Roman armour

Roman armour was used by soldiers across the Roman Empire, designed to provide protection in combat while allowing mobility and endurance in formation warfare. Typically made in iron, bronze and occasionally leather, Roman armour includes a range of distinctive military forms such as helmets, shields and body armour. Key types include the segmented plate armour known as lorica segmentata, as well as chainmail (lorica hamata) and scale armour (lorica squamata), each reflecting different levels of protection and construction techniques.

Roman helmets were often shaped with cheek guards and neck protection, while shields such as the rectangular scutum were an essential part of Roman military equipment. Surviving examples are valued today for their historical significance, craftsmanship and insight into Roman military organisation and material culture.

A ROMAN BRONZE CAVALRY PARADE HELMET

CIRCA LATE 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

A ROMAN IRON AND TINNED BRONZE CAVALRY HELMET

ANTONINE PERIOD, CIRCA 125-175 A.D.

ANTON RAPHAEL MENGS (AUSSIG 1728-1779 ROME)

Portrait of Friedrich Christian, Prince of Saxony (1722-1763), three-quarter-length, in armour, with an ermine lined mantle and the sash and star of the Order of the White Eagle

A ROMAN TINNED COPPER CAVALRY PARADE HELMET

CIRCA LATE 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

A ROMAN SHEET BRASS HELMET OF WEISENAU TYPE

FLAVIAN TO TRAJANIC PERIOD, CIRCA 69-117 A.D.

A ROMAN BRONZE HELMET

CIRCA LATE 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

A ROMAN TINNED BRONZE HELMET OF WEISENAU TYPE

CIRCA LATE 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

A ROMAN IRON AND TINNED BRONZE CAVALRY HELMET

CIRCA SECOND HALF OF 2ND CENTURY-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

A ROMAN IRON AND TINNED BRASS MASK FROM A CAVALRY HELMET

JULIO-CLAUDIAN PERIOD, CIRCA 50 A.D.

Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)

A sketchbook of eighty-one drawings, including An expressive male head ( illustrated b); Study of a draped female nude; Profile of a bearded man; Profile of a man, possibly taken from a Roman bust; Profile of a bearded man, possibly taken from a Greek statue; Three figures in Renaissance costume; Life study for a standard-bearer; A draped male nude seen from behind; A reclining river nymph ( illustrated e); Two life studies of a draped female nude; A muscular male nude ( illustrated c); A male nude seated on a step; A seated female nude wearing a hair net; Profile of a young girl in prayer; Cupid; David playing the harp; Study of a woman's arm; A seated male nude holding a thunderbolt; Life study of a female nude in a Mannerist pose; A reclining male nude; Two seated male nudes in Classical costume; Andromeda ( illustrated a); Sketch of a reclining female nude; Composition study for 'The Rape of Persephone' ( illustrated i); Two male figures in Biblical drapery; Composition study for 'Hector parting from Andromache and Astyanax'; Life study of a seated male nude; Designs for hairstyles for 'Juno presenting the Cestus to Venus'; The infant Hercules strangling the serpent; Studies for 'The Resurrection' ( recto and verso ); Studies of shoulder muscles; Composition study with labourers and a wagon in a barn; Study of cattle; Study of two infants and two grotesque heads; Petitioners appealing to a lord ( illustrated g); Venus and Cupid; Four life studies of a seated female nude; A cloaked, seated Native American warrior; Life study of a seated male nude; Philosophers disputing; Study of a doorway; Seven studies of écorché limbs; Two composition studies showing a robed, chained figure in a hall before a judge; A young woman in the presence of a ruler; Study of a putto ( illustrated e); Two sheets of studies of figures in contemporary dress; Narcissus; A robed, bearded figure, possibly an Apostle; Narcissus and Echo; Sketch of Narcissus; Two classical male figures in an interior [half the page has been excised]; 'Noli me tangere'; Esther before Ahasuerus; A kneeling female figure; Study for 'The Death of Epaminondas' ( illustrated f); Two composition studies for pastoral scenes; A Roman orator addressing troops before a temple; Study for 'Hector parting from Andromache and Astyanax'; Sketch of a sacked city, possibly Troy; Aphrodite bringing Helen to Paris ( illustrated d); Study of two figures, probably for 'Rinaldo and Armida'; A young man fording a river with two horses; Venus requesting armour for Aeneas from Vulcan; Composition study of Thetis supplicating Zeus; and Head of a bearded man

A ROMAN TINNED BRASS PARADE SHIELD BOSS

LATE ANTONINE TO EARLY SEVERAN PERIOD, CIRCA 170-230 A.D.

