If anyone is contemplating going to Rome in future, it would be worth while going to have a look at a newly opened private museum in the Piazza Navona. The museum is called "Stadio di Domitziano" and features reproduction weapons and armour of the Roman Empire. The various items on display in well-lit cases were made by Silvano Mattesini.
The museum displays Roman military equipment as well as that of gladiators - much of which seems to have been based on the armour, helmets, etc found in the barracks at Pompeii and which is now housed in the National Museum in Naples. The photograph below shows the Newstead cavalry 'parade' helmet on display there.
Mike Thomas
(Caratacus)
[attachment=11020]Newsteadparadehelmetreproduction.jpg[/attachment]
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.
Here is a copy of one of the Newstead cavalry helmets and it is interesting to note that the hinge holding the face mask was in fact made of leather.
[attachment=11021]SPHelm034Medium.jpg[/attachment]
Thank you for the compliment Phil and I should also like to mention that the leather hinge is offset to one side a little as shown in this picture of the original.
The reason for this offset is that all around the helmet there is a punctim type of scroll work, however where it reaches the centre of the bowl at the front it takes on the shape of a fleu-de-lis and the craftsman who fitted the face mask simply moved the hinge slot to one side so as not to damage this piece of workmanship.
This cannot be seen in this and many other pictures of the original so in my reproduction I made it more heavy punctim so this can be seen. Here is another picture of my repro' that shows some of the scroll work going over the ear guard at the edge of the bowll.
[attachment=11023]SPHelm027.jpg[/attachment]
"Yes, the poor copy made by Deepèeka"
so they choose a cheap helmet for the museum display..... yikes
I think you may be better off going to see the Dying Gaul in the Capitoline Museum....
Ivor
"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
What's new with displaying the cheap helmet...... ...at least this one is semi-sorta-not bad-respectable, but still bad.
How many Museums still display a "trooper" helmet?
Kevin
I did try to reply to this posting before, but something seems to have happened and the post does not appear here. I probably pressed the wrong button or something. So, let's try again.
Yes, "mea culpa, this is indeed a reproduction of the Ribchester helmet and not the Newstead one. Sheer carelessness on my part, for which I apologise.
So far as the 'poor copy by Deepeeka' is concerned, mentioned in other posts, all I can is repeat what I was told by a friend of the owner of the museum and also the literature available in the museum, namely that all the artefacts on display were produced by the owner. These include a very wide range of Roman military gear, particularly helmets, for example Montefortino, Coolus (both copper alloy and iron), Imperial Gallic, Boetian, Attic, Chalcidean, Heddernheim/Niederbieber, Spangenhelme and various gladiatorial types, e.g. Thraex and Provocator. There are also examples of scale, mail and segmentata armour as well as shields and late pattern clothing as well as that from the first two centuries AD, together with weapons and other Roman military equipment.
The museum is housed underground in what was originally a part of a large racetrack (circus), whose outline can still be seen in the shape of the Piazza Navona and which was built under the orders of the Emperor Diocletian.
Mike Thomas
(Caratacus)
visne scire quod credam? credo orbes volantes exstare.
The last memories I have of the Piazza Navona was when the whole place shook with the second earthquake at Assisi, and the earlier shake was a bit of a scare in the wee small hours earlier.
It was interesting just how all the pigeons in the square took off a split second or two just before it happened so what info' do they get that we don't.
...at least this one is semi-sorta-not bad-respectable, but still bad.