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Real Deal Spolas
#91
That is magnificent, the finest Bronze Age cuirass I have seen since the replica of the Dendra panoply. Your project appeals to me enormously: the spolas is a depiction of Achilles as the Greeks of the early Classical period saw him, projecting their own military methods onto a far distant age; the bronze cuirass is an accurate depiction of what Achilles' panoply must have looked like.

Incidentally, for those interested, the Dendra panoply was found at Mycenae and dates c. 1450-1400 B.C.E., nearly three hundred years prior to the traditional date of the Trojan War -- 1194-1184. It is a magnificent but very heavy suit of armour likely worn in chariot warfare. The Achilles and Agamemnon panoplies alluded to here are rather more advanced and far lighter.

This is wonderful, first rate stuff.
Patrick J. Gray

'' Now. Close your eyes. It's but a short step to the boat, a short pull across the river.''
''And then?''
''And then, I promise you, you'll dream a different story altogether''

From ''I, Claudius'', by J. Pulman after R. Graves.
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#92
Thanks Patrick! Hildebrandt is a top class armour maker, and I am lucky to have work from him. He based it on a variety of finds, but it is pure conjecture, though the helmet and shield of the panoply are described in some detail, the cuirass is not, the armour described only as shining like a "fire".

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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#93
Yes, it is of course conjectural -- I got rather over-excited! We have ''richly wrought'' and ''spangled with stars'', of the earthly armour, and of the Olympian panoply, of copper, tin (i.e. bronze)  from Book Eighteen, we have the elaborate detail you allude to (in Butler's prose translation):

''First he shaped the shield so great and strong, adorning it all over and binding it round with a gleaming circuit in three layers; and the baldric was made of silver. He made the shield in five thicknesses, and with many a wonder did his cunning hand enrich it. 

He wrought the earth, the heavens, and the sea; the moon also at her full and the untiring sun, with all the signs that glorify the face of heaven- the Pleiads, the Hyads, huge Orion, and the Bear, which men also call the Wain and which turns round ever in one place, facing. Orion, and alone never dips into the stream of Oceanus. 

He wrought also two cities, fair to see and busy with the hum of men. In the one were weddings and wedding-feasts, and they were going about the city with brides whom they were escorting by torchlight from their chambers. Loud rose the cry of Hymen, and the youths danced to the music of flute and lyre, while the women stood each at her house door to see them. 

Meanwhile the people were gathered in assembly, for there was a quarrel, and two men were wrangling about the blood-money for a man who had been killed, the one saying before the people that he had paid damages in full, and the other that he had not been paid. Each was trying to make his own case good, and the people took sides, each man backing the side that he had taken; but the heralds kept them back, and the elders sate on their seats of stone in a solemn circle, holding the staves which the heralds had put into their hands. Then they rose and each in his turn gave judgement, and there were two talents laid down, to be given to him whose judgement should be deemed the fairest. 

About the other city there lay encamped two hosts in gleaming armour, and they were divided whether to sack it, or to spare it and accept the half of what it contained. But the men of the city would not yet consent, and armed themselves for a surprise; their wives and little children kept guard upon the walls, and with them were the men who were past fighting through age; but the others sallied forth with Mars and Pallas Minerva at their head- both of them wrought in gold and clad in golden raiment, great and fair with their armour as befitting gods, while they that followed were smaller. When they reached the place where they would lay their ambush, it was on a riverbed to which live stock of all kinds would come from far and near to water; here, then, they lay concealed, clad in full armour. Some way off them there were two scouts who were on the look-out for the coming of sheep or cattle, which presently came, followed by two shepherds who were playing on their pipes, and had not so much as a thought of danger. When those who were in ambush saw this, they cut off the flocks and herds and killed the shepherds. Meanwhile the besiegers, when they heard much noise among the cattle as they sat in council, sprang to their horses, and made with all speed towards them; when they reached them they set battle in array by the banks of the river, and the hosts aimed their bronze-shod spears at one another. With them were Strife and Riot, and fell Fate who was dragging three men after her, one with a fresh wound, and the other unwounded, while the third was dead, and she was dragging him along by his heel: and her robe was bedrabbled in men's blood. They went in and out with one another and fought as though they were living people haling away one another's dead. 

He wrought also a fair fallow field, large and thrice ploughed already. Many men were working at the plough within it, turning their oxen to and fro, furrow after furrow. Each time that they turned on reaching the headland a man would come up to them and give them a cup of wine, and they would go back to their furrows looking forward to the time when they should again reach the headland. The part that they had ploughed was dark behind them, so that the field, though it was of gold, still looked as if it were being ploughed- very curious to behold. 

He wrought also a field of harvest corn, and the reapers were reaping with sharp sickles in their hands. Swathe after swathe fell to the ground in a straight line behind them, and the binders bound them in bands of twisted straw. There were three binders, and behind them there were boys who gathered the cut corn in armfuls and kept on bringing them to be bound: among them all the owner of the land stood by in silence and was glad. The servants were getting a meal ready under an oak, for they had sacrificed a great ox, and were busy cutting him up, while the women were making a porridge of much white barley for the labourers' dinner. 

