I am pleased to announce my collaboration with Tartar Miniatures for this figure.
I already had followed the production of Tartar and I had understood the big potentiality about thematic “pre-roman warriors” and, when Sergey contacted me for a new figure that continues this series, I accepted his invitation.
Among the many possible subjects I chose a picenian warrior of VI/V Cent. B.C.; we disappoint at once “Fantasy”’s fans by saying that this is not a warrior from movie “Conan the Barbarian” but a real fighter of picenian culture of central Italy before the advent of the unifying power of Rome.
As my habit, a brief historical introduction and presentation of the documentation that led to the creation of this subject.
Note: all dates are B.C.
History.
It is assumed that the people who lived in present day regions of Marche and Abruzzo during the IX Cent. (Picenes - Plutarch, Picentes - Pliny, Polybius, Livy, Peucetians - Pseudo Scilace, Picentines - Strabo) was original of high Sabina, starts in response to a ritual migration and blended on site with achaean immigrants (Ancona - Ankòn - founded by Greek colonists, is called “Doric”); these peoples, whose name seems to mean “those of woodpecker” - the bird perched on their signs when they arrived at destination - (“Huius habitatores cum a Sabinis illuc properarent, in eorum vexillo picus consedit, atque hac de causa Picenus nomen accepit”, Paul. ex Fest. De verb. signif. 235 L - Historia Langobardorum II,19) - went in contact with villanovian culture at north and apulian culture at south; in the following centuries were increasingly intense influences of atesine culture (north), etruscan (west) and greek (through the Adriatic). All these contacts led to enrichment picenian culture in every field and, especially for our interest, in the military sector; figurate sources and funerary finds, in fact, show evidence of commingling italic (breast-plates and helmets) with greek types (corinthian helmets, greaves, armour and swords).
Documentation and realization.
The primary source from which the subject tract is the little bronze figure which adorns the handle of a vase of VI Cent. found in Treia (Macerata) and currently exposed in Pesaro (Library and Museums Oliveriani, photo 1); this man, on statuesque pose, holding his sides two horses and is virtually identical to the evidences from Belmonte Piceno (Tomba del Duce, first half VI Cent.), Tolentino (Tomba Porta del Ponte, first half VI Cent.) and Sirolo (second half VI Cent.) - pictures 1a and 1b by Author’s.
As you can see, this combination warrior/horses (so-called “Despòtes Tòn Hippòn” - “Lord of the Horses”) is an issue very often in picenian art and well shows ostentation of wealth of those, belonging to warrior aristocracy, could afford more than the rich bronze armies including the maintenance of horses. The element that struck me was the magnificent “horned” helmet wearing by fighter, naked, without greaves and only protected by a “bell” cuirass; this figure is virtually identical to the finds from Greece of Olympia and Aylos Kynouria (Osprey Elite Series 66, pages 5 and 63) with the only difference of helmets with ridges instead horns (and greaves): a valid reconstruction of this little statues is Fig. C1 of the same publication, that propose it as “Spartan King 6th Cent.”, with the only variation of the horizontal crest compared with original little bronzes. This diversity emphasize even more the picenian report confirming that the artist wanted to make evident the peculiarities of armour of this warrior. As seen, very often we come across specimens that reproduce fighters naked and/or wearing armour "over skin"; as well as our picenian warrior and the two bronzes mentioned we remember, for example, the “Dying Gaul” and “Capestrano’s Warrior”; we know that Gaesatoi fought so at Talamone, (Livy says that the Celts sometimes fought naked, “clothes only courage”, honor the gods), and in these cases there is no doubt that nudity must be seen as “deification” of warriors by artists.
