Thinking about the Roman Empire? Look inside the largest private collection of ancient arms and armour in the world 

You may recently have been asked, ‘How often do you think about the Roman Empire?’ The hashtag #romanempire has accumulated 1.1 billion views on TikTok, as women have taken to social media to participate in the viral social media trend and film their husbands’, fathers’ and sons’ responses to this question. The most popular response? ‘Daily’. TikTok trends may blow over, but the world’s widespread obsession with antiquity seems unlikely to.

Christian Levett is no stranger to the allures of the ancient world. His interest began as a child when he started collecting the coins of antiquity, and once he reached his twenties, he began to build his collection with fervour, expanding into ancient arms and armour. When the holdings proved too large to display in his homes, he decided to create a museum where he could share his passion for the ancient world with the public. The resulting Mougins Museum of Classical Art in the South of France opened in 2011. Levett’s collection is now the largest private collection of ancient arms and armour in the world and unanimously accepted as the finest of its kind formed in the 21st century.

On 30 January 2024, Christie’s will offer 36 highlights from the collection in Arms and Armour from the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Part I in New York. As Levett puts it, ‘This sale gives museums and collectors alike perhaps the final opportunity to acquire some of the rarest military objects from the ancient world still in private hands’.

The sale will mark the second instalment of A Collecting Odyssey: Property from the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, which is being offered across six sales from December 2023 to December 2024 and spans from antiquities to contemporary sculptures.

‘Levett bought ancient militaria in an encylopaedic way,’ says Christie’s antiquities specialist Hannah Solomon. ‘He wanted the best of every different type of Ancient Roman, Greek and Italic helmet, armour and sword — and helmets are the star of this collection. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire such an impressive variety.’

Most of these helmets were previously in the collection of Axel Guttmann of Berlin, the 20th century’s most important collection of arms and armour and world’s largest collection of helmets. Levett sought to acquire any available object that was sold by Guttmann’s heirs in two landmark sales at Christie’s London in 2002 and 2004.

Levett collected every type of Greek helmet, and this collection includes an example of each one. One of the sale’s most anticipated lots is the Greek Bronze Corinthian helmet from the late Archaic to Classical period, c. 525–475 B.C.

With its slender nose-guard, elongated almond-shaped eyes and gracefully-curving cheek-guards, this helmet exemplifies the Hermione type. Named after a helmet discovered in the coastal town of Hermione on the Argolid peninsula, the Hermione is the paragon of Corinthian helmets — in aesthetics and protection — and the type most frequently depicted on Greek vases and Classical sculptures and coins. The offered work is a strikingly beautiful and well preserved example.

In addition to Greek, Levett collected some of the greatest Roman helmets ever found. The ‘Guttmann Mouse Helmet’ takes its name from its previous owner and the enigmatic decoration of a mouse and loaf of bread on the back of its dome.

Dated to the Antonine period, c. 125–175 A.D., this exceptionally rare and well-preserved infantry helmet is considered one of the finest Roman helmets to have survived from antiquity. Composed of an iron dome with brass adjuncts, it includes an inscribed tabula ansanata that names the helmet’s owner, Julius Mansuetus, and even comes with a rare, preserved iron dolabra — a type of pickaxe associated with the helmet.

The mystery of the mouse and bread decoration is just one of the many curiosities throughout the collection. Take, for instance, the ear guards on the Roman iron and tinned bronze cavalry helmet from the Antonine period. They are naturalistically modelled into the shape of ears — an unexplained and quirky anomaly.  

The Roman sheet brass helmet of the Wiesenau type, from the Flavian to Trajanic period c. 69–117 A.D., is an important historical document. Inscriptions of the owner’s name can be found on many Roman helmets, but this one features the names of four or five different owners, as well as the names of four different centurions under whom these legionnaires served, tracking its trajectory as it was passed on and reused. 

Curiosities for history buffs are not confined to the helmets in this collection. A Greek bronze back-plate from the Classical period, c. 400-370, has a central perforation, indicating that it functioned as a trophy or temple offering taken by the winning side from the opposing force. Incised across the middle of the back is a Greek inscription reading ‘to Athena, spoils from the enemy’. The artefact has, unsurprisingly, received significant scholarly attention.

The treasures of this collection testify not just to the military prowess of ancient warriors of the Mediterranean but also to their craftsmanship. ‘The crossover between military practicality and art in this sale is something to behold,’ Levett says. ‘The collection gives the words “the art of warfare” a whole new meaning.’

According to Solomon, the market for ancient arms and armour is heating up. ‘History buffs fall in love with the stories of these objects, while others fall in love with the craftsmanship. Looking at these helmets and breast-plates and back-plates and greaves [armour that protects the legs], often cast from bronze sheets, you can’t help but admire the technical prowess of the bronze castor.’

More and more collectors are treating arms and armour as sculpture — helmets, for example, can conveniently be displayed on a shelf, helmet stand or plinth. They’re also relatively inexpensive compared to the other sculptures in today’s secondary market.

This collection from the Mougins Museum of Classical Art boasts the world’s best selection of Roman and Greek helmets, a treasure trove of historical curiosities and spectacular design and workmanship. It may prove difficult, after witnessing it, to stop thinking about the Roman Empire.