MID-6TH/5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

AN ILLYRIAN TYPE BRONZE HELMET
MID-6TH/5TH CENTURY B.C.
The domed helmet with everted rear flange, long forward curving cheekpieces flanking square-cut frontal opening, the crown with two raised ridges running from front to back with three central incised lines, the edge bordered by thin row of dots between narrow bands, small button pin at centre front and loop at back for attachment of a crest, repaired with slight restoration
9 in. (22.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Sold Sotheby's London, 11 July 1988, lot 136.

Exhibited

Die Ritter, Burgenländische Landesausstellung, Burg Güssing, 1990, no. A 6.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Exhibition catalogue, Die Ritter, Burgenländische Landesausstellung, Burg Güssing, 1990, pp. 135, 201-202, no. 6, pl. XLIV (AG 244).

Illyrian type helmets were originally composed of several riveted sections, the two raised ridges over the crown giving added protection to the weakest part at the join of the two halves. From the 6th Century B.C. onwards these helmets were made in one piece but retained the ridges and incised guidelines of the central join as decorative elements.

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