Kunst & Kunsthandwerk, Antiken

| 175 while the upper section is decorated with re- pouseed lines. The lower edge of the helmet is partitioned by a circumferential line sur- mounted by a double line extending from front to back on either side of the skull, flanking the central seam and turning in a wide curve to the left and right, respectively, thereby forming a pointed centre at the forehead and the nape. Within the hemispherical lobes on each side five bands composed of three raised lines radi- ating from the crown. Behind the eye openings the cheek guards are connected to the skull by a three-piece hinge. The middle bushing is made of a bent sheet metal band, fastened with two rivets to the turned edge of the skull. The external bushings are made of one recessed, bent piece of sheet metal fastened with three rivets to the inside of the upper edge of the cheek guards. The lost hinge pins with modern replacements in the bushings. The cheek guards curved at back with two shallow recesses on the front and distinctly pointed lower edge. The outer edges slightly bent outwards. The lower part of the cheek guards with wide perforations for the chinstrap. The exterior of the skull and cheek guards cleaned to the red-brown cuprite layer of oxida- tion which has conserved the ancient surface perfectly. The helmet was cleaned to the cuprite layer on the inside at the edge of the cheek guards and along the lower skull. The other interior surfaces are still covered with various oxide layers and encrustations. On the right side of the skull close to the double lines a smaller tension crack at front and a longer tension crack at back. Otherwise fully intact. Height 32 cm. Width 20.5 cm. Length 22.8 cm. Weight 557 g. Exceptionally well preserved ancient helmet with beautiful patina. Apart from the minor tension cracks which do not diminish the visual appearance and the replaced hinge pins without any defects and replacements. An inte­ resting document of the adaptation of Greek helmet types with unique aesthetic alterations typical for the area north of the Black Sea in- habited by steppe nomad tribes. P rovenance : Lithuanian art trade. Pur- chased by the previous Lithuanian owner in England in 2015. Purchased by the previous English owner in the English art trade in 1979. 255382 II - € 15.000 1818