page_title: Agris Helmet
section_title: Origin
hierarchical_section_title: Agris Helmet / Origin
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Casque gaulois d'Amfreville-sous-les-Monts (vue latérale), IVe siècle av-JC., bronze, fer, or, émail) - Musée d'archéologie nationale de Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines). Dépôt du musée du Louvre ML2153
context_page_description: The Agris Helmet is a ceremonial Celtic helmet from c. 350 BC that was found in a cave near Agris, Charente, France, in 1981.
  It is a masterpiece of Celtic art, and would probably have been used for display rather than worn in battle.
  The helmet consists of an iron cap completely covered with bands of bronze.
  The bronze is in turn covered with unusually pure gold leaf, with embedded coral decorations attached using silver rivets.
  One of the cheek guards was also found and has similar materials and designs.
  The helmet is mostly decorated in early Celtic patterns but there are later Celtic motifs and signs of Etruscan or Greek influence.
  The quality of the gold indicates that the helmet may well have been made locally in the Atlantic region.
context_section_description: Three main regions of the Celtic world have been proposed as the origin of the helmet. The first is the northern or central Adriatic region of Italy.
  Some think the new plant-style compositions were developed by Celtic craftsmen who settled in Italy and were influenced by Etruscan or Greek craftsmen with whom they had direct contact.
  The complexity of the montage and decoration may be explained by proximity to advanced metalworking centers such as those of Taranto or Campania.
  The objection is that all Celtic helmets from the period found in Italy were in one piece.
  Those with riveted neck guards have all been found in the Alps, the regions north of the Alps or the Atlantic region.
  The second proposed region of origin is the North Alpine area that formed the ancient center of Celtic culture.
  The materials and techniques, and the general composition and decoration, seem to place the work among the best 5th century Celtic works from this region.
  The conical shape of the top of the helmet seems to be derived from Celtic helmets from the start of the second Iron Age.
  Where these were decorated, the decorations were in superimposed bands.
  Some details of the plant ornamentation are very similar to small Celtic ornaments from Austria, the Alpine regions and western Switzerland.
  This is the area where helmets with riveted neck guards are found most often.
  The third possibility is that the helmet was made in the area where it was found.
  It is one of a small set of prestige helmets  (Agris, Amfreville-sous-les-Monts, Saint-Jean-Trolimon, Montlaurès) that were mostly found in western France, the most famous being the completely decorated helmet of Amfreville-sous-les-Monts in the Eure.
  All were made of an iron or bronze cap covered with bands of another metal that were completely decorated.
  They have red ornaments, mostly coral.
  Riveted neck pieces are also found in this region.
  Gold samples from various parts of the helmet are exceptionally pure, typically 99% gold, 0.5% silver and 0.2% copper.
  This degree of purity is very unusual in the ancient world.
  Analysis of Greek and Etruscan objects of the period shows much higher silver content.
  Most ancient objects with this degree of purity have been found to the southwest of the Loire, the region that includes Agris.
  The only comparable objects are 3rd century Celtic jewelry from this region.
  Probably the helmet was made in the West by craftsmen trained in the North Alpine School.
  The gold may well have come from mines in the west of the Massif Central, which had been in operation since at least the 5th century BC.
  Other high-quality works of Celtic art have been found in the Western region, so a local provenance is entirely possible.
caption: The Amfreville helmet, another Celtic prestige helmet from the Atlantic region.
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