We know that “horned” helmets, widespread in the ancient world, were used by Scandinavians, Celts, Achaeans, Shardana, Oscans and, just, Picenians; a specimen is clearly visible on much ruined tomb gravestone picture of IV Cent. in Via Crocefisso - Nola (picture 2); this cavalryman wears an “horned” Montefortino helmet whit a bronze horn and an iron horn (maybe no flat but conical?) but without “ears”; these appendages on picture are considered by some Italian modelists .... a kind of features stylized and/or idealized by sculptors and painters of ancient times!
I look for reports that confirm this structure and I recovered many imagines of similar “horned” helmets (greek style bronze “pilos” from Ruvo di Puglia, celtic and “Montefortino” types, etc.) but any identical, when I find a photo of an equal report than little bronze! I'm sorry cannot to document place of discovery and exposure of this report (picture 3, because photo is under copyright) but this subject, confirming the absolute reliability of ancient sources, deal a hard blow to those who store these curious “special” as fanciful art customs; in that regard, I forget the famous “Spittara’s stilts” (Magerius’s mosaic from Smirat, Tunisia - Sousse Museum Archéologique) and transparent t-shirt of Pompeii’s gladiators (tomb of C. Vestorius Priscus) that much ….. nervousness created in an Italian forum!
Here the helmet! Its morphology, although more bulky, is due to the model would evolved in such so-called "corinthian" type, in my opinion the most beautiful as a form of greek helmets; and this type was widespread in Italy (both in its original form that hybrid - etruscan-corinthian or apulian-corinthian) and, given the strictlying relations with the greek world, not surprising finding of these protections in the range in picenian burial tombs of time; outfits - of course - of individuals of high rank and high economic opportunities.
The structure of helmet is identical to specimen in London (VII Cent. - well reproduced in picture n° 8 page 61of “Greece and Rome at war”) with the outline that, from the point of a cheekguard to the other, maintains a straight profile with - strangely - a little resectable only near right ear! The dating of this report fits perfectly with the picenian handle and “horned” helmet. The helmet is surmounted by a pair of large horns - with two ears - attached to the tile (by pairs of brackets “L” riveted); watching the helmet is well known that these horns, flat and fluted, protruding tufts of hair hanging horses. The holes along the perimeter of the helmet - that served the attachment of padding - are clearly visible and these holes are present also on many greaves and breast-plates; it’s evident that metallic protections had inside stuffing of various materials, whether to avoid painful rubbing over skin that to mitigate received strokes; helmet and greave of this figure are intentionally proposed with evident outside lapel of this padding, fixed on metallic structure by seam.
The cuirass, as mentioned, is of “bell” type, with two shells held in place by fastenings passing into rings on the hips and shoulders, and eaves rather pronounced; seven good finds of this type, with eaves less clear, come from Marmesse (France) and are dated X-VIII Century; a beautiful report is from Argos, photo n° 17 page 53 in “Armi ed armature dei Greci”, reproduced in picture in “Greece and Rome at War” (figures 1-2, page 55).
The picenian “handle” figure has not greaves or shield and weapons (recovered in large numbers and types - straight or curved blade swords, daggers, spears and cusps and club heads!). Regarding the clubs, presumably symbols of authority comparable the scepters, it seems they were used by picenian warriors - unique in Italy - even as weapons of fight!
The soldier, therefore, was rebuilt with “bell” cuirass - worn over a tunic of heavy cloth, and thus little draped - “horned” helmet and deliberately, with only the left greave (by finding Campovalano, but those protections, individual and in pairs, albeit slightly later, are frequent in funerary reports from Numana, Novilara, Verrucchio and Ancona). For the realization of his tunic were used two bronzes in character from Roccaspinalveti; scholars discern in these figures as Frentani (or Carecini) warriors and both wearing helmets and greaves. 4a picture seems to wear a tunic perhaps padded with short sleeves and narrow at the waist by a belt, while 4b perhaps wearing a leather vest from which protrudes a short “pleated” skirt; clothing of this kind were much common during the fourth century and maybe already in use in the before centuries.
- end part 1
Sorry for my no good english and for any translation errors
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