Circa 550-300 BC A very expressive form of bronze helmet of Chalcidian type. Crown domed with a mask-like front featuring high-arched eyebrows, the eyes have been carefully cut out. The round sections are each accentuated with a separately applied moulded band. A short tear-drop shaped nose guard is reaching down, moveable articulated crescentic cheek guards with contoured edges are attached by hinges on the sides, rounded, and tapering towards the chin allowing binding. Museum Quality helmet. Chalcidian helmets are named after similar helmets depicted on pottery vases from the Euboean city of Chalcis. This type of ancient Greek helmet was a lighter and less restrictive form of the Corinthian helmet. The hinged cheek pieces were anatomically formed to fit closely to the face and tended to curve upward towards the eye, where large circular openings provided a wider field of view than the Corinthian helmets. By the time of Alexander the Great the helmet was still worn by soldiers, most notably the hoplites, the heavy infantrymen who carried long spears; the helmet would later go on to develop into the Attic helmet which is iconic of Classical soldiers. See Ohly, D., Die Ägineten, Die Ostgiebelgruppe, Munich, 1976; Pflug, H., 'Chalkidische Helme' in Antike Helme, RGZM Monographien 14, Mainz, 1988, pp.137-150; Chernenko, E.V., The Scythians 700-300 BC, Hong Kong, 1998. The item has undergone X-ray fluorescence analysis to confirm the metallurgical content suggesting its ancient origin and lack of modern trace elements. Size: L: 370mm / W: 260mm; 1.24kg Provenance: Property of a London private collector; formerly in a European collection; acquired from Peter Ing till collection in early 2000s (Vienna). Formerly in an old Austrian collection.