A ROMAN SHEET BRASS SKULL SECTION OF A CAVALRY HELMET

ANTONINE TO SEVERAN PERIOD, CIRCA 150 A.D.

Spanish School, 17th Century

A Roman hero, three-quarter-length, in laurels and armour, holding a commander's baton

Hispano-Flemish School, 17th Century

Six equestrian portraits of Roman Generals, full-length, each in armour with classical landscapes beyond: Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius; Alexander the Great; Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus; Julius Ceaser; and two unidentified Roman Generals

Studio of Antonio David (Venice before 1684-1750 Rome)

Portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788), half-length, in armour; and Portrait of Prince Henry Benedict Stuart, later Cardinal York (1725-1807), half-length

A ROMAN BRONZE CAPRICORN

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

A ROMAN BRONZE HELMET ATTACHMENT

CIRCA LATE 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

PIECE D'ORNEMENTATION D'UN CHAR D'APPARAT EN BRONZE

ART ROMAIN, CIRCA IIEME-IIIEME SIECLE APRES J.C.

ROMAN SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY

Portraits of Roman Emperors, half-length, wearing armor and holding batons

Guglielmo della Porta (active from 1530-1577 Rome)

A classical armour decorated with amorous couples and Neptune with hippocampi

A Collection of 52 Greek coins, predominantly Silver, but including a pair of Gold Staters, containing specimens of many popular Greek coins. Particularly well represented are the issues of cities from Sicily and Southern Italy, including two Tetradrachms of Syracuse, ca. 485-470 BC, quadriga with charioteer to right, Nike crowning horses, rev., archaic head of Artemis-Arethusa right, dolphins around, as well as a slightly later Syracusan Tetradrachm of similar designs, ca. 430 BC and a Silver Stater of Corinth type, ca. 344-317 BC, a Silver Didrachm of Gela, horseman, rev., man-headed bull, two Silver Nomoi of Metapontum, ear of barley, rev. incuse ear of barley and a later issue; head of Demeter, rev., ear of barley, a Silver Nomos of Herakleia, helmeted head of Athena right, rev., Herakles standing and another Silver Nomos from Tarentum, horseman, rev., Taras on dolphin, two Silver Nomoi from Neapolis, head of Nymph right, rev., man-headed bull crowned by Nike, a silver Stater of Kroton, tripod and heron rev., incuse tripod (Dewing 495). Issues of Athens include three Silver Tetradrachms, head of Athena right, rev. owl standing right, olive sprig and crescent to left (BMC 62, SNG Cop. 31) and a later New Style Tetradrachm, an attractive Silver Stater of Thebes, fourth century BC, shield, rev., amphora, magistrate name (SNG Delpierre 1299), two Staters from Corinth helemeted head of Athena, rev., Pegasus and another similar Stater from Leukas, a Silver Stater of the Thesalian League, a Half Stater of Lokris Opuntia, 369-338 BC, head of Persephone, rev., Ajax in armor (Dewing 1478), and a late Silver Tetradrachm of Thasos. Macedonian coins include the following: a Gold Stater of King Philip II (359-336 BC), head of Apollo, rev., charioteer, a gold Stater of King Alexander III, the Great (336-323 BC) from the mint of "Troas", helmeted head of Athena, rev., Nike (Price 2272), a silver Tetradrachm, head of Herakles, wearing lion's scalp, right, rev. Zues seated left and a similar posthumous Tetradrachm from the mint of Phaselis, and a Tetradrachm of King Lysimachus (323-281 BC), head of deified Alexander right, wearing the horn of Zeus-Ammon, rev. Athena Nikephoros seated left; other successors of Alexander are represented by a Tetradrachm of Antiochos VII (138-129 BC) from the Antioch mint (Houghton CSE 266), a Ptolemaic Tetradrachm, head of Alexander with elephant skin, rev., Athena Alkidemos (Dewing 2737), three Silver Tetradrachms of different Ptolemaic kings, head of Ptolemy I, rev., eagle, and three Silver Drachms of Bactrian kings. Also included are a very attractive Silver Didrachm of Rhodes (cf. Dewing 2404-2406), facing head of Helios, rev., rose, a Silver Tetradrachm of Side, a Silver Denarius of Juba II and Cleopatra, head of Juba II, rev. , crescent and star (Dewing 2793), a silver Siglos from the time of Croesus, ca. 561-546 BC, lion and bull foreparts, rev. , incuse punch, silver fractions of Argos, Byzantium and Parion as well as a Roman Republican Silver Denarius. The condition overall is very fine, the majority of the coins are free of defects and well-centered, a few pieces are toned or have minor traces of horn silver (52) (lot)

A ROMAN IRON SPATHA

CIRCA 100-300 A.D.

