the Strategikon of Pseudo-Mavrikios as Herouliskia (Herulian swords) for their connections with the Germanic mercenaries bearing them in service with the Roman army.
