Leather Cuirass

[Magnus]

Not all cuirasses flared at the bottom, but this artist was clearly trying to depict a cuirass that did. The two options are that the sculptor was an idiot who had no idea what a cuirass was or that he intended it to be that way. When someone would spend weeks and weeks working on a piece like this, I would assume that they knew what they were doing.

I like to think that possibly this sculptor was an idiot. I've seen people spend hours and hours on projects and have them turn out wrong because A) they didn't research it correctly, or B) they lacked an integral skill at craftsmenship. Either scenario is plausible in this case, given the inconsistancy of this piece. If the lorica was indeed flared at the bottom, then why not build up the edges of the neck and arms to show the folded brass edging, as on the real pieces? Again, totally inconsistent to be used as evidence.

Are you actually suggesting that information on how the ancients acted, dressed, and lived cannot be gleaned from art?

I'm saying that using only one source when it concerns drawing conclusions about the Romans is folly. Unless you can check it against archaeological finds, or something that has been found in the written record, you're going out on a limb. Period. Art is completely subject to the artist's interpretation, since we don't know to what degree that is, it's extremely difficult to make conclusions based on it. Especially this particular piece...

Comparing it to art today is not apt, as ancient art was created with much different goals and standards in mind than most modern artists. As with everything, it must be examined with an awareness of the context in which it was found and contemporary art.

Not all modern art is existential or abstract. Check out a life drawing class at a local college or university. Not to mention there are thousands and thousands of examples of accurate though aritistic renditions of people. Again, you don't know what you're getting when it comes to something done 2000 years ago that can't be cross-referenced against anything else.