Animals

[Kostis Ornerakis]

I love it!

[Susofrick]

I love it!

I love it too!

[dirk]

Looks very good - I like it !!!

[Kekso]

I love it too!

I love beer ... but that dog is wonderful too

[Cryns]

Very nice Stenfalk. I am glad to see you are still active all the time, at least a littlebit. Now its time for me to picture two dogs of yours and a sow full of milk which are painted a long time ago and still waiting for the glamour shooting.

[stenfalk]

Pugnaces Britanniae (Latin) or War Dog of Britain is an breed of dog from ancient times.

The ancestors of the british Pugnaces came from Central-Asia, and the dogs were brought to Britain by Phoenician and other Eastern traders about 500 BC. Its primary ancestor is the original Assyrian or Central Asian Mastiff.

When the Romans invaded the britannic islands they found the natives possessed of a fierce and powerful breed of dogs, which they used in war. From this times delivered references to the canes pugnaces of Roman Britain suggest a dog of a large and heavy type. Oppian says the fighting dog had light brown eyes, truncated muzzle, loose skin above the brows, a broad back, great stature, and muscular legs. And Gratius Falsius, an ancient Roman author and historian, wrote in the year 8 AD of a large exhibition of dog fights in the ancient Roman amphitheatres between the Pugnaces Britanniae from Britannia and the Molossus from Epirus. This exhibition reflected the wide-mouthed dogs from Britain were far superior to the ancient Greek Molossus.

It's not sure how the dog looked ultimately. The majority of experts refer these fighting dogs to the mastiffs today, but there are some others who think the dog so used by the Romans was the Irish wolfhound; it's possible wolfhound, bulldog, or mastiff, such as the names now cover, were represented at that date except in a rough typical way. The descriptions handed down to us are far too meagre and widely-scattered to allow the changes that have taken place to be traced with any degree of accuracy, therefore much is necessarily left to conjecture. But practical dog breeders, with good reason, lean to the conclusion the Irish Wolfhound was a combination of mastiff and greyhound blood; so the English Mastiff is considered to be the closest descendant of the Pugnaces Britanniae and one assumes that there is great similarity between the two.

On this basis i designed this beautiful, massive dog. Suitable as the "Old English Mastiff" breed too.













Thanks for watching...

[Cryns]

Oh man! Stenfalk you know everything about every animal! You are specializing in the history of animals and thats of great interest to many of us.

The ancestors of the british Pugnaces came from Central-Asia, and the dogs were brought to Britain by Phoenician and other Eastern traders about 500 BC. Its primary ancestor is the original Assyrian or Central Asian Mastiff.

An incredible story. Sources tell us, in a time when Rome was just a village, the Phoenicians sailed all the way to the British Islands to buy copper and white metal but I never knew they payed with dogs
Can I conclude that this very ugly nasty breed would not be misplaced in my Phoenician city?

[Beano Boy]

Yes,I like that very Large Mutt!
I can see in my minds eye,one taking our Gunnar,out for walks once a day.

Torsten,as you raised up some history of huge hound-like dogs used in ancient time,by those who did not get bit by them. Well not much anyway. I thought to add a little something of my own.
Way back in the day,the Pope gave Duke William lots of fearsome hounds and dog handlers too. Why? To break the Saxon shield wall! On the question of the invasion of England,Old Willy, had the blessing of the Roman Church to plunder murder and rob.That Church would receive a third of England as a Prise! They were all Pirates.
Torsten you sure are building up some very good animal poses,I like that drive you now have. Have you plans to high dive and produce a few human or indeed fantasy figures?




They are kind of cute when pups!


Greetings BB

[Susofrick]

All those lovely dogs! And other animals!

[DickerThomas]

Great Work

[Kostis Ornerakis]

Another excellent dog!
Before I start typing this, I looked back at your previous pages.
I think you should produce a set with a variety of races.

[stenfalk]

Oh man! Stenfalk you know everything about every animal! You are specializing in the history of animals and thats of great interest to many of us.

Mr. Cryns, thank you for your flattering words, but it is clearly too much of honor! I'm not doing anything else then everyone else here. The animals and their significance in the historical context is my field of interest and i try to get as much in experience about how it is possible. In doing so, i'm even often astonished at the various ways of domestication and the performance of people in antiquity in this context. But i'm glad if i can help .

