CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

An important helmet of the Museum’s Roman armory is this rare calvary example, which features two eagles along its crown. Each majestic bird’s outer wing spreads along the side of the dome, the plumage well detailed. Their bodies are formed of two tiers ornamented with tongues, combining to create the helmet crest. The eagle heads feature hooked beaks and small, convex eyes. According to Born and Junkelman, op. cit., the eagle heads were altered in antiquity, either due to damage or to correct an error in dimensions. In its current state, the right eagle head is crushed and may have been previously capped with a new one, while the left eagle head is an ancient replacement. Remains of lead solder indicate that a band was likely once applied over the joins. The lower portion of the helmet is plain, with a projecting visor, raised arching ear-guards and a short, flanged neck-guard. It is likely that the helmet once supported a face-guard hinged to the underside of the visor.

The eagle was frequently employed as ornament on Roman military equipment, in part because it was the attribute of Jupiter, the chief of the Roman gods, but also because it was the symbol for the standards carried by the aquilifer (standard-bearer) at the head of the legions (see p. 106 in R. Abdy, Legion, Life in the Roman Army).

This helmet is a hybrid the pseudo-Attic and pseudo-Corinthian types. For a related crest of two-tiered tongues, see the pseudo-Attic helmet from Theilenhofenn, pl. 305 in T. Fischer, Die Armee der Caesaren: Archäologie und Geschichte. For a helmet of similar form to the example presented here, with a high, plain crest fronted by an eagle head, see the pseudo-Corinthian example from Heddernheim, pl. 309 in Fischer, op. cit.