This study documented the characteristics of the dress of the Julio-Claudian emperors, comparing literary and sculptural works contemporary and subsequent to the period. Sculpture of the Augustan period reflected a combination of Etruscan and Greek qualities, and were often loose copies of earlier Greek works that idealized the figure. Later Julio-Claudian sculpture was more realistic in figures but continued some artistic license or misunderstanding of garment characteristics. / Major garments worn by the emperors included the tunic and toga, the cuirass, and the paludamentum. Accessories included a finger ring and a fibula; a laurel wreath worn during religious or ceremonial events; a leg covering; and a type of sandal or the cothurni. / Roman emperors were most often described in one of four roles: mythological character, military general, state official, or triumphant general. Julio-Claudian emperors were shown in both literature and sculpture as military general and state official with both media consistent in depiction of dress, suggesting sculpture as a reliable indicator of their dress. Both sources show the military general as wearing the cuirass with the pteryges and lappets, a paludamentum and cothurni, or boots, and the state official as appearing in a tunic and a toga. However, there is much more sculptural than literary portrayal of Julio-Claudian emperors as mythological character, suggesting that emperors were symbolically honored as gods in statues rather than often actually dressing in that role. Sculptors showed that role wearing a white or colored paludamentum draped around the lower half of the body. Literature describes the emperor as triumphant general as wearing a white or colored tunic and toga, each ornamented with elaborate embroidery, but there are no extant full-length sculptures of Julio-Claudian emperiors in that role to make sculpture a reliable source. Thus the reliability of sculpture as a source to study Julio-Claudian imperial dress depends on the role being depicted. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: B, page: 2126. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77776 |
Contributors | JERNIGAN, PATRICIA BLACKWELL., Florida State University |
Source Sets | Florida State University |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Text |
Format | 400 p. |
Rights | On campus use only. |
Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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