TitleStandards & horns
CollectionWallach Division Picture Collection
Army -- Ancient -- Rome
Dates / OriginDate Issued: 1785
Library locationsThe Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture CollectionShelf locator: PC ARMY-Anc-Ro
TopicsHorns (Communication devices)Armies -- Roman -- To 499Military standards -- Roman -- To 499Headdresses -- To 499
GenresPrintsBook illustrations
NotesSource note: Costume des anciens peuples, à l'usage des artistes. (Paris : Alexandre Jombert, 1784-1785) Dandré-Bardon, Michel François (1700-1783), Author. Cochin, M., Creator.
Physical DescriptionEtchingsExtent: 28 x 21 cm (11 x 8 1/4 in.)"2e. Part. Pl. 21." "11e. Cer."--lettered top corners. Illustrations lettered (A-H).
DescriptionIllustration from a French book from the late 1700’s. A. B. C. and D. are horns or trumpets, used for signaling orders on the battlefield. A straight horn was called a “tuba” (literally, a tube), while a coiled one was referred to as a “buccina” or “cornu” (horn, as in a ram’s horn). Roman military signals probably weren’t as elaborate as modern bugle calls, being a few notes loud and distinct enough to be heard over the sound of a battle. E. is a standard bearer, the person who carried a legion’s insignia atop a pole. Roman armies didn’t have flags, though sometimes a cloth drape was hung from the standard by a crossbar. What was important was the legion’s eagle and its portrait of the emperor, symbols of the unit’s pride and traditions, the loss of which in battle would be a great disgrace. Standard bearers typically wore a headdress made from the head and forepaws of a powerful animal like a lion, leopard, wolf or bear. F. and G. are standards, one showing the eagle (a symbol of Jupiter) and emperor’s likeness, the other topped with the figure of a goddess. SPQR was an acronym for “Senate and People of Rome”. H. is a rather misleadingly small picture of a cavalry insignia called a “draco” (dragon). A metal tube in the shape of a dragon’s head was fixed to the top of a pole, and a long fabric tube like a wind sock was attached to it so as to fill with air and go streaming behind like a coiling body and tail during a charge. The last, unlabeled, object is a standard bearer’s headdress, this one made from a lion skin.
Type of ResourceStill image
IdentifiersNYPL catalog ID (B-number): b17247085Barcode: 33333159418850Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 16d25550-c537-012f-c564-58d385a7bc34
Rights StatementThe copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
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