Spolas (...thorax ek dermatos...)

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

I have been playing with the idea of trying a leather cuirass that would fall into the "spolas" category -or it might not,who knows really!- and i finally decided to do it. My old "linothorax" was nice but i have learned from its flaws and since then i have studied much more the typology and characteristics of this type of armour in artistic representations. And lets face it,i made it when i was fifteen!

Here i will post photos of different stages of its construction. The spolas is NOT ready yet. I am waiting for bronze scales and rosettes that will go under the rings by Matt Lukes. I also have to complete the decoration of the shoulder guards(epomides) and around the waist,which i have just started.

I didn't manage to find alum tawed leather. What i have is probably veg. tanned,but my suplyer wasn't sure. He was just calling it "rough" and "less treated",but certainly not rawhide. It looks pale enough for me anyway. I used roughly the same tecnique i had used in my old thorax. A solid base on which the second layer of leather is stitched on in four plates. The pteryges is another two layers,backed with wool. I just wanted to add a bit more rigidity that the single layer.
The epomides are consisted of three layers of leather. Three because although that piece of leather was stiffer than the one i used for the body,it was also thinner.
For the stitching i used waxed thread that i presume is linen. I also used strong cotton thread fr some parts because it was thicker. Cotton was known to the greeks and even if cotton fabrics were too expensive and exotic to them,i guess it's ok to use some cotton thread in an expensive spolas. The decoration is of thinner leather.

In this thorax i tried to offer some functional solutions for the typical decoration and which would correspond with representations in art. So the chest and waist bands are one layer of leather. Thos allows for some comfortable flexibility when i bent. The stitching in the borders of the four plates works as a frame which keeps the shape of the cuirass,leaving the most part of it more flexible. It prooved that these theories worked because wearing the final product i am minimally restricted in moving. Certainly bending as much as i want is not a problem.

So it all started like this, with my carton pattern that you always have to make and test thoroughly


The first layer of pteryges in progress. I'm stitching a border that serves both for decoration and for stiffness. Stitched decoration in pteryges is confirmed on the Mars of Todi. This was a very boring part of the construction. Sixteen pteryges for each layer. I had to drill many holes!


First layer finished,second layer half finished.The base of the body is roughly cut. The upper chest protection will be recut in the correct size later,when the second layer will be added.


And here it is. As you can see the edges have been turned and stitched,while the chest band is one layer of leather. This i made it all in one piece in order to ensure the continuation of the border stitches till the end.


This is the decoration i chose,typical motif also used in cuirass depitions by different artists.The Brygos painter comes to mind.


First side plate on. Eventually i will unstitch it in order to put the scales on when they arrive and restitch it.


Here i'm holding everything in place with my hand. It starts looking promissing!


Stitching the pteryges on the finished body. I can tell you that it's more difficult than it seems from the photo. Stitching in both directions through four layers of thick leather is a pain! Literally! I have many calluses on my fingers through all this stitching.


But at some point it finished!


Now on to the second phase. The shoulder piece!
I had already made a pattern before i started adding the second layer. Here how it looks from the back. I replaced that first pattern but the back looks the same. The pteryges too are attached by tape on the inside. Forgive the badly draped chiton.


As i said it consists of three layers of leather. Here they are cut and ready to be stitched.

Something importand about the shoulder guards. The slight outward curve,not only of the axin of the guard but of the shape of the guard itself is to be considered. This is why i appreciate the work of Mr Connolly so much,because in his pattern of a linothorax he illustrated this curve,but i had ignored it in my first torax for the sake of convenience. What you achieve with it is that when the guard is pulled in the front, you create the right angle over your shoulder,which carries the weight of the cuirass better. Otherwhise the angle of the armour is about 90 degrees,and the part of your body that carries the whole armour is just a place in either side of your neck. In my old armour i always gain two red lines in either side of the neck, which i though was because the space between the shoulder pieces was too narrow.
Also,when the shoulder guard is pulled on the front,this slght curve gains you some more freedom of movement,since it curves inward.
The practice is attested by this parthenon sulpture.

Anyway,just because the details make the difference.

The finished product,without the decoration, some kind of red stars for the shoulders and something similar for the back.


And here it is worn!
:mrgreen:

The chiton stipe is still in progress. And i didn't really drape it very carefully...
But the epomides stand up!I have used very little glue between the layers,basicly just to make my life easier while i was making the holes and stitching, they are practically not glued together.




Some things you HAVE to be able to do inside your armour without restriction:


Raising my arms up is not a serious problem,though it is a bit restricted. I can reach very high if i raise only one arm,since the body is naturally moving a bit to the side,so the armour doesn't restrict you. I can raise both arms up,but of course not as much as unarmoured! The reduced thickness on the decoration pannels make the spolas really comfortable to move in. The neck guard doesn't restrict the movement of my head at all,and it goes under the rear of the corinthian helmet without empeding.

I will update when i receive the scales and rosettes and when i will complete the decoration.
I hope this thread will inspire and help fellow re-enactors who want to make a tube and yoke cuirass on their own.
Khairete
Giannis