He wrought also a vineyard, golden and fair to see, and the vines were loaded with grapes. The bunches overhead were black, but the vines were trained on poles of silver. He ran a ditch of dark metal all round it, and fenced it with a fence of tin; there was only one path to it, and by this the vintagers went when they would gather the vintage. Youths and maidens all blithe and full of glee, carried the luscious fruit in plaited baskets; and with them there went a boy who made sweet music with his lyre, and sang the Linus-song with his clear boyish voice. 

He wrought also a herd of homed cattle. He made the cows of gold and tin, and they lowed as they came full speed out of the yards to go and feed among the waving reeds that grow by the banks of the river. Along with the cattle there went four shepherds, all of them in gold, and their nine fleet dogs went with them. Two terrible lions had fastened on a bellowing bull that was with the foremost cows, and bellow as he might they haled him, while the dogs and men gave chase: the lions tore through the bull's thick hide and were gorging on his blood and bowels, but the herdsmen were afraid to do anything, and only hounded on their dogs; the dogs dared not fasten on the lions but stood by barking and keeping out of harm's way. 

The god wrought also a pasture in a fair mountain dell, and large flock of sheep, with a homestead and huts, and sheltered sheepfolds. 

Furthermore he wrought a green, like that which Daedalus once made in Cnossus for lovely Ariadne. Hereon there danced youths and maidens whom all would woo, with their hands on one another's wrists. The maidens wore robes of light linen, and the youths well woven shirts that were slightly oiled. The girls were crowned with garlands, while the young men had daggers of gold that hung by silver baldrics; sometimes they would dance deftly in a ring with merry twinkling feet, as it were a potter sitting at his work and making trial of his wheel to see whether it will run, and sometimes they would go all in line with one another, and much people was gathered joyously about the green. There was a bard also to sing to them and play his lyre, while two tumblers went about performing in the midst of them when the man struck up with his tune. 

All round the outermost rim of the shield he set the mighty stream of the river Oceanus. 

Then when he had fashioned the shield so great and strong, he made a breastplate also that shone brighter than fire. He made helmet, close fitting to the brow, and richly worked, with a golden plume overhanging it; and he made greaves also of beaten tin.''
Patrick J. Gray

'' Now. Close your eyes. It's but a short step to the boat, a short pull across the river.''
''And then?''
''And then, I promise you, you'll dream a different story altogether''

From ''I, Claudius'', by J. Pulman after R. Graves.
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#94
Just lost a big post, bummer! Anyway, I'll have more to share on the shield eventually.

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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#95
Well, finished "backplate"  now need to work on scales for side panels.. Oh, added tie-down rings at gorgon's mouth, too. Oops. One more row of simple stitching to do on back..

[Image: 3vh5V81.jpg]

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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#96
Instead of cluttering this thread up with Bronze Age stuff, here is a link to the reconstruction of Agamemnon's cuirass.

http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=28063


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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#97
(02-07-2018, 08:28 AM)Dan Howard Wrote: Instead of cluttering this thread up with Bronze Age stuff, here is a link to the reconstruction of Agamemnon's cuirass.

http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=28063

Some finished scales and blanks:

[Image: v2cMopa.jpg]

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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#98
[Image: FANz7z8.jpg]



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Bronze (brass) closure hardware (buttons, really), sewn into place with 48 strands worth of linen cord each.  they pass through a small brass disk with two hole at center on back.  Also have finished ptyreges for side panels and cut going oat leather backing for scale side panels, and I'll cut out more scale tonight.

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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#99
should have more progress pics in a few days!

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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Whew..
Okay.  One scale panel done!  very thick scales, as it is on right side.  Next to sew it to front and back sections.

[Image: Iv7ABHU.jpg]

[Image: 5NAbu4G.jpg]

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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Attached to front.  A bit of work.

[Image: YQdiyQW.jpg]

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[Image: bzleA5D.jpg]

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
Reply
Connected to back panel. I made the decision a while back to make the ptyreges on the back panel about an inch shorter for comfort.
[Image: dFHjyKer.jpg]

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
Reply
I'm going to do a bit of cleanup at this point and improve a few things. I think I will drill the holes holding the lower rawhide border's top stitched on, clean through the breastplate, to make repairs easier. I will also reinforce sewing there. I will also continue the sewing line from backplate lower edging top stitching row, all the way to scale section as the bottom row does.

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
Reply
Okay, have taken a bit of a break to clean all the junk in my apartment and get organized again.  I will make a push soon to finish this, and then onto the twined armour; I've removed the linen facing I had begun sewing onto the twined core, so that I can attempt to recreate a specific piece of armour --it will be one of those from the Etruscan  depictions in Wearing the Cloak.

Qui sepeliunt capita sua in terra, deos volantes non videbunt.
--Flavius Flav 
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I mostly lurk and read since I am very under qualified to add any meaningful information to most discussions on this forum, but I have to break my radio silence to say that this is glorious. Truly inspiring.
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