I stumbled across Burns' 2005 thesis on the South Italic Warrior's Panoply https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1445381/2/Burns_1445381_thesis.pdf and it seems to be a very good collection of source material with line drawings of e.g. tunic patterns and shield blazons.
Does anyone know of a similar collection of Etruscan material?
There is a thesis by Hall which sounds promising but the figures are in a supplement which is restricted access. https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/91117/
I am mostly interested in the shields and the latest period where aspides were carried (which is a whole other argument!)
There are the Giglioli shields, but is the red and white colour scheme really typical.
So many online pictures seem to assume they just use the same mix of shields as Greece, but the South Italic sources show a much narrower selection, and even Greek designs vary with region and by time.
I am afraid I cannot help you but I do want to thank you for linking me to those two sources as I am (slowly) working on expanding my Etruscan, Samnite and South Italian forces.
It is interesting given the frequency of depictions of hoplites in Etruscan art how few examples of designs there are. In part this is because the Etruscans were more interested in showing the warrior than the shield, so the figure is often before the back of the shield. The "concentric" style of the Giglioli shields is seen elsewhere, even if the colour scheme may vary. E.g. these from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/gr/original/DP320494.jpg)
(https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/246267/543192/main-image)
I have a large selection of photos showing shield designs on pottery taken from my visits to Etruscan Museums in Fiesole, Rome, and the Vatican. I am not sure if those would be helpful in your quest.
Quote from: Swampster on September 27, 2023, 09:38:30 AMI stumbled across Burns' 2005 thesis on the South Italic Warrior's Panoply https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1445381/2/Burns_1445381_thesis.pdf and it seems to be a very good collection of source material with line drawings of e.g. tunic patterns and shield blazons.
Sounds really interesting and useful.
Quote from: Jon Freitag on September 27, 2023, 08:46:26 PMI have a large selection of photos showing shield designs on pottery taken from my visits to Etruscan Museums in Fiesole, Rome, and the Vatican. I am not sure if those would be helpful in your quest.
Sounds like they would be useful, thanks.
Quote from: Jon Freitag on September 27, 2023, 08:46:26 PMI have a large selection of photos showing shield designs on pottery taken from my visits to Etruscan Museums in Fiesole, Rome, and the Vatican. I am not sure if those would be helpful in your quest.
The problem with pottery depictions is most of the pottery is Greek, so it shows Greek practice. So, it needs to be handled carefully to answer whether Etruscans used Greek-style shield decoration. Similar issues occur with Etruscan seals (many of which show hoplites) - portable and importable.
Quote from: Erpingham on September 28, 2023, 10:42:27 AMThe problem with pottery depictions is most of the pottery is Greek, so it shows Greek practice. So, it needs to be handled carefully to answer whether Etruscans used Greek-style shield decoration. Similar issues occur with Etruscan seals (many of which show hoplites) - portable and importable.
I have trouble discerning Greek from Etruscan...
Quote from: Jon Freitag on September 28, 2023, 04:19:45 PMQuote from: Erpingham on September 28, 2023, 10:42:27 AMThe problem with pottery depictions is most of the pottery is Greek, so it shows Greek practice. So, it needs to be handled carefully to answer whether Etruscans used Greek-style shield decoration. Similar issues occur with Etruscan seals (many of which show hoplites) - portable and importable.
I have trouble discerning Greek from Etruscan...
Likewise, hence the need to be clear on the attribution.
I am sure tgat I read somewhere that the shields on the urns might not represent individuals, but a standard piece of art produced as standard and sold as a generic product. That likelihood might be enhanced if the funerary container was an import.
The tomb paintings might well depict individual patterns.
Roy
There are some blazoned shields on bronze cistae - the Revil cist (https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Drawing-of-the-Revil-cist-Praeneste-325-300-BC-After-Bordenache-Battaglia-1979-pl_fig7_333107271) for example - though this and many others are from Praeneste, which tends to get included as "Etruscan art" although the city was at least partly Latin.
Thanks for the ideas.
I am staying with the fairly limited palette and adding a few symbols from coins for a bit of variety.
On a probably not related point (especially as it is near Salerno), there was a new story with a very nice tomb find. https://www.stilearte.it/lavori-alla-rete-idrica-a-giugliano-scoperta-tomba-romana-con-due-sepolture-e-splendidi-affreschi-i-corredi-sono-intatti/
The clipeus is very nicely painted but plain bronze. The date may well be late Republic - there is only a vague 2000 year old age given in the article. This Italian article makes a big thing of the polished surface being connected with Perseus's shield, though the rest of the iconography doesn't really fit. It may well be plain simply so the artist can show off.