A Negau Helmet (Vetulonia Type) Lot n° 14

Italic late 6th-1st half 5th cent. B.C.. Bronze. H. 19 cm. W. max. 23.6 cm. D. max. 26.7 cm Compact bronze helmet whose closed crown rises up to a sharp medial ridge; two holes at the top to the left and right of the ridge for attaching a horsehair crest. A second, shallower angle marks the transition from the crown to the tall band around the base leading to a low, turned-up rim. The crown falls away very steeply at either side. The iron nails that have been preserved in the rim would have held the lining in place. Helmets of the Vetulonia subtype were especially widespread in Central Italy and in the majority of cases come from Etruria, where most of these helmets are thought to have been made. Condition: About half the rim restored. Crown preserved to a large extent reinforced with minor restoration work; a larger fragment restored; several cracks closed. Formerly Sumner Healey, New York, 6 July 1932. Thereafter Collection John Woodman Higgins (1874-1961), founder of the Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts; JWHA inv. no. 1735. On the inside in red ink "T 35". Starting price: 8500 CHF