Corinthian Helmet
Culture
Greek
Dateabout 600-550 BCE
Mediumbronze
Dimensions22.9 × 25.1 cm (9 × 9 7/8 in.), 2 lb, 13 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.1046
DescriptionFormed from a single sheet of bronze, metal is especially robust around cheeks and nose. Nasal has been bent, presumably as part of consecration of the object. Other damage likely to reflect working life of object. Loss around right eye. Large loss at right rear lower edge. Occiput has been crushed and hammered back out; this repair is evidently modern, for the market, as attested by the use of fiberglass or some similar material to stabilize weak areas, with substantial areas of painting. The exterior surface shows an interventionist conservation campaign, with additional evidence of artificial colorants.Label TextThese helmets trace the increasing sophistication of Greek culture from its revival around 800 BCE to the advent of the "classical" age of Greece around 500 BCE. The oldest examples are relatively simple bowls with holes punched around the edge to secure a thin lining. The more recent helmets from about 450 BCE (about the time of the Parthenon) are beautiful and with a mysterious presence. They are sculptural works of art, but art with a purpose, for details such as the contoured lower edge raised the helmet off the shoulders, increasing freedom of movement. Bent noseguards or cheekpieces indicate a helmet symbolically destroyed and presented at a shrine to honor a dead warrior. ProvenancePurchased by Museum on January 27, 1934 from Theodore Offerman (NYC). Paid $55 for lot of four helmets including HAM#s 2037, 2038, 2039, 2040. Helmets were part of lot #417 of the Henry Walters Collection sold at American Art Galleries on January 12, 1934. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on view
late 1700s-early 1800s
