Each 11¹⁄₄ in. (28.5 cm.) high

Axel Guttmann (1944-2001), Berlin, acquired in Freiburg, 1987 (Inv. No. AG138a/R30).
Antiken der Sammlung Axel Guttman, Auktion 58, Hermann Historica, Munich, 7 October 2009, lot 197.
Acquired by the current owner from the above.

H. Born, Restaurierung antiker Bronzewaffen: Sammlung Axel Guttmann, vol. 2, Mainz, 1993, p. 11, fig. 3.
Ancient Warfare, vol. VII, issue 3, p. 29 (back-plate).
M. Burns, "Graeco-Italic Militaria" in M. Merrony, ed., Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Mougins, 2011, p. 227, fig. 125.
K-A Kazek, Chasseurs et gladiateurs: L'épopée des héros de l'arène, Saint-Martin-des-Entrées, 2019, p. 14 (breast-plate).

Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins, 2011-2023 (Inv. no. MMoCA415a-b).

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Lot Essay

Early Italic bronze body armour consisted of a protective disc positioned over the heart, called a kardiophylakes. Over time this evolved into the triangular-shaped triple-disc cuirass as seen here. As the Italic peoples encountered the Greeks who had colonized the southern coasts, they soon adopted from them the anatomical cuirass. This cuirass is composed of a breast-and back-plate, the edges of which are perforated, likely for attachment of a leather or felt lining. Each is decorated with three large bosses and a further nine smaller bosses. For a similar trilobate cuirass in the J. Paul Getty Museum, see object no. 96.AC.232.