CIRCA 350-300 B.C.

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 seen here. Partially-preserved hinges are visible along the upper edge of both the breast- and back-plate, to which a shoulder-plate would have been attached to secure both sides. The back-plate features two riveted loops near the lower disk for the attachment of now-missing side-plates. For a similar example preserving parts of the shoulder-plates, see the one in the Getty Villa, no. 205 in M. True and K. Hamma, eds., A Passion For Antiquities: Ancient Art from the Collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman.