'Double Owl Helmet', Gold and Platinum Leaf Relief by Diyana

#N-0138: 'Double Owl Helmet', Gold and Platinum Leaf Relief by Diyana
By Diyana (British, b. London)
British, 2025
Height 47cm, width 32cm, depth 2cm

This contemporary relief depicts an ancient Greek warrior's helmet worked in high-relief gilding against a white ground. It is a one-of-a-kind, handmade original by the London-born artist Diyana, and is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity.
The work is made on a solid panel of marine plywood, the background finished in a white acrylic pour. The helmet is executed in embossed, high-relief gilding, using 23.5-carat gold leaf, 22-carat rose gold leaf, 23-carat red gold leaf and platinum leaf. The choice of high-carat metals is deliberate: gold below 22 carats will tarnish over time, and platinum leaf is used in place of white gold for the same reason. The relief technique gives the helmet a three-dimensional presence, and the reflective surfaces shift with the intensity and colour of the surrounding light.
The form of the helmet is based on ancient Greek helmets preserved in museum collections. Above the brow, a pair of confronting owls flank a central rosette, drawn from the Athenian silver tetradrachm, which bore the helmeted head of Athena on one side and her owl on the other. Stylised daisies and beaded borders, likewise taken from ancient Greek ornament, complete the design.
For the artist, the paired owls carry a particular meaning. Long seen as keepers of hidden knowledge, owls speak to a connection with wisdom and to the encouragement to trust one's intuition. Seen together, two owls are read as a symbol of partnership and balance, messengers thought to carry guidance from those who came before, and territorial creatures that in pairs mark and defend their boundaries — all qualities, in the artist's words, of a distinguished warrior.
Diyana is a London-born contemporary artist of British and Serbian heritage. Trained from a young age at professional ballet and performing-arts schools, she was accepted into The English National Ballet School and performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Sadler's Wells and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, before appearing in European film and television. Living between Athens, Rome and Paris deepened an interest in the cultures, philosophy and mythology that now shape her art. A self-taught artist who began working during the pandemic, she was drawn to gold-leaf gilding through her love of light-reflecting materials and through her father's work as an antique-furniture restorer. This piece belongs to her second collection, devoted to the warrior helmets of the ancient world, following her Winged Angel collection first exhibited in Vatican City, Rome.
Accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity.
$11,250