Originally posted by PJ Deluhery@Feb 20 2006, 02:47 PM
I've wanted to do a figure like this for a long time - inspired by the movie Taras Bulba. It's an interesting time and subject.
It's an interesting period and subject indeed, not much covered in the mini-world. I have to admit that I knew next to nothing about Cossacks when I started this project.
I asked for help on the Planet and was assisted in my research by two pF members: Alexandre Khokhriakov (a.k.a. Fantomas) on the Russian/Ukrainian side and Dariusz Wielec (a.k.a. dario966) on the Polish side who sent me numerous picture files and enlightened me with their precious insights. Many thanks, guys!
But it's not until I finished reading Gogol's epic novel that my vision began to gel. It had to be Taras Bulba himself, a larger than life character but a much older man than the one portrayed by Yul Brynner in the 1962 film.
Another interesting point. The Zaporozhian Cossack state was surrounded by four major powers from which they had to defend themselves: the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth, Muscovy (Russian) state, the Crimean Tatars (of Mongol influence) and the Ottoman empire.
The influences of these four powers were reflected on the Cossack clothing and weaponry.
Therefore on the figure, the sharovary (baggy trousers) and waist sash were distinctly Turkish whereas the zhupan (long coat with the bunched up sleeves) was Polish-influenced. His sword is a Polish karabela with the distinctive eagle head shaped pommel. He's using his war hammer (a weapon used against armour and mail shirts) as a walking stick as was the fashion in Eastern Europe at the time.
The only two genuinely Cossack items about the figure are the oseledtsi hair style and the so-called Caucasian/Cossack pistol.
Thank you all, for your comments.
Now it's Painting time.
Quang
