Leather Cuirass Lorica Musculata, I used to think no way but

[AntonivsMarivsCongianocvs]

Slave omnis,

As for my impression… I first tired purchasing a metal cuirass however; I could not find anything that looked like what I saw in the sculptures. Every piece, with price ranges from $60 to $200, all have an extra lip at the bottom, none have follow the anatomy around the belly button and curve up to the hips, all attach with buckles, and all look like thorax of an insect; with dramatically overly exaggerated ripples.




I was able to find far more accurate cuirasses however; the price range then jumps to $1000 to $1500; which I cannot afford.

I honestly did not want to digress into a leather vs. metal debate; for that I would recommend Travis Lee Clark’s site at [url:2tlje18g]http://astro.temple.edu/~tlclark/lorica/bronze_leather.htm[/url] he seems to have spent more time researching the topic than anyone.

Anyways, after reading his essay, I chose to fabricate my cuirass from leather. Firstly, because I agree with many of Travis’s points (not all… but many) and I also know my limits and what I can fabricate.

I’m pretty confident that I can make a Lorica Musculata Cuirass that looks pretty accurate to what I see in the sculptures of Emperors; and if I fail, at least I gave it my best shot.

BTW: My girlfriend thought it was hysterical that I was stabbing my knife into the leather against the door frame! She wanted to know if I was releasing some untold pent-up aggression! LOL

Also, I'm still looking for inexpensive gryphons for the lower left and right... I've found some on EBay but, they are made for cast iron and I think too large. I'm planning on gilding them, and the others, in gold using gold leaf or if I totally screw it up... I'll paint them.

For the submarlis I should have said 1/16 to an 1/8 of an inch.



Large image here:
[url:2tlje18g]http://www.congiano.com/Extras/Recreation/800x600IMG_3655.jpg[/url]