03-02-2014, 05:44 PM
Nathan, thanks for posting those images. I wonder if I might impose and ask about the larger context of the first two?
The reason I ask is that the Armenian casket carving is of two soldiers saluting a presumed officer. Interesting details include the fact that the two soldiers are posing in almost identical stances with their hands raised and their shields grasped in a formal manner and not by the inner handle. The 'officer' is represented slightly differently in that he carries what I assume is either a spear or a military standard and his own shield is held by the boss (and in the right hand). This scene is a formalised one and tells a little story of two soldiers recognising/saluting an officer - or perhaps the standard he carries.
Your first two images are also in a wider context, I think, and I am curious about what that context is and if it bears similarities to the casket carving?
The remaining images seem isolated ones, I think!
The reason I ask is that the Armenian casket carving is of two soldiers saluting a presumed officer. Interesting details include the fact that the two soldiers are posing in almost identical stances with their hands raised and their shields grasped in a formal manner and not by the inner handle. The 'officer' is represented slightly differently in that he carries what I assume is either a spear or a military standard and his own shield is held by the boss (and in the right hand). This scene is a formalised one and tells a little story of two soldiers recognising/saluting an officer - or perhaps the standard he carries.
Your first two images are also in a wider context, I think, and I am curious about what that context is and if it bears similarities to the casket carving?
The remaining images seem isolated ones, I think!
Francis Hagan
The Barcarii
The Barcarii
