Leather Armor? (NO HOLDS BARRED!!)

[Felix]

Travis, please bear with me here (no pun intended :lol: ),

The primaporta is an isolate, it's the only one that looks like it that we know of.

But, can't the same be said of these nude Pius statues ? They both look like they belong to a "heroic" genre rather than the typical triumphal types.



Are these not also isolates ? If they are, then why should leather be perceived as being the dominant form of this armor ?

There must be something more that has pushed you more firmly into the leather camp. Just wondering what it is :?

I realize this is going back a ways, but please bear with me. The two images which Theodosius showed both show a nude Pius with something next to him, but those "somethings" are not equivalent, and no one seems to have commented on the differences.

The garment in the left hand sculpture clearly does show some molding of muscles. It is also seemingly only semi-rigid/semi-flexible, since the molding maintains its shape when draped over the underlying support. I would agree this is unlikely to be metal, and the material might have sufficient thickness and stiffness to have protective value. However, there is a curious gaping hole or slot running across the middle of this garment. What is that? Does is make the garment less useful as a defense?

Now, the garment in the right hand statue is quite a different beast. It drapes and lies quite flat and flaccid. This is made of some very flexible and very soft and rather thin material; my winter overcoat is thicker and less pliable than this garment. A modern leather jacket might be equally pliable, or less so. I do not understand how this garment is likely to have any defensive value worth mentioning.