36
Duck Helmet. c.50-40 BC. Celtic silver unit. 15mm. 1.15g.
1/2
Auctioneer has chosen not to publish the price of this lot
Aylsham, Norfolk
Description
Duck Helmet. c.50-40 BC. Silver unit. 15mm. 1.15g. Female head left, wearing crested helmet with a duck’s head mounted in front of it, small duck and other ornaments in front./ Annulate horse left, with stranded tail, ringed corn ear above and below, another small duck above tail, triad of small rings above head, ringed-pellets under head, small rings around. ABC 2380, VA−, BMC−, S−. CCI 17.1865 (this coin). Good EF, large flan of bright silver, well centred and superbly decorated. A stunning piece, probably the finest known. Ex John Follows collection. Found Essex, June 2017. EXTREMELY RARE only seven others recorded.
Remarkably, this is the second duck type in this sale (see Lot 8). It’s remarkable because there are only two in the British series, both extremely rare, and John Follows has a fabulous example of both. We sold our first Duck Helmet – the first known – in 1998. Commenting on it, Dr Anne Ross, author of Pagan Celtic Britain (1967) wrote: “I suggest that this coin depicts Brigit, helmeted, as would befit Minerva, thus demonstrating a certain conflation with the classical deity. All water birds had a certain sanctity, the duck being invariably a benign and much-loved creature which presides over thermal waters from the Bronze Age on. Perhaps the goddess of the Source of the Seine was also a Brigit figure, standing graciously in her duck-shaped boat on the Seine which bears her name, Sequana. Brigit too was a healer; and Brigit also is linked with springs and thermal lakes and waters” (Chris Rudd List 30, 1998, no.58). Rainer Kretz identified the duck’s head on the helmet of our first coin as probably indicative of the Common Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos. He wrote: “I believe this coin may contain yet another duck’s image, this time almost the entire bird, in front of the face. Although somewhat stylised, it clearly portrays an unusual shape of the head and elongated, very pronounced beak. If it is indeed a bird, it is almost certainly a duck. Taking into consideration the distribution of the different duck species in southern England, I believe the image may depict a Shoveler, Spatula clypeata… It may be that for some reason this bird was especially revered by that particular tribe” (ibid, 1998). Rainer Kretz knows a lot about British birds as well Ancient British coins (he was the Celtic expert who famously identified the birds on Norfolk Wolf gold staters, Chris Rudd List 48, 1999, pp.3-9). So we find his duck theory fascinatingly convincing. Might it account for the wings and winged objects we see on coins of the North Thames region, e.g. ABC 2338-44, 2365-68, 2383, 2433-42, 2457, 2467, 2478-81, 2526? Maybe the duck was a personal mascot of Cassivellaunos? Note that the Winged Helmet silver unit, ABC 2472, shows a male head with moustache and wearing a winged helmet and that “Dr John Sills believes that the helmeted head may be a stylised representation of Cassivellaunos” (Ancient British Coins, p.125). There is an exclusive feature of the Duck Helmet type not previously explained, but excellently exhibited on John Follows’ outstanding example, and that is the ringed corn ear – we also called it a ‘vulval leaf motif’ in 1998 – which occurs both above and below the double-annulate horse. These two corn ears are significant for two reasons: firstly, because they tie the Duck Helmet silver unit to the Middle Whaddon Chase gold stater, Curved Wreath Type, ABC 2445 (Lot 37), which also displays two ringed corn ears and which, like the Winged Helmet silver unit, ABC 2472, may have been struck by Cassivellaunos; secondly, because bronze ducks from Gaul and Britain often have a grain of wheat or ritual biscuit in their beak, including the duck carrying the goddess Sequana, which perhaps gives added credibility to Dr Anne Ross’ suggestion that the goddess shown on the Duck Helmet coin is Brigit, whose name means ‘exalted one’ and who may be linked with the deity who gave her name to the Brigantes ‘the high ones’ of northern Britain. Finally, we’re thrilled to tell you that we’ve spotted a third duck on John Follows’ most delightful Duck Helmet, clearly and completely floating above the horse’s tail. We’ve seen no other Duck Helmet which displays this third duck with such clarity. Without doubt John Follows’ Duck Helmet is the finest ever offered for public sale. Published in Coin News, April 2020 (this coin). Not in Van Arsdell, Spink nor the British Museum.
