RomanArmyTalk

Hello to all our Hellenic friends!

At Freeman & Sear (the company where I work), we just received a very nice Corinthian helmet which appears to be completely unrestored, with its original patina. It appears to be an early-middle Corinthian type, with the classic shape and eye-cutouts. But there is no nasal. I at first thought it must have been broken off, but the location between the eyes shows no signs of breakage or of a ragged edge. The area had also been patinated over. It is possible that the break occurred in antiquity and had been filed down, or that the nasal was deliberately removed. There are two small holes just above this central area on the forehead which could possibly indicate attachment of a replacement nasal; however, they could also have been used to secure a crest (there are two similar holes at the nape of the neck, and two widely spaced holes at the crown, on either side of where the crest box would have gone). I'm just wondering if there are any other examples of Corinthian helmets in museums and private collections that lack the nasal piece. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I'll post pictures when I get some made.

They are subclassed as "Cretan" because most of them were found in Crete.
One example is in the Herakeion Museum and another in the Museum of New York. Most of them Are dated as Archaic period
Kind regards

Quote:There are two small holes just above this central area on the forehead which could possibly indicate attachment of a replacement nasal

I'd have to see it to say with more certainty, but I know there are definitely Corinthian-type helmets from Italy with nasals attached separately. I'll see if I can get some pictures for you.

Quote:They are subclassed as "Cretan" because most of them were found in Crete.

Again, the examples I'm familiar with are Italian.

Thanks for adding info Dan.
That means that they are not so geographically isolated as thought originally.
Kind regards