Lot 29
29
A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET
A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET
A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET
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A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET
5 More
A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET

MAGNA GRAECIA, LATE CLASSICAL TO HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 400-200 B.C.

Details
A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET
MAGNA GRAECIA, LATE CLASSICAL TO HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 400-200 B.C.
14 ¼ in. (36.1 cm.) high
Provenance
Axel Guttmann (1944-2001), Berlin, acquired in Krefeld, 1991 (Inv. no. H338).
Antiken der Sammlung Axel Guttmann, Auktion 60, Hermann Historica, Munich, 13 October 2010, lot 2159.
Christian Levett, London, acquired from the above on behalf of the Mougins Museum of Classical Art.
Literature
M. Burns, "Graeco-Italic Militaria," in M. Merrony, ed., Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Mougins, 2011, p. 209, fig. 84.
R. Hixenbaugh, Ancient Greek Helmets: A Complete Guide and Catalog, New York, 2019, p. 532, no. H247.
Exhibited
Mougins Museum of Classical Art, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA594).

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Lot Essay

This ornate helmet features a carinated ridge above the flaring lower edge and is surmounted by an S-shaped spiral crest-holder with two tines above, flanked by snake-headed plume-holders. On either side of the sloping dome is a four-spoked wheel appliqué, possibly a reference to death and the underworld, or alternatively, to speed and force (see p. 152 in A. Bottini, et al., eds., Antike Helme and pp. 222-224 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.).

For another Pilos helmet with snake-headed plume-holders formerly in the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, see p. 530, no. H229 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.

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