02-06-2011, 05:14 AM
The question is: with what method were the swords attached to the belts of the tetrarchs' of the famous Venice statue?
The scabbard slides are clearly visible (and the scabbards must be attached to the belts, because otherwise they would simply slip down from the swords, since the emperors are only holding the eagle-headed grip of their weapons) but there are no baltei used, nor any other secondary straps. So what do you thin the solution is?
There must have been some kind of method of attaching the scabbard directly to the waistbelt without any secondary straps, because there are other (however less elaborated) depictions (middle-3rd-century, mainly) of sword being fastened and fixed this way.
Exempli gratia the altar(!) of Barsemis Abbei, the Oriental decurion of ala firma katafractaria from Intercisa, Pannonia inferior (RIU 1073 = CIL III, 10307 = Dessau 2540 = Lupa 6049; kept in the Hungarian National Museum), dated to the middle of the 3rd century (by the inscription and obviously by the Ringschnallencingulum).
What do you think, populares?
The scabbard slides are clearly visible (and the scabbards must be attached to the belts, because otherwise they would simply slip down from the swords, since the emperors are only holding the eagle-headed grip of their weapons) but there are no baltei used, nor any other secondary straps. So what do you thin the solution is?
There must have been some kind of method of attaching the scabbard directly to the waistbelt without any secondary straps, because there are other (however less elaborated) depictions (middle-3rd-century, mainly) of sword being fastened and fixed this way.
Exempli gratia the altar(!) of Barsemis Abbei, the Oriental decurion of ala firma katafractaria from Intercisa, Pannonia inferior (RIU 1073 = CIL III, 10307 = Dessau 2540 = Lupa 6049; kept in the Hungarian National Museum), dated to the middle of the 3rd century (by the inscription and obviously by the Ringschnallencingulum).
What do you think, populares?
Bene rem geratis et dormiatis sine qura!
A(ndras) Sz[---?]
A(ndras) Sz[---?]
