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Lot Essay
Early Italic bronze body armour consisted of a protective disc positioned over the heart, called a kardiophylakes. Over time this evolved into the triangular-shaped triple-disk cuirass. As the Italic peoples encountered the Greeks who had colonized the southern coasts, they soon adopted from them the anatomical cuirass. The Italic version, as seen here, did not cover the entire torso in the Greek manner, thus it functioned more similarly to the earlier, traditional triple-disk cuirass. In addition, the Samnite version displays highly-stylized musculature in contrast to the naturalism of contemporary Greek examples.
This cuirass is composed of a breast-and back-plate, the edges of which are perforated, likely for attachment of a leather or felt lining. Along their upper edges and sides are bronze plaques embellished with a wave pattern that connected to hinged plates that protected the shoulders and sides. Two hinged rectangular plates are preserved, one with a beaded border and a hook extending from a palmette. For a related cuirass see no. 243 in J. Chamay, et al., The Art of the Italic Peoples from 3000 to 300 BC. For a warrior on a Lucanian tomb painting from Paestum wearing similar armour, see pl. X in J.G. Pedley, Paestum, Greeks and Romans in Southern Italy.
This cuirass is composed of a breast-and back-plate, the edges of which are perforated, likely for attachment of a leather or felt lining. Along their upper edges and sides are bronze plaques embellished with a wave pattern that connected to hinged plates that protected the shoulders and sides. Two hinged rectangular plates are preserved, one with a beaded border and a hook extending from a palmette. For a related cuirass see no. 243 in J. Chamay, et al., The Art of the Italic Peoples from 3000 to 300 BC. For a warrior on a Lucanian tomb painting from Paestum wearing similar armour, see pl. X in J.G. Pedley, Paestum, Greeks and Romans in Southern Italy.