I am currently reading "The Goths" by Simon MacDowall (I have previously read his book "The Vandals, does anyone know if there are coming more Germanic books from him?)
The impression I got is that Goths (and Vandals) were clean shaven ("The two men in front are more like Goths who were usually clean shaven"), but most of the recent 28mm figures seems to always have beard and moustache (for example Gripping Beast's new figures for Saga or Footsore).
My question is this, have I misunderstood it and they should have moustache and beard, or are the miniatures wrong? If clean shaven is correct, are there anyone making clean shaven Goths?
We don't have many illustrations that are unequivocally Goths, but what we have indicate that they could be either clean shaven or Bearded.
There is a medallion of Theoderic the Great that shows him with a moustache, but clean shaven. Coins of Theodahad and Totila show a moustache with no beard.
The soldiers on the ivory panels of the chair of Bishop Maximian, who are likely Goths or other East Germans in Roman service are both bearded and clean shaven. IIRC the transcriptions of the reliefs from the Theodosian column show beards and clean shaven.
Roy
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michele_Minardi/publication/282855149/figure/fig20/AS:284707020394497@1444890851098/A-Ravenna-chair-of-Maximianus-Barbarian-guards-mid-sixth-century-AD-detail-after.png
Other panels from the chair show clean shaven!
Riy
Discussion of Theodoric's moustache here (http://marcus.group.shef.ac.uk/ancient-beards-and-gothic-moustaches-facial-hair-in-rome/).
Before the migrations into the Empire there is less evidence; but I can't find any trace of razors in Chernyakhov archaeology...