Representing Armour in a Nutshell: Anaskosfrom the Great North Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne

Abstract

This article focuses on an image of two helmets decorating an askos housed in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. One helmet is Corinthian; the other is Chalcidian. At the time the askos was decorated, the Corinthian helmet was an old-fashioned panoply item, whereas the Chalcidian helmet was contemporary. The visual juxtaposition of the anachronistic and the contemporary panoply items enables the painter to add complexity to his simple painting and to compel the viewer to historical awareness. Similar visual juxtaposition occurs in many vase paintings, proving that incorporation of this theme was a pervasive, popular practice among artists at the time. This juxtaposition constitutes a visual manifestation of the way the Greeks perceived and presented their past.