Image as a Way of Self-Representation, Association and Type Creation for Late Antique Women in the Central Balkans

Abstract

The ancient Romans valued portraiture as a means of communication and self-representation. Men and women were commemorated in a variety of media, from carved cameos, to gold glass medallions, to paintings and statuary. The tomb, was the most common location for these portraits. This paper examines the portraits of women from the late antique Balkans. It demonstrates how the portraits of women communicated ideas about the person portrayed through iconographic markers, such as hairstyle, gesture, or clothing. Often these markers of identity were borrowed from empresses or from goddesses, so that one can speak of types that the artists commonly deployed. Along with these empire-wide types and markers of qualities, portraits from the Balkans also demonstrate local specificity.