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Lot Essay
The Corinthian is by far the most iconic of the Greek helmet types and generally the most recognizable from the ancient world (R. Hixenbaugh, Ancient Greek Helmets, p. 136). One can hypothesize that its popularity comes from the beautiful form that carefully balances the curvilinear and the linear, and the almost anthropomorphic character of the object, allowing the modern viewer to glimpse briefly into antiquity. Due to the large breadth of surviving examples, scholars have been able to categorize their nuances and unique characteristics, and how their form and subtle modeling varied by location and time.
The type is easily recognizable by its characteristic almond-shaped eyes, elongated nose guard rounded at the tip, and integral cheek guards terminating in points. By the late 7th-early 6th century B.C., the type was favored as it offered maximum protection for the warrior by minimizing the exposure of the face to all but a small T-shaped area and by its sturdy construction, formed of a single sheet rather than the older technique of joining two halves together.
The present example is striking and the paragon of the Corinthian type. Note the masterfully-hammered form with a high dome that tapers to a gently flaring neck guard, a subtle carinated ridge peaking above the beautifully-articulated eyes, beveled around their edges and leading to a well-proportioned nose guard. A row of perforations runs around the edges for attachment of a now-missing liner. Typologically, it is quite rare as it straddles two distinct styles of Corinthian helmets. It shares the classic appearance of the mid 6th century examples, which feature shorter cheek guards and a broad nose guard, but also has a bulbous contoured dome typical of the stylized helmets of the end of the 6th-early 5th century. For examples with similar beveled eyes, short cheek guards transitioning into the neck guard without a break and a thick nose guard, dating to circa 550-500 B.C., see nos. C623 and 625 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.; for a similar examples with a contoured dome see nos. C654-656.
The type is easily recognizable by its characteristic almond-shaped eyes, elongated nose guard rounded at the tip, and integral cheek guards terminating in points. By the late 7th-early 6th century B.C., the type was favored as it offered maximum protection for the warrior by minimizing the exposure of the face to all but a small T-shaped area and by its sturdy construction, formed of a single sheet rather than the older technique of joining two halves together.
The present example is striking and the paragon of the Corinthian type. Note the masterfully-hammered form with a high dome that tapers to a gently flaring neck guard, a subtle carinated ridge peaking above the beautifully-articulated eyes, beveled around their edges and leading to a well-proportioned nose guard. A row of perforations runs around the edges for attachment of a now-missing liner. Typologically, it is quite rare as it straddles two distinct styles of Corinthian helmets. It shares the classic appearance of the mid 6th century examples, which feature shorter cheek guards and a broad nose guard, but also has a bulbous contoured dome typical of the stylized helmets of the end of the 6th-early 5th century. For examples with similar beveled eyes, short cheek guards transitioning into the neck guard without a break and a thick nose guard, dating to circa 550-500 B.C., see nos. C623 and 625 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.; for a similar examples with a contoured dome see nos. C654-656.