Lot 1
1
A GREEK BRONZE ILLYRIAN HELMET
A GREEK BRONZE ILLYRIAN HELMET
A GREEK BRONZE ILLYRIAN HELMET
1 More
A GREEK BRONZE ILLYRIAN HELMET
4 More
A GREEK BRONZE ILLYRIAN HELMET

ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 550-480 B.C.

Details
A GREEK BRONZE ILLYRIAN HELMET
ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 550-480 B.C.
10 in. (25.4 cm.) high
Provenance
with Emmanuel Koutoulakis, Geneva.
with Kevork Aharonian, Brussels and Paris, acquired from the above, late 1980s.
with Chris Martin Ancient Art, London, acquired from the above, late 1980s.
Private Collection, Glastonbury, U.K., acquired from the above, 2000.
Antiquities, Bonhams, London, 15 October 2008, lot 209.
Acquired by the current owner from the above.
Literature
R. Hixenbaugh, Ancient Greek Helmets: A Complete Guide and Catalog, New York, 2019, p. 302, no. I172.
Exhibited
Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA39).

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Lot Essay

Hammered from a single sheet, of domed form, with elongated cheek-guards pierced at their lower corner, this Illyrian helmet is an exemplary demonstration of the type. Two raised ridges run across the crown with a centered frontal and rear rivets securing a separately-made horsehair crest. As seen here, the flaring neck-guard serves as a defensive feature meant to prevent sweeping overhead blows from hitting the nape of the neck. For a similar example, see no. 2, p. 7 in E.J. Milleker and S. Hemingway, “Recent Acquisitions: A Selection 2003–2004," Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 62.

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