Galvanoplastische reproductie van een schild met een Romeinse strijdscène en twee monogrammen before 1880

This is a galvanoplastic reproduction of a shield with a Roman battle scene and two monograms, made by Elkington & Co. The shield's design bursts with activity: figures and forms chaotically overlap, creating a visual density that speaks to the intensity of battle. The monochromatic palette, primarily silver, augments the metallic essence, typical of the period of it's making. The arrangement of the scene is not random; it follows a structure reminiscent of classical friezes, where the eye is led around the circumference. Here, the depiction of conflict might be interpreted through the lens of structuralism. A binary opposition is formed between order and chaos, civilization and barbarity. Consider how the shield's materiality reinforces its semiotic function. As both an object of defense and a canvas for portraying valor, it embodies the paradoxical nature of warfare, where creation and destruction, protection and aggression, are inextricably linked.