leather cuirass

[Theodosius the Great]

Avete,

I've been following the thread with some interest especially since it has digressed into the subject of color in Roman art.
Yes, there are examples of metalic objects (armor, helmets, shields) depicted with shades of a single color
to represent glares and shadows. Here's a splendid example from Santa Maggiore in Rome (early 5th century AD) :



Depending on the century the Romans and Byzantines could be quite sucessful in creating the illusion of three dimensional
figures using color variations to represent light and shadow.

~Theo

in Roman art they simplify it by making it a solid colour, apparently as close to the original material as possible.

You don't know that for sure, Matt, unless you've been time travelling again. :wink:

I've seen as much form in Roman art, showing shading and relief, as I have in anything by Giotto.

Ok, fair enough, however any nuances in metallic objects are shown using a tint of the same basic colour. Light yellow and yellow for example. I haven't seen every painting and fresco, so I can't say for certain. I can only comment on what I've seen so far. Do you have pictures that show metalic items made up of multiple, different colours?