CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.

As M. Junkelmann relates (op. cit., p. 52), the Montefortino helmet is regarded as one of the “most successful” types of the ancient Mediterranean. Thought to have been inspired by Celtic prototypes, the Montefortino emerged in the 4th century B.C. and continued in use well into the Roman period. The type is characterized by a conical bowl surmounted by a knob and a short, flaring neck-guard. Examples and regional variations have been found ranging from the Iberian Peninsula to the Black Sea area. The type takes its name from the Italian region of Montefortino, near Ancona, where 17 examples were discovered in a Celtic burial.

This domed-shaped, solid-cast helmet has thick walls and a lustrous greenish-brown patina. It is adorned with elegant ornamentation including an incised knob with petal motif at the crown, a twisted rope border along the perimeter and a herringbone motif along the upper edge of the neck-guard. Two separately-hinged, scalloped-shaped cheek-guards adorned with raised triple-discs hang at either side. At their lower edges, there is a knob for attachment of a chin-strap. For a near-identical example at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (inv. no. 50.37.19), see no. 227 in D.G. Mitten and S. F. Doeringer, Master Bronzes from the Classical World.