pugio whit bone handle

[munazio planco]

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avete omnes


In the British museum there is a fragment of a pugio handle similar in the form at the normal metallic handle but in bone.

I did this reproduction for look the effect...and is very very elegant...

valete

[Virilis]

Wow, it certainly is elegant!!!!

[Crispvs]

The grip plate I believe you are talking about is actually in the Museum of London, rather than the British Museuem. A very similar example is known from Heddernheim in Germany. The originals were actually fitted to pugios with rod tangs and both retain a hole which runs from top to bottom to accommodate these tangs. Both are slightly larger than normal grip plates and both are recessed on one side only to accommodate a normal sized grip plate (presumably of inlaid iron).

Be that as it, I think you have done an excellent job and your reconstruction looks very nice indeed. Although no bone grip plates of exactly that form are known, I think it is very likely that they would have existed and have often thought of making a grip of exactly the type you have made myself. Well done on a very nice piece of work!

Crispvs

[munazio planco]

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avete Omnes


Crispvs you are very good observator infact when I started to decide to do this handle I had in front of me the picture (one design) in the "weapons of the romans of michel fougere" of the repert in the british museum.

I was surprise because in fact the handle look strange..is not half part(like metallic handle) but more than half...and ,like you observ,the tang look like in the inside.I was tinking and thinking how to do and all the solution whit this part that was more than half was not good.In fact..if they wonted the tang in inside of the handle..was mpore simple do like for the gladius..the tang inside the handle and the handle full and not half. So i decided to use this impression...if there is this repert is sure that romans used the same tecnik of construction of normal pugiones for the handle for organic handle too...so i did a normal handle only in bone.

the result is very impressive..I was surprise in fact very fast i did an other pugio in habdle for myself (in the photo is in left)because the effects is very elegant..i love bone and ivory..I love.

anyway I tink you will see this pugio in Chester because is for a praetorian of the cohors V praetoria of czech republic.

[Doc]

Crispvs,

I am not sure what you mean when you are saying that the bone grip plates are recessed on one side only to accomodate a normal size grip. Is the bone grip not the only grip? Where does the iron come in.

[Crispvs]

PierPaolo, very nice work indeed!

Doc,

Both the Heddernheim and Museum of London examples are missing their guards but both are much thicker than normal grip plates and have holes which run through them to accommodate rod tangs. Each thus formed a one piece (or two if the guards were separate, as they may have been) handle. However, both also exhibit recesses on one side which correspond to the shape and size of a normal grip plate. It seems reasonable therefore to suggest that the recesses may have been filled with normal iron grip plates.

As an aside, just to clear up the confusion about the museum, Fugere is mistaken when he says the plate is in the British Museum. It is in the Museum of London. I have seen it there myself.

Crispvs

[munazio planco]

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avete Omnes


this is the immagine of the grip,is possible to see that tang desappiring in the handle and that one half is not half but more than half...very strange.

[Doc]

Crispvs,


I see now from the picture the recess. So it appears as if the inside part was inlaid
with a metal. Then the inlaid part touched the tang not the bone itself.

It appears the reverse of normal grips where organic material or bone is sandwiched between
the outer metal grip plates whereas here, the metal plate is in the middle of the
outer bone grip