I recently came across this helmet on the National Museum Belgrade website. The website indicates that it was found at Kostol, Serbia. I'd never seen such an amazing helmet before! It seems beyond even the Crosby Garret or the Ribchester helmet. Yet, I hadn't heard anything about t before, and I didn't see anything about it via forum search. Has anyone seen this in person? Could it be a fake? It seems almost too impressive to be real.
Attachments:
See for example:
Henry Russell Robinson. The Armour of Imperial Rome. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1975, pp. 107-108, 112-113, Pl. 309;
Raffaele D'Amato, Graham Sumner. Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier: From Marius to Commodus, 112 BC-AD 192. London: Frontline, 2009, p. 187;
Marcus Junkelmann. Reiter wie Statuen aus Erz. Mainz, 1996, S. 23-24.
Thank you Ildar, I found the reference to this piece in the D' Amato book.
Unfortunately, I can't find any other views of the helmet. I would also like to see them. Here is the digital catalog entry for reference: http://www.virtuelnimuzejdunava.rs/home.i-49.208.html
Do we know the context of the find? My first thought was that it was more a theatrical or mourning mask of some sort as it is so different to previous known face masks with helmets (certainly of the "cavalry sports" variety).
Moi Watson
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Merlot in one hand, Cigar in the other; body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!
Robinson saw in this piece the Hellenistic or Republican Roman forerunner of the mask helmets and datet it in the 1st C. BC. Junkelmann would not rule out an earlier date.
Garbsch datet it in the early 2nd C. AD on stylistic reasons.
Found in 1854 it might have been a chance find and no context known.
Funnily Robinson said it to be of bronze (as on the museum's website), Garbsch said iron with bronze and D'Amato Iron and silver. Fischer ("Die Armee der Caesaren" 2012) says it is made of only one piece...
Perhaps the newer Serbian articles on this helmet might be of interest.
