03-28-2005, 08:48 AM
Ave, fratres.<br>
<br>
As Dan pointed out, the Guttmann Italic H was a private treaty acquisition by means of a well-known German dealer in ancient militaria; how he came to acquire it, I'm not sure, but a Balkans origin seems plausible.<br>
<br>
I looked the piece over pretty carefully; I believe there is some "fill" in the bowl section of the helmet, but my impression is that about 75-80% of the iron and all of the brass is original. The cleaning and conservation are in fact quite well done, not the usual half-assed hatched job done by some of the Bulgarian "finders." Given the "Tiber Patina" of the brass parts, I think a water find is quite likely (although I hate to think of some Roman-- or worse, some barbarian!-- deliberately tossing such a fine piece into a river to placate some god).<br>
<br>
The helmet would certainly have had cheek pieces, and part of the hinges (as seen in Tarb's close-ups) are still visible. I remember looking on the inside of the helmet at and noticing the attachment points for the cheek pieces, but I can't quite remember how they were attached to the skull. Some kind of brazing, I would imagine.<br>
<br>
It is really quite a wonderfully made helmet, giving lie to the commonly repeated assertion that the so-called Italic helmets are inferior in workmanship to the "Gallic" (with eyebrows)helmets. Getting to inspect it up close, hold it, and photograph was a true priviledge. I did, in fact, try to fit it on my head, but it was just a shade to small for my big noggin. It did fit my friend Julian Dendy of the Legio XIIII RMS, snugly, and there is a shot of him wearing it on the Leg VI Real Gear page.<br>
<br>
Suprisingly (or perhaps not, given the 250,000-300,000 pound estimate and probably a high reserve), this helmet went unsold at the Christie's Guttmann II auction. There was some discussion of the Guttmann family donating it to a museum, but as of yet the issues involved in this are unresolved and the helmet remains in the Guttmann estate. There are really only a tiny handful of private collectors of Roman militaria in the world who can afford such a thing, and with Herr Guttmann's death, fewer still. Museum budgets are extremely tight just now and few have any interest in acquiring examples of ancient armor unless it doubles as "art" (for example, Greek Corinthian helmets and Roman faceplate helmets). Hopefully, someone will recognize how extraordinary this piece is and endow an institution to acquire it so it will end up in somewhere where the public can admire it.<br>
<br>
T. Flavius Crispus / Dave Michaels<br>
Legio VI VPF<br>
CA, USA<br>
<br>
<br>
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=flaviuscrispus@romanarmytalk>FlaviusCrispus</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/legiovi/vwp?.dir=/Flavius+photo&.src=gr&.dnm=flavhead2.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 3/28/05 10:51 am<br></i>
<br>
As Dan pointed out, the Guttmann Italic H was a private treaty acquisition by means of a well-known German dealer in ancient militaria; how he came to acquire it, I'm not sure, but a Balkans origin seems plausible.<br>
<br>
I looked the piece over pretty carefully; I believe there is some "fill" in the bowl section of the helmet, but my impression is that about 75-80% of the iron and all of the brass is original. The cleaning and conservation are in fact quite well done, not the usual half-assed hatched job done by some of the Bulgarian "finders." Given the "Tiber Patina" of the brass parts, I think a water find is quite likely (although I hate to think of some Roman-- or worse, some barbarian!-- deliberately tossing such a fine piece into a river to placate some god).<br>
<br>
The helmet would certainly have had cheek pieces, and part of the hinges (as seen in Tarb's close-ups) are still visible. I remember looking on the inside of the helmet at and noticing the attachment points for the cheek pieces, but I can't quite remember how they were attached to the skull. Some kind of brazing, I would imagine.<br>
<br>
It is really quite a wonderfully made helmet, giving lie to the commonly repeated assertion that the so-called Italic helmets are inferior in workmanship to the "Gallic" (with eyebrows)helmets. Getting to inspect it up close, hold it, and photograph was a true priviledge. I did, in fact, try to fit it on my head, but it was just a shade to small for my big noggin. It did fit my friend Julian Dendy of the Legio XIIII RMS, snugly, and there is a shot of him wearing it on the Leg VI Real Gear page.<br>
<br>
Suprisingly (or perhaps not, given the 250,000-300,000 pound estimate and probably a high reserve), this helmet went unsold at the Christie's Guttmann II auction. There was some discussion of the Guttmann family donating it to a museum, but as of yet the issues involved in this are unresolved and the helmet remains in the Guttmann estate. There are really only a tiny handful of private collectors of Roman militaria in the world who can afford such a thing, and with Herr Guttmann's death, fewer still. Museum budgets are extremely tight just now and few have any interest in acquiring examples of ancient armor unless it doubles as "art" (for example, Greek Corinthian helmets and Roman faceplate helmets). Hopefully, someone will recognize how extraordinary this piece is and endow an institution to acquire it so it will end up in somewhere where the public can admire it.<br>
<br>
T. Flavius Crispus / Dave Michaels<br>
Legio VI VPF<br>
CA, USA<br>
<br>
<br>
<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=flaviuscrispus@romanarmytalk>FlaviusCrispus</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/legiovi/vwp?.dir=/Flavius+photo&.src=gr&.dnm=flavhead2.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 3/28/05 10:51 am<br></i>
T. Flavius Crispus / David S. Michaels
Centurio Pilus Prior,
Legio VI VPF
CA, USA
"Oderint dum probent."
Tiberius
Centurio Pilus Prior,
Legio VI VPF
CA, USA
"Oderint dum probent."
Tiberius