A ROMAN IRON, BRONZE AND GLASS DAGGER

CIRCA LATE 2ND-EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Circle of Anton von Maron Vienna 1733-1808 Rome

Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in armor, a view of St. Peter's beyond

Antonio Tibaldi (Rome 1635-1675)

A plumed helmet, a tilting shield, a mace and other arms and armour on a partly-draped carved marble table, with a snare drum and a trumpet, a clock, a bronze statuette and golden vessels, by a draped column, with a hound

WILLIAM HOLMAN HUNT, O.M., R.W.S. (BRITISH, 1827-1910)

Twenty five drawings: 'The Hireling Shepherd': study of a woman's head; Studies for the headpiece to 'The Beggar Maid'; The Wife's Death: study for the illustration to 'At Night'; 'Isabella and the Pot of Basil': copy after Luca della Robbia's 'Boys Singing from a Scroll'; 'The Triumph of the Innocents': design for the frame of the Walker painting; 'May Morning on Magdalen Tower': studies of ornamental borders relating to the frame of the large version; 'Christ and the Two Marys': life study for the figure of Christ; Half-length study of a man in profile to the right; Man with banjo cowering before a policeman; Nude male in profile to the right; Classical drapery study; Christ enthroned, flanked by four figures in togas; Study of ornamented stonework, probably in Cairo; Study of two capitals and stylised leaf motif; Study of the entrance of a house on the Nile, Damietta; Bearded head (? of Christ) in profile to the left; Head and shoulders of an angel, hands crossed over chest; Male nude on a horse, looking backwards; Six studies of a woman and studies of foliated ornament; A seated woman reading; Studies of architectural details for use as roundels; Dove and bearded head in profile to the right; Copy of Byzantine roundel; 'Tanhauser passing his armour'; and Sections of Chambers from the catacomb of St Marcellino and Pietro, Rome

Roman School, late 16th Century

Study for armour: A warrior in an elaborate frame supported by putti

A ROMAN BRONZE OPENWORK ATTACHMENT

CIRCA 3RD CENTURY A.D.

[GRIFFITHS, Acton Frederick]. Bibliotheca Anglo-Poetica; or, a Descriptive Catalogue of a Rare and Rich Collection of Early English Poetry. London: Thomas Davison for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1815. 8 o (238 x 150 mm). Half title, title printed in red and black, engraved frontispiece and title vignette, engraved capitals and text vignettes. Brown morocco, covers with wide border of triple gilt fillet and gilt dog-tooth and urn rolls, upper cover with gilt and onlaid morocco plant with birds and squirrels in the branches, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands, black morocco label in one compartment, a repeated gilt panel in the rest, board edges and turn-ins gilt, gilt edges concealing a FORE-EDGE PAINTING OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. Provenance: Ralph Sneyd (bookplate); Estelle Doheny (bookplate; her sale Christie's, 17 October 1988, lot 1326). -- TURNER, Sharon. The Sarced History of the World Attempted to be Philosophically Considered in a Series of Letters ot a Son. London: William Clowes for Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1848. 3 volumes, 8 o (191 x 115 mm). Half titles. Contemporary half purple morocco gilt, edges gilt cocnealing fore-edge paintings of LINCOLN CATHEDRAL, YORK CATHEDRAL and A PASTORAL RIVER SCENE. Provenance: H.L.S. (armoral bookplate); Estelle Doheny (bookplate; her sale Christie's Camarillo California, 1 February 1988, lot 578). Eighth edition. Weber I, p.175. -- EASTLAKE, Charles Locke (1793-1865), translator. Handbook of Painting. The Italian Schools. London: William Clowes and Sons for John Murray, 1855. 2 volumes, 8 o (193 x 114 mm). Title printed in red and black, 108 engraved plates (spotting throughout). Olive brown morocco gilt, edges gilt with fore-edge paintings of SANTE SALUTE, VENICE and MOUNT AVENTINE, ROME (joints and foot of spine lightly rubbed). Provenance: Estelle Doheny (her sale Christie's Camarillo California, 1 February 1988, lot 607). Third edition. Weber I, p.177. (6)

AUSTRIAN SCHOOL, CIRCA 1750

Francis Stephen (1708-1765), Holy Roman Emperor 1745-1760, standing beside a crown, facing left in gilt-studded armour, lace cravat, red-lined yellow cloak pinned at his left shoulder, long powdered curling wig, wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece suspended on a red ribbon about his neck