04-26-2013, 05:12 PM
Robert Vermaat wrote:
one of the difficulties of the artist was to show as much of the face of the men as possible. Meaning that nasals, closed cheekplates etc were 'dropped' and that perspective forced the artist to portray something that did not resemble an actually existing helmet.
Nathan Ross wrote:
But do we know this? Or is it just an assumption?
Nathan, we know that it happened. That is why depictions of Roman soldiers of a hundred, or even fifty years ago look so outdated, "Asterix&Obelix"-like: what had seemed like Attic helmets with tiny, chin-strap cheek-plates turned out to be Weisenau helmets with fairly huge cheek-plates, etc.
Robert Vermaat wrote:
Perhaps artists drew from earlier examples... the so-called 'Attic helmet' may not have been a reality but a product of artistic licence.
Nathan Ross wrote:
Perhaps - if there were any earlier examples.
Why yes, the obvious precursors of all these types of helmets are the Hellenistic helmets of the Phrygian, Pilos, Beoetian and Apulian-Corinthian types. This even led to the assumption that these helmets were still used well into the Middle Ages (Ortwin Gamber).
But did they? Time will tell. Until then, I stick to what has been found, Byzantine conical kettle-hats, but they are of a much later date.
one of the difficulties of the artist was to show as much of the face of the men as possible. Meaning that nasals, closed cheekplates etc were 'dropped' and that perspective forced the artist to portray something that did not resemble an actually existing helmet.
Nathan Ross wrote:
But do we know this? Or is it just an assumption?
Nathan, we know that it happened. That is why depictions of Roman soldiers of a hundred, or even fifty years ago look so outdated, "Asterix&Obelix"-like: what had seemed like Attic helmets with tiny, chin-strap cheek-plates turned out to be Weisenau helmets with fairly huge cheek-plates, etc.
Robert Vermaat wrote:
Perhaps artists drew from earlier examples... the so-called 'Attic helmet' may not have been a reality but a product of artistic licence.
Nathan Ross wrote:
Perhaps - if there were any earlier examples.
Why yes, the obvious precursors of all these types of helmets are the Hellenistic helmets of the Phrygian, Pilos, Beoetian and Apulian-Corinthian types. This even led to the assumption that these helmets were still used well into the Middle Ages (Ortwin Gamber).
But did they? Time will tell. Until then, I stick to what has been found, Byzantine conical kettle-hats, but they are of a much later date.
