Roman wall painting of musculata in color from first century

[Theodosius the Great]

There's also the less-famous (there are several) Sacrifice of Iphigenia scene from the House of the Vettii which I can only find in B&W on the web (although I have a colour postcard). It shows Agamemnon in white pteryges (fetchingly edged in gold ;-) ) , a turquoise tunic (yuk!), a maroon cloak and an iron (or silvered) muscle cuirass, again with gold bits.

Wow, thank you for that description

The problem with all of these Pompeian wallpaintings is that they are probably rip-offs of Hellenistic masterpieces (the Roman equivalents of the Green Lady, for those who remember her...), and so may not tell you anything about Roman colours, merely how the artists interpreted the Hellenistic original.

At least they would seem to confirm or verify that the musculata was made from either bronze or brass.

They have some value since they're among few surviving color depictions of what a common color scheme may have looked like. I'm glad I just happend to color my pteruges white with a gold edging :wink:

About the Aeneas painting, I wonder if the right shoulder is visible. Or is it obscured by the sagum ? It'd be nice if we can see a plate or leather harness.

~Theo