The antiquities section of that sale produced another armour highlight. A Roman bronze infantry helmet of Weisenau type, dating to the end of the 1st to the early 2nd century AD, had been given a reserve price of €25,000 but the hammer finally fell at a hefty €105,000 (£87,500).
The saleroom noted that “not only did the helmet boast the characteristic movable cheek pieces, the flared neck guard and the knob to insert the crest, it incited collectors’ admiration by virtue of its impressive condition and its documented provenance in the renowned Axel Guttmann Collection of Berlin”. The helmet was bought by a private European collector.
In black and white
For its December 10 auction Italian auction house Czerny (20% buyer’s premium) had assembled a characteristically wide-ranging 900-lot sale in the Sarzana saleroom on December 10.
One of the highlights was this south German black and white armour, right, with burgonet, dating from the last quarter of the 16th century, stamped with the Nuremberg mark.
It sold for €21,000 (£17,500).
