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Helmet of the Montefortino Type

late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This helmet belongs to a type conventionally called Montefortino in reference to the place in which one specimen was excavated. Apparently borrowed from the Celts, who generally wrought them of iron, Montefortino-type helmets of cast bronze were used by a wide range of Italic people. Rare are the examples whose cheekpieces have been preserved. The cheekpieces of this helmet are each decorated with three bosses that are set within series of concentric rings, a style of which many variants are known. The right cheekpiece retains the button for a leather tie with which it would have been secured to the opposite cheekpiece beneath the wearer's chin.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Helmet of the Montefortino Type
  • Date: late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
  • Culture: Etruscan
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: H. 7 in. (17.9 cm); L. of each cheekpiece 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
  • Classification: Helmets
  • Credit Line: Lent by Drs. Kenneth and Vivian Lam
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor