Description

A clay (preliminary design/study) fired ceramic bust with a beautiful bronze helmet. The work is by the Romanian artist Adrian Popovici (*1943 – + 2009). We give this work the title “ad proelium” (to battle). It depicts a head fitted with an Illyrian helmet cast in bronze. The helmet is made of heavy bronze while the bust is made of baked clay, which shows a very nice combination of fragility combined with strength.

The Illyrian helmet is a bronze helmet cast from two plates, open at the front and fitted with ram heads on the side. Ram heads were a popular motif in the side pieces of Greek helmets, especially with the helmet of the goddess Athena. This type of helmet originated in the Peloponnese, Ancient Greece, and was developed during the 8th and 7th centuries BC (700-640 BC).

The statue stands on a sturdy marble base.

Dimensions including marble base

• 29cm wide
• 40 cm high
• (without foot: 35cm high and 20cm wide)