Society of Antiquaries of London Catalogue of Drawings and Museum Objects
Society of Antiquaries of London, 2005. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000409. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 402
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000409
- How to cite using this DOI
Gallery - detail
Britannia Romana 81
Roman helmet from Ribchester, Lancashire
| Images:
click for enlargement |
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| Object number | Britannia Romana 81 | |
| Iconographic description | The drawing shows a front view of a helmet found with other equipment at Ribchester in 1796. It shows the helmet with the diadem and mask restored to their original appearance. The helmet is in two parts, the skull, decorated wirh combatants on horseback and on foot, and the visor, which represents the mask of an idealised youth wearing a diadem. The diadem represents, in a stylised way, a fortified town by a river, with mythological figures and sea monsters. | |
| Comments | The helmet is part of a group of bronze objects buried together, found at Ribchester in 1796. The helmet and other articles were purchased by Charles Townley, 8 December 1797, and later acquired by the British Museum. This is one of several drawings made by James Basire of the objects found at Ribchester while they were in Townley's collection. The Society of Antiquaries commissioned him to make the drawings in 1799. For details see the Society's Council minutes for 23 January 1798, 20 February 1798, 25 May 1798, 22 June 1798, 5 February 1799, 15 March 1799, and 23 March 1799. | |
| Creator | Basire, James | |
| Creator role |
Artist |
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| Creation date | 19th century | |
| Material | Paper | |
| Technique | Drawing | |
| Material & technique note | Black ink wash. | |
| Medium |
Brush Wash |
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| Measurements |
Height (mm) : 404 Width (mm) : 345 |
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| Inscription | Type: | Numbering |
| Script: | Handwritten | |
| Location: | Top Right | |
| Language: | English | |
| Text: | VII. | |
| Bibliography | B J N Edwards, The Ribchester Hoard (Preston: Lancashire County Books, 1992). Bill Wyman and Richard Havers, Bill Wyman's Treasure Islands: Britain's History Uncovered (Stroud: Sutton, 2005), pp. 118-19. Illustration, p. 119. British Museum, Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain 2nd ed. (London: British Museum, 1958), p. 67. Illustration (Photograph), fig. 4, pl. XXVI, opp. p. 67. British Musuem, A Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain in the Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities (London: British Museum, 1922), p. 80. Illustration (Engraving), pl. V, opp. p. 80. I P Stephenson and K R Dixon, Roman Cavalry Equipment (Stroud: Tempus, 2003), pp. 20-21. Illustrations, p. 22; pl. 1, following p. 63. Joseph Farington, The Diary of Joseph Farington (Kenneth Garlick, Angus Macintyre, and Kathryn Cave, eds.) 17 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978-1998), 4, p. 1174. R P Jackson and P T Craddock, 'The Ribchester Hoard: A Descriptive and Technical Study', in Barry Raftery, ed., Sites and Sights of the Iron Age: Essays on Fieldwork and Museum Research Presented to Ian Mathieson Stead (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1995), pp. 75-102. Illustrations (Photographs), no. 1, fig. 47, p. 77; fig. 48, p. 79. T W Potter, Roman Britain (London: British Museum Press, 1997), p. 50. Illustration, fig. 32, p. 50. Vetusta Monumenta 4 (1815): 1-12. Illustration (Engraving by Basire dated 1799), fig, 1, pl. II, between pp. 12 and 13. The drawing is reproduced in fig. 1, pl. II. Pl. I shows a side view of the helmet, fig. 2, pl. II shows the diadem, pl. III shows a back view, and the illustration on page 12 shows the diadem unrestored. | |
| Related object (SAL) |
Architectural Remains 46 Roman helmet from Ribchester, Lancashire : Same Subject Britannia Romana 78 Roman helmet from Ribchester, Lancashire : Same Subject Britannia Romana 79 Roman helmet from Ribchester, Lancashire : Same Subject Britannia Romana 80 Roman helmet from Ribchester, Lancashire : Same Subject Utensils and Furniture 22 Roman bronze objects from Ribchester, Lancashire : Similar/Related Subject Britannia Romana 82 Roman bronze objects from Ribchester, Lancashire : Similar/Related Subject MS 700/III/1 51 Roman bronze objects from Ribchester, Lancashire : Similar/Related Subject Personal Ornaments 15 Roman helmet from Ribchester, Lancashire : Same Subject |
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| Related object (other) | British Museum PEE 1814.7-5.1 : Same Subject | |
| Subject |
Bronze Faces (Representations) Figures (Representations) Helmets Masks Sports and Athletic Equipment |
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| People/Corporate Bodies |
Basire, James British Museum Townley, Charles Townley Collection |
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| Place |
British Museum England Europe Lancashire Ribchester United Kingdom |
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| Date |
Roman | |
| Collection | Britannia Romana | |
| Category |
Armour and Weapons Drawings Metalwork |
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