Combat scene on Mycenaean seal from Pylos

[Duncan Head]

A posting on dbmmlist links to an article describing the combat scene:
https://phys.org/news/2017-11-team-rare-minoan-sealstone-treasure-laden.html

The detail and realism of the seal is praised as unprecedented, but the content of the combat-scene is similar to several known Mycenaean examples, as illustrated at http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/shields1.htm

This seal is from the same "Griffin warrior" tomb discussed here in http://soa.org.uk/sm/index.php?topic=1921

[Dangun]

An amazing object at only about 2cm across.
I hope they dig something up by the same artist on a bigger scale.

I know nothing about the period, so please excuse the potentally dumb question...
But what do you think the guy on the left is holding in his left hand? (Ignoring the fact he looks to be wearing a watch  ) Is he really tearing the plume off the other guy's helmet?

The club hanging at his waist also looks like it might be open/hollow at one end...

The concavity of the shield is interesting...

[Patrick Waterson]

I know nothing about the period, so please excuse the potentally dumb question...
But what do you think the guy on the left is holding in his left hand? (Ignoring the fact he looks to be wearing a watch  ) Is he really tearing the plume off the other guy's helmet?

He is holding the plume base (the prominent curve from the helmet itself) and using it to turn the opponent's head, disorientating him and setting him up for a stab to the heart between neck and collarbone.  This sort of approach takes skill and timing to a degree evidently not attained by the swordsman's prone compatriot, but presumably attained by enough warriors to make this form of 'horn' crest subsequently unfashionable.

The watch is of course a portable sundial ... no, seriously, it looks like a bracelet.

The club hanging at his waist also looks like it might be open/hollow at one end...

Yes, it does, but only on the 'digitally altered' line drawing, not in the original - or at least I cannot see any basis for it even at maximum magnification under View Image.

The concavity of the shield is interesting...

And characteristic of round(ish) body-shields of this period (the rectangular tower, dipylon 'figure of eight' and semi-dipylon shields - shown on the Salimbeti page Duncan linked - exhibit less concavity).  If we assume form follows function, it suggests a warrior prepared to duel or to face multiple opponents to his front; in any event, it is the shield of a man who takes missiles very seriously.  It is also, like the rectangular tower shield, the shield of a man who intends to use his spear one-handed: the figure-of-eight shield is usually shown with a two-handed spear grasp.

[Duncan Head]

The club hanging at his waist also looks like it might be open/hollow at one end...

That's because it's not a club, it's the scabbard for his sword. Compare the scabbards of the spearmen on the Admiral's House fresco from Thera - http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/images/bodyshield01.jpg, especially the guy at the far left - for scabbards with similar flared ends.

[Patrick Waterson]

Yes, that is it.  Good spot, Duncan - or, as I suspect, superior knowledge.

[Erpingham]

Beautiful piece of work. 

For some reason, the action made me think of Brad Pitt at the beginning of Troy (though this may be a faulty memory - long time since I saw it).

Regarding the prone compatriot, are we sure he isn't on the side of the guy with the shield?  They both wear skirts, whereas the dreadlocked hero is wearing a loincloth.  But then, he does have the same type of sword scabbard as the hero, so who knows?

[Justin Swanton]

Beautiful piece of work. 

For some reason, the action made me think of Brad Pitt at the beginning of Troy (though this may be a faulty memory - long time since I saw it).

You're thinking of this scene. 

[Erpingham]

Beautiful piece of work. 

For some reason, the action made me think of Brad Pitt at the beginning of Troy (though this may be a faulty memory - long time since I saw it).

You're thinking of this scene. 

That's the one

[Patrick Waterson]

Regarding the prone compatriot, are we sure he isn't on the side of the guy with the shield?  They both wear skirts, whereas the dreadlocked hero is wearing a loincloth.  But then, he does have the same type of sword scabbard as the hero, so who knows?

It is a thought: he does have a similar-looking skirt and a lack of wrist ornamentation, but also a conspicuous lack of discarded spear, shield and/or helmet.  His lower half is facing the shieldsman while his upper half is more equivocal.  The presence of a sword plus adjacent scabbard suggests this was what he was using when he died, unless we assume the scabbard was from an individual not depicted.

A seal would in all probability be making some sort of point, in which case a single heroic individual smiting multiple opponents would be consistent with a bit of self-promotion on the part of the user.

[Dangun]

That's because it's not a club, it's the scabbard for his sword.

That would explain the opening at one end of the "club"!
Any thoughts on what the bulb is for on the pointy end of the scabbard?

Its odd that the prone man's scabbard has actually fallen off. Maybe that's why he died 

[Duncan Head]

Any thoughts on what the bulb is for on the pointy end of the scabbard?

I would assume simply decorative, basically a large chape.

The Pylos example does look spherical, whereas other depictions (like the Thera fresco) could pass for flattish, just a widening of the sheath as in C19th Sudanese scabbards - http://www.swordsantiqueweapons.com/s261_full.html for instance.

[Patrick Waterson]

I wonder if the 'bulb' could be a grip, or more accurately a stop, for the free hand to assist rapid extraction of the sword.  A sweaty hand on a smooth shaft might need a bit of backup to provide the traction for parting scabbard from sword.

Otherwise, as Duncan says, probably decorative, and maybe also a means of ensuring the sword point does not work its way through the end of the scabbard.

[Anton]

I suppose it illustrates the sort of heroic feat a highly trained and skilled warrior might be expected to pull off.  I was very taken by it.

[Erpingham]

I suppose it illustrates the sort of heroic feat a highly trained and skilled warrior might be expected to pull off.  I was very taken by it.

It may reflect a heroic tale we no longer have.  I notice that the same composition is seen on one of the seals on the page Duncan linked to, though this is a league above that in quality.

[Dangun]

I wonder if the 'bulb' could be: (1) a grip, or more accurately a stop, for the free hand to assist rapid extraction of the sword....

Otherwise, as Duncan says, (2) probably decorative, and (3) maybe also a means of ensuring the sword point does not work its way through the end of the scabbard.

Of the three, I like suggestion number 3 because its got utility. Good thought.