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Lot Essay
The Illyrian helmet is one of two helmets introduced in the early 7th century B.C. Its sleek form was an early new design developed from the Kegel prototype, which had a cone-shaped dome, dating to the 8th century B.C. Stylistically unique, the type is characterized by a square face-guard and pointed, non-hinged cheek pieces, and a smooth dome featuring raised parallel ridges running front to back along the top, to which a wood, leather and horse-hair crest would be pinned in place by the circular rivet at the crown, see R. Hixenbaugh, Ancient Greek Helmets: A Complete Guide and Catalog, pp. 131-133.
This example fits into a group of nearly-identical helmets described as "the Classical zenith of the Illyrian form" (p. 134 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.). Of the roughly 150 surviving examples, they share the same design, proportions and craftsmanship, including ornamental pseudo-rivets along the edges, a stylized peak at the join of the cheek and sharply flaring neck-guards, and incised lines along the raised crest area. They were made in a Greek workshop, likely Corinth or Athens, and were distributed widely, with examples found in Olympia, Athens, Macedonia and the Crimea.
This example fits into a group of nearly-identical helmets described as "the Classical zenith of the Illyrian form" (p. 134 in Hixenbaugh, op. cit.). Of the roughly 150 surviving examples, they share the same design, proportions and craftsmanship, including ornamental pseudo-rivets along the edges, a stylized peak at the join of the cheek and sharply flaring neck-guards, and incised lines along the raised crest area. They were made in a Greek workshop, likely Corinth or Athens, and were distributed widely, with examples found in Olympia, Athens, Macedonia and the Crimea.