Items
Tag
Italian
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Young Octavian Young Octavian, or Augustus, shows the adopted heir of Julius Caesar. It is a copy of a sculpture in the Vatican galleries that dates from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Many artists copied this piece, and it became so popular that tourists could even order reproductions from a catalogue. Edmonia Lewis’s version was considered to be one of the best available, as described by a descendant of one of her patrons: “[It] seemed to all of us the best reproduction of the original then offered by any artist in Rome.” (Smithsonian Collections Search Center) -
Armor This armor was assembled and restored under the direction of Dr. Bashford Dean in the 1920s, when it was part of his private collection. It consists of elements mostly from Chalcis, such as those exhibited in the vitrines to the left and right. Dean's intent was to present a full armor of the style worn about 1400, a period from which no complete armors survive. Distinctive features are the early form of brigandine (a torso defense constructed of plates riveted inside a doublet) and the brass borders on the edges of the exposed plates of the other parts of the armor. Portions of the brass at the top edge of the left cuisse (thigh defense), the lower edges of the right greave (lower leg defense), and the visor are genuine; the remainder of the brass is restored. The helmet, a visored bascinet, is not from Chalcis. The velvet covering of the brigandine is a restoration of the early twentieth century.