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Unknown artist

Roundel for a shield or breast plate, early 600s BCE-late 500s BCE

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Title

Roundel for a shield or breast plate

Year

early 600s BCE-late 500s BCE

Medium

Bronze

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • bronze

Dimensions

Diameter: 22.9 cm (9 inches)

Type

  • Metalwork

Credit

Gift of Mr. Walter C. Baker

Object Number

46.563

Projects & Publications

Publications

Classical Bronzes

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

The Villanovans are often characterized as warrior-farmers. Using the various mines and metal ores at their disposal, they became experts in metalworking, equipping themselves with bronze weapons. A disc like this one would have been used as armor. It was either suspended in front of the warrior’s heart (thus the term kardiophylakes, or “heart protectors”) or inserted into a wooden shield that would be carried. These discs often included depictions of animals. The deer represented here might illustrate a local pride in indigenous fauna. The design of this disc, with its concentric circles and abstract patterns, was influenced by Greek Geometric style.

Weiss Ancient Art Gallery

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Roundel for a shield or breast plate with the accession number of 46.563. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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