06-18-2007, 10:15 PM
I am afraid that I am confused.
"It has to be flexible enough to bend, but rigid enough to hold the muscled shape. In terms of rigidity we have everything from the flaccid example above to absolutely rigid images, (which some dispute are leather but are bronze but that would also apply to all pteruges which in some cases are molded and clearly leather as well) and everything in between. "
It seems to me that there is a contradiction here. Any material which holds a shape is unlikely to be absolutely flaccid - and some of the sculptural examples cited here are pretty darn close to absolutely flaccid, bending 90 degrees over a distance of less than an inch (or so, since I don't have a scale for the figures).
Is something that is as foldable as a sheet of canvas going to maintain a "muscular" shape? Or are we dealing with else, strong enough for pteruges to hang from, but otherwise insubstantial?
Any leather thin enough to drape like some of the sculptural examples shown has no defensive value. It is as much "armour" as a pith helmet was to the British army, or a pickelhaube to the Kaiser's troops.
The only form of effective armour that is totally flaccid (that I can think of) is mail.
"It has to be flexible enough to bend, but rigid enough to hold the muscled shape. In terms of rigidity we have everything from the flaccid example above to absolutely rigid images, (which some dispute are leather but are bronze but that would also apply to all pteruges which in some cases are molded and clearly leather as well) and everything in between. "
It seems to me that there is a contradiction here. Any material which holds a shape is unlikely to be absolutely flaccid - and some of the sculptural examples cited here are pretty darn close to absolutely flaccid, bending 90 degrees over a distance of less than an inch (or so, since I don't have a scale for the figures).
Is something that is as foldable as a sheet of canvas going to maintain a "muscular" shape? Or are we dealing with else, strong enough for pteruges to hang from, but otherwise insubstantial?
Any leather thin enough to drape like some of the sculptural examples shown has no defensive value. It is as much "armour" as a pith helmet was to the British army, or a pickelhaube to the Kaiser's troops.
The only form of effective armour that is totally flaccid (that I can think of) is mail.
Felix Wang
