MAGNA GRAECIA, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 300-200 B.C.

Details

A GREEK BRONZE PILOS HELMET
MAGNA GRAECIA, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 300-200 B.C.
13 in. (33 cm.) high

Provenance

Axel Guttmann (1944-2001), Berlin, acquired by 1996 (Inv. no. AG550/H188).
Antiken der Sammlung Axel Guttmann, Auktion 56, Hermann Historica, Munich, 8 October 2008, lot 51.
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. 82.
"Picasso, Klein, Gladiator," Nice-Matin, 3 March 2013, p. 32.
C. Dauphin, Animals in the Ancient World: The Levett Bestiary, Mougins, 2014, p. 95.
R. Hixenbaugh, Ancient Greek Helmets: A Complete Guide and Catalog, New York, 2019, p. 534, no. H263.
W. Goralski, "Pyrrhus Meets Rome: A New Reconstruction of Heracle," Ancient Warfare, August-September 2019, p. 32.

Exhibited

Mougins Museum of Classical Art, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA186).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

hsolomon@christies.com +1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

This helmet is fronted by a large appliqué of a gorgoneion high on the sloping dome above the carinated band. On either side is a four-spoke wheel appliqué and riveted to the peak is a tripartite openwork motif with wave-patterned and serrated decoration along the edges. For another Pilos helmet with a gorgoneion appliqué, see no. W20 in D. Cahn, Waffen und Zaumzeug. For a helmet with similar horns, see p. 152 in A. Bottini, et al., eds., Antike Helme.

More from Arms and Armour from the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Part II

View All