Leather Cuirass Lorica Musculata, I used to think no way but

[Magnus]

Hey Anthony, what about painting it (once it's smooth) with some kind of metal flake paint? Awesome job, by the way in your fabrication.

There's a few points on Travis's site I don't agree with though...he mentions how no Roman musculata have been found...yet how many tribune/legate helmets have we found? None...to me this is a mout point. Any numerous explanations as to why this is so is easily plausible. The fact that numerically there were few emperors, tribunes and legates vs rank and file soldiers now reduces the % chance of finding such a piece of equipment dramatically. Honestly, who knows what could have happened to their gear. A lot went on from the time they were in use to now.

He also uses the example of an Antonine era general from the Bergama Museum in Turkey. Showing a what he says to be a leather muscled cuirass beside him on the ground because of how it is folded over. Have you ever seen non-boiled or hardened leather bend like that? How about regular leather...leaves terrible creases in it, and I VERY much doubt that if there was any shaping done to the leather especially on the upper body for the pectoral muscles, that A) it would bend like that, and B) the person who owned it would WANT to bend it like that because it would probably WRECK IT.

Unfortunately, I have not seen that statue up close, but that makes absolutely no sense at all. One oddball piece of statuary a "rule or standard" does not make. You'll have a hard time convincing me that an important officer of extremely high rank and status, not to mention finances is going to wear a piece of filthy animal hide on his body, no matter how it's been rendered.

Though I will agree, that components of the musculata was definately leather! You need both material types to make a functional armour, dress or combat.