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Chestpiece (pectoral)
Italic, Etruscan
Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period
Late 4th century B.C.
Medium/Technique
Bronze
Dimensions
Height x width: 32 x 24.5 cm (12 5/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift in memory of George H. Chase
Accession Number64.727
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsWarfare, hunting, fishing – Armor
Catalogue Raisonné
Greek, Etruscan, & Roman Bronzes (MFA), no. 585; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 126 (additional published references).
DescriptionOne of the two plates (front and back) that constituted a triple-discs cuirass. The three discs features a figural embossed decoration. There are two similar heads (the Dioscuri, or, less likely, Helios and Selene) in medallions above and a head of Herakles, clad in his lion's skin, below. The hooks for fastening to shoulder-straps survive above and, at the right, there is the base of the hook for fixing under the left arm. Along the lateral edges is a row of tiny perforation to connect the chest piece to an underneath padding. Broken and repaired; sections missing. Crusty green patina.
ProvenanceBy 1962: Robert E. Hecht, Jr. Collection (said to come from Vulci); gift of Robert E. Hecht, Jr. to MFA, May 13, 1964