1714) AN EXCEPTIONAL & RARE  LATE VIKING PERIOD NASAL: A type Nikolskoie,( 1150‚ 1250 AD) under the Kirpichnikov typology. An iconic helmet highly sought out by collectors. 100% original as the day it was made over 1,000 years ago. This one is the real deal.

PUBLICATION: The Collectors Course On Medieval Arms and Armor,2021, Garcia, page 56 item E.

PROVENANCE: From one of the best private collections in the world.

DISCUSSION: The Spangenhelm (German/Victorian term for banned helmet) is also referred to more correctly as the Norman helmet from its use in the Bayeux Tapestry. With a nose defense, the Norman helmet is referred to as a “nasal.” This military defensive helmet was extremely popular in Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, etc.) from circa 6th-century to circa 13th-century. After 1175, the Norman helmet adopted a rounded crown to attach the nasal. It remained in fashion until circa 1250. Some Norman helmets were decorated with an inlay, usually of a religious nature. Some earlier Eastern helmets had a browband applied separately to the edge of the helmet such as the example under discussion. Examples can be seen in illuminations in the Winchester Bible at the Winchester Cathedral, produced in England about 1160-70; the York Psalter in the Hunterian Library, Glasgow University, produced in England about 1170-1175; the Liber ad Honorem Augusti of Pietro de Eboli in the Burgerbibliothek, Bern, produced about 1200, and the Maciejowski Bible in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, produced in France about 1250. Such a construction can also be seen in the celebrated helmet preserved in the treasury of St. Vitus‚ Cathedral in Prague, which, together with a long mail hauberk, is traditionally associated with St. Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia.

CONCLUSION: An exceptional and rare piece that could be the centerpiece of any collection. Not to be confused with the cheap reproductions sold on the internet or the highly restored ones that are only a small percentage of the original. Conserved to museum standards with no metal or resin added. Priced to sell quickly!!!*