Can I conclude that this very ugly nasty breed would not be misplaced in my Phoenician city?

Regarding your question about Tyros and dogs. My "exquisite knowledge" don't recommend the short-haired mastiff type as last built by me. It's more likely that the dogs at the time of the Phoenicians were even more original to the Central Asian type, characterized by longer, more shaggy fur. It's assumed that this type resembled today's Mastin Espanol. The dogs were shipped to spain at about the same time as to other parts of europe and are preserved there. The differences with exception of the fur are not big to the English Mastiff, the Mastin Espanol still today is often bred as a working dog outside the standards of the breed and then reaches shoulder heights up to 100 cm and weights by 100 kg.

It is therefore obviously the Mountain Dog type with longer hair designed by me more suitable for you.



But I will derive from the OEM a long-haired Mastiff type also to exchange these dogs for a boat or amphoras full of wine maybe . I'm like an old Phoenician...

However, it's handed down that there existed a smaller dog, which was supposedly even to the name of the "Phoinikes" ("the people from the land of purple"). There is a little story which states that the purple was found in the phoenician Tyros under the following circumstances. The dog of a shepherd found a snail during the straying and ate it up. The shepherd was of faith, the dog had hurt himself, took a piece of wool and wiped the dog's "blood" from the muzzle. It turned out that the dog had not injured, but the wool turned purple. Then the shepherd, the snail's own coloring power, realized. He makes the facts known, and since then the purple snails are caught in the sea. This dog was probably very similar to habitus and appearance today's paria dogs: high-legged, slender, square building, straight back, attached throat, slightly falling croup like the Dingo, the Kanaan dog or the Carolina dog (i have just in preparation, because it's good for the ACW-friends ). In times of the Phoenicians he existed long before their glory as a seafarer. Before they came to power and glory, they were simple Canaanite shepherds.

To feed the herds, these shepherds needed suitable dogs. And here the circle closes:

In the first place was that the dog was fast, agile, brave, courageous and wise. He must have been able to climb and not be afraid of altitude. In addition, this dog also had to be willing to work reliably for his master. This work was done by the small dogs.

In the second place, dogs must also gave protection för herds against predators. The latter could be implemented by the Phoenician Shepherd because of its size only moderately. For this reason large, heavy, and as light-colored as possible dogs were employed, which alone, by their mass and stubbornness, were capable of keeping wolves and other predators at a distance.

The ancestors of modern-day molosser and mountain dogs.

[stenfalk]

Another excellent dog!
Before I start typing this, I looked back at your previous pages.
I think you should produce a set with a variety of races.

I agree. But there will be some time left...

And thanks to all for the positive feedback!!!

[Ray.Caruana]

Simply beautiful! Keep up the amazing work.

[Peter]

Meet the new living-in from my oldest son: Molly!


Torsten, that mountain dog looks wonderfull!

[stenfalk]

Have you plans to high dive and produce a few human or indeed fantasy figures?

BB, i'm glad you consider me as gifted for the themes "humans" and "fantasy" . Well, never say never again, but I think there are some sculptors for figurines of people who are more suitable for such tasks . That would only depress myself, i am convinced. I prefer to stay with my animals. It does not arouse interest as much as the other areas, so i can take a little more time in my development.

To sculpt fantasy figurines, however, i could imagine in the future perhaps, but i don't want to invent them. If i would do, i'd like to create small reproductions of existing subjects. I had thought about once already a C3PO, but i wouldn't get an confrontation with George Lucas .

And still before so many animals have to be formed...

[Beano Boy]

Torsten,concerning Humankind,Yes I understand completely where you are coming from.You are in your comfit zone buddy,however you are widening out into that field of animal expertise within your own self teaching activity`s,because you have a keen eye and a heart for it. "Magic!"





These Siberian Husky`s I greatly admire. BB

[DickerThomas]

Torsten,

how about some hunting wolves .. they might be very useful for many dios...

[Susofrick]

I have no doubt that you can make human figures, but there are many other people that makes wonderful human figures and there are not so many that make so wonderful animals so I think you should concentrate on your animals!

[Ray.Caruana]

I have no doubt that you can make human figures, but there are many other people that makes wonderful human figures and there are not so many that make so wonderful animals so I think you should concentrate on your animals!

Well said Susofrick