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Duck Helmet. c.50-40 BC. Silver unit. 15mm. 1.15g. Female head left, wearing crested helmet with a duck’s head mounted in front of it, small duck and other ornaments in front./ Annulate horse left, with stranded tail, ringed corn ear above and below, another small duck above tail, triad of small rings above head, ringed-pellets under head, small rings around. ABC 2380, VA−, BMC−, S−. CCI 17.1865 (this coin). Good EF, large flan of bright silver, well centred and superbly decorated. A stunning piece, probably the finest known. Ex John Follows collection. Found Essex, June 2017. EXTREMELY RARE only seven others recorded.
Remarkably, this is the second duck type in this sale (see Lot 8). It’s remarkable because there are only two in the British series, both extremely rare, and John Follows has a fabulous example of both. We sold our first Duck Helmet – the first known – in 1998. Commenting on it, Dr Anne Ross, author of Pagan Celtic Britain (1967) wrote: “I suggest that this coin depicts Brigit, helmeted, as would befit Minerva, thus demonstrating a certain conflation with the classical deity. All water birds had a certain sanctity, the duck being invariably a benign and much-loved creature which presides over thermal waters from the Bronze Age on. Perhaps the goddess of the Source of the Seine was also a Brigit figure, standing graciously in her duck-shaped boat on the Seine which bears her name, Sequana. Brigit too was a healer; and Brigit also is linked with springs and thermal lakes and waters” (Chris Rudd List 30, 1998, no.58). Rainer Kretz identified the duck’s head on the helmet of our first coin as probably indicative of the Common Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos. He wrote: “I believe this coin may contain yet another duck’s image, this time almost the entire bird, in front of the face. Although somewhat stylised, it clearly portrays an unusual shape of the head and elongated, very pronounced beak. If it is indeed a bird, it is almost certainly a duck. Taking into consideration the distribution of the different duck species in southern England, I believe the image may depict a Shoveler, Spatula clypeata… It may be that for some reason this bird was especially revered by that particular tribe” (ibid, 1998). Rainer Kretz knows a lot about British birds as well Ancient British coins (he was the Celtic expert who famously identified the birds on Norfolk Wolf gold staters, Chris Rudd List 48, 1999, pp.3-9). So we find his duck theory fascinatingly convincing. Might it account for the wings and winged objects we see on coins of the North Thames region, e.g. ABC 2338-44, 2365-68, 2383, 2433-42, 2457, 2467, 2478-81, 2526? Maybe the duck was a personal mascot of Cassivellaunos? Note that the Winged Helmet silver unit, ABC 2472, shows a male head with moustache and wearing a winged helmet and that “Dr John Sills believes that the helmeted head may be a stylised representation of Cassivellaunos” (Ancient British Coins, p.125). There is an exclusive feature of the Duck Helmet type not previously explained, but excellently exhibited on John Follows’ outstanding example, and that is the ringed corn ear – we also called it a ‘vulval leaf motif’ in 1998 – which occurs both above and below the double-annulate horse. These two corn ears are significant for two reasons: firstly, because they tie the Duck Helmet silver unit to the Middle Whaddon Chase gold stater, Curved Wreath Type, ABC 2445 (Lot 37), which also displays two ringed corn ears and which, like the Winged Helmet silver unit, ABC 2472, may have been struck by Cassivellaunos; secondly, because bronze ducks from Gaul and Britain often have a grain of wheat or ritual biscuit in their beak, including the duck carrying the goddess Sequana, which perhaps gives added credibility to Dr Anne Ross’ suggestion that the goddess shown on the Duck Helmet coin is Brigit, whose name means ‘exalted one’ and who may be linked with the deity who gave her name to the Brigantes ‘the high ones’ of northern Britain. Finally, we’re thrilled to tell you that we’ve spotted a third duck on John Follows’ most delightful Duck Helmet, clearly and completely floating above the horse’s tail. We’ve seen no other Duck Helmet which displays this third duck with such clarity. Without doubt John Follows’ Duck Helmet is the finest ever offered for public sale. Published in Coin News, April 2020 (this coin). Not in Van Arsdell, Spink nor the British Museum.
Chris Rudd Auction 170 - John Follows Collection Part 2
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Norfolk
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