The bullet-shaped domed body is topped by a small knob.
A rare, heavyweight helmet from the eastern Mediterranean.
Some identical helmets were recovered in the eighties from a wreck lying in Israeli coastal waters.

Ex collection of Axel Guttmann (1944-2001), Berlin.

Earlier 1st Millennium BC

H. 8 1/8 in. (20.8 cm.)


About the provenance of this helmet: This helmet belongs to one of the most remarkable and comprehensive private collections of ancient arms and armor ever assembled, the Collection of Axel Guttmann (1944 - 2001).

About Axel Guttmann:

Over the last 25 years of his life, Axel Guttmann acquired and exhibited in a scholarly museum fashion in his home in Berlin, his vast collection of ancient weaponry, and generously providing access for both scholars and collectors. He was a museum benefactor and enthusiast supporter of museum projects, publications, and acquisitions, he also initiated a program of conservation and scientific analysis of his own collection. Prior to his premature death in 2001, he oversaw the publishing of eight academic and scientific books on his collection highlighting their beauty and artistic richness, as well as their historical and topological interest. He was born in Krems, Austria in 1944, but grew up in Berlin after the second world war. He pursued his personal interest in Greek and Roman military history, and then extended his several collecting interests to include ancient armor and weaponry, forming the largest and most comprehensive collection from early Europe, the Mediterranean world, and the near east, dating from 3rd millenium BC, to the late Roman period.His inspiration was the German financier and art collector, Franz Von Lipperheide (1838 - 1906), who had donated his collection of 92 classical helmets to the Royal museum in Berlin. Mr Guttmann was also a patron of these museums, supporting projects, publications, and purchases, as well as loaning items from his collection to exibitions in both Germany and Austria. His collection was conserved by Dr. Hermann Born and studied in an academic and scientific manner, and it is to his lasting credit that the eight volumes entitled Sammlung Axel Guttmann were published by Phillip von Zabern, before his untimely death 0n October 28, 2001:

Hermann Born and L. D. Nebelsick, Ein bronzener Prunkhelm der Hallstattzeit,1991;

Hermann Bornn, Restaurierung antiker Bronzewaffen, 1993;

Hermann Born and S. Hansen, Fruhgriechische Bronzehelme, 1994;

Hermann Born and U. Seidl, Schutzwaffen aus Assyrien und Urartu, 1995;

Hermann Born and M. Junkelmann, Romische Kampf-und Turnierrustungen, 1997;

M. Kunze-Kollensperger, Alexandres Tiere, 1999;

M. Junkelmann, Romische Helme, 2000;

Hermann Born and S. Hansen, Helme und Waffen Alteuropos, 2001.

Antiquities
Ancient Roman