Repaired Plaster Gladiators

I found these two in a shed that had been collapsed by our recent hurricane. (August 2017).  They were broken into 7 pieces, and I started to just throw them away.  They are from a do it yourself plaster mold shop.  These places were popular a while back, and in my hometown of Plano we had one for years, in a ratty strip mall across from the old A&P.  That place went out of business decades ago and as it anchored the mall, soon it was full of lower end businesses, like a Karate studio and fly by night telephone shops.  I could see the sign from my bedroom window, several miles away.  

Anyhoo, I brought these figures home.  They were painted backyard fence brown and looked really bad.  I took glue and gold spray paint to them and here is what I got-

I had to use filler on these, the cracking was severe.  A couple of times I thought, why bother?, but I kept at it.  These are at least 50 years old and may date to the early '60s.  They are signed with some lady's name.

These are certainly supposed to represent common gladiators, but they are not what they seem.  I do not know who designed these but him or her was a very good artist.  The one on the left is wearing a Greek Corinthian helmet, with plume.  The right hand figure is wearing a 3rd century Roman helmet.  I have never seen this type of helmet with the visor down.  The fighters are carrying small shields known to the Greeks as peltas, and are not front line battle shields in either culture.  They are both naked except for improbable draperies.  Here is what the story is behind these guys, I think.

As the armor does not match, this is not a scene from a war.  These two guys are fighting at a private event for a select group of rich Romans.  They are fighting naked both for added spice to the scene and to make a death blow more certain.  This may be taking place in the equivalent of a gay night club, although we know the ladies enjoyed the spectacle of naked young men stabbing each other.  However, rich Romans did not allow women at such gatherings, a rule which we can be sure was honored more in the breach than the observance.  This is a fight to the death, and the man on the ground had better think of something fast.  He has lost his sword and does not have the option of signaling for mercy, the missa.  The lad on the right seems to be posing for Robert Maplethorpe and is not really trying as hard as he could be.    A famous Roman, not a slave, was disarmed in the arena and won the fight by bring his shield up between his opponents legs, and then killed the man with a blow from the shield,  which was a secondary use for the thing.  (Cassius Charea, survived the Teutoburger Wald disaster and assassinated Caligula). Odd that such an erotic scene would be rendered in plaster by bored women.  The drapery is just a convention to allow middle class mores a way not to realize what is going on.  Oh, yeah, both men are wearing baldrics and scabbards.  These were worn by spearmen and were dead out after the rise of Rome.

Gladiators wore armor that protected the limbs but exposed the vital strike zones.  The net-man, or retiarius, fought lightly dressed but he had the advantage of great speed.  He also did not wear a helmet so these guys were selected for their good looks.  These studs are fighting to the death to stimulate the audience and add a frisson of danger to the evening's entertainment.  The winner will receive a valuable prize and will get to fuck whoever he wants to.  If the loser gets a shallow grave he is doing good by the standards of the time, rotting bodies in Rome were like roadside cigarette butts to us.

Thus endeth the lesson!

Plaster dog, unsigned.  Pompeii, A.D. 79.