Helmet

4th century BCE

Thracian ca. 1500 BCE to 46 CE/AD

On View

Ancient Greek and Roman, Level 2, South Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

The richly ornamented helmet was fashioned for a wealthy member of a northern Thracian tribe living near the Danube River in modern Romania or Bulgaria. It was hammered from one sheet of silver with a high dome to accommodate the top-knot of hair worn by many Thracians. The main elements of the design are in low relief; the details were chased and engraved. On the brow piece fierce eyes with bushy eyebrows stare out. One cheek piece bears a horned animal, the other a huge bird of prey with a fish in its beak and a rabbit in its claws. The back and upper edges are embellished with linear designs of rosettes, vines, feathers, and scallops. The interpretation of the imagery is uncertain, but the motifs may refer to traditional myths well known to contemporary Thracians and appropriate to the elaborate armor of a warrior.

Title Helmet

Artwork Date 4th century BCE

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Unknown

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Thracian

Medium Silver

Dimensions Overall: 9 1/2 × 7 1/8 inches (24.1 × 18.1 cm)

Classification Arms and Armor

Department Greco-Roman and Ancient European

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Sarah Bacon Hill Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 56.18

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Until 1931, Franz Trau [1881–1931] (Vienna, Austria). 1931, by descent to his estate (Vienna, Austria). November 16, 1954, sold through (Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland), to (Dr. Hubert A. Cahn of Münzen und Medaillen A.G., Basel, Switzerland)

By 1956, helmet owned in partnership between (Cahn) and (Elie Borowski, Toronto, Canada)

1956-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 36, no. 3 (1956-57): p. 68 (ill.).

Piggott, S. Ancient Europe. Chicago, 1965, pp. 224-6 (ill.) [as Dacian 3rd-2nd second century B.C.]

"Arta Traco-Getica," Bibliotega de Archeologie, vol. 14. Bucharest, Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste Romania, pp. 83-88 (ill.).

Rosu, L. Consiliul Culturii si Educatiei Socialiste Revista Muzeelor si Monumentalor. Bucharest, 1975, no. 12, 2:55-59 (ill.).

Nickel, H. Ullstein Waffenbuch. Frankfurt, 1974, p. 60 (ill.).

Farkas, Anne E. "Style and Subject Matter in Native Thracian Art," Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 16 (1981): pp. 33-48, p. 34 [for mention of helmet associated with the Getae and Triballi tribes of northern Thrace].

Meyers, Pieter. "Three Silver Objects from Thrace: A Technical Examination," Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 16 (1981): pp. 49-54.

Goldman, B. "A Scythian Helmet from the Danube," Bulletin of the DIA 42, no. 4 (1963) pp. 63-71 (ill.).

Goldman, B. "Late Scythian Art in the West: The Detroit Helmet," IPEK, vol 22 (1966-69): pp. 67-76.

Rosu, L. "Thraco-Getae-Dacian Art Works In The Detroit Institute of Arts," Romanians Celebrating Ontario: Heritage Festival. Toronto, 1984, pp. 166-168.

"Family Art Game: Details, Details, Details," The Detroit Free Press (April 29, 1990): p. 25 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].

Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 101 (ill.).

Fol, A., et al. The Rogozen Treasure. Sofia, 1989, p. 42 [compares Rogozan Beaker #165 to the Metropolitan Museum beaker, the two cups from Aghigol and the Detroit helmet in the iconography of the horned bird of prey which symbolizes ad deity with supernatural powers to defeat evil], p. 194 [Author says that the Metropolitan Museum beaker and the Detroit helmet may have been found near Rogozen].

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