Portrait of a boy from Faiyum

Published/Created:

ca. 100-150

Date Depicted:

1975
8000 BC - 499 AD

Materials:

encaustic on wood

Notes:

A young Roman citizen in the toga praetexta. The bulla, a small gold box which is tied to the neck, gives protection against evil spirits and disease.

Abstract:

Until the establishment of the Roman Empire in the first century, Roman and Greek dress is largely the same. During the Empire Roman dress is distinctive. Most important, the toga is the sign of a citizen. The toga imposes dignity by its size, weight, and styling. It is made from a long, semicircular piece of lightweight wool, which is approximately six to eight feet wide by three times the height of a man. Sometimes the curved edge is trimmed with a border adapted from the Etruscan tebenna. A wrapped garment, the toga is held in place by the body through a careful arrangement of folds. First the fabric is folded lengthwise, with one end hanging to the ground in front. Then it is passed across the back and twisted under the right arm, creating the sinus, an apronlike form which serves as a pocket. The remaining length is thrown back over the left shoulder and kept in position by the left arm. The style and use of the toga are defined and restricted. These are the most important examples: 1) The toga virilius is plain white. It is for citizens over the age of sixteen. 2) The toga praetexta has a purple border. It is for senators, officials, priests, and boys under sixteen. 3) The toga picta (palmate) is purple and trimmed in gold. A magnificent toga, it is for consuls when they lead a circus celebration. 4) The toga palla is made of unbleached wool. For mourners, its back drape is pulled over the head to form a hood referred to as the umbo. The most common garment is a t-shaped tunic with short sleeves ending just above the elbow. Cut in a variety of widths and lengths, it is girdled up to the knees or above. The tunic is alone or with a toga (for the higher class). The tunica tolaris is an unbelted tunic with attached long sleeves. It is ankle length. One or two purple strips, clavi, decorate the center front.

Topics:

Costume -- Rome -- History -- (LC)
Painting -- Coptic -- (YVRC)

Culture:

Coptic
Roman

Accession Number:

4388-130

Genre:

costume (mode of fashion): clothing (AAT)
mummy portraits (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Clothing & Accessories
Paintings & Drawings

Rights:

The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Related Exhibit or Resource:

Etruscan and Roman: 6th century BCE-3rd century CE: Roman Dress: Men

Source Creator:

Button, Jeanne and Sbarge, Stephen

Source Title:

History of Costume, In Slides, Notes and Commentaries: Volume 1

Source Created:

New York, NY
Theatre Arts Slide Presentations
1975

Call Number:

GT513 +B87 1 (LC)

Orbis Barcode:

39002051938497

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Original Repository:

Warsaw, Poland: National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe)

OID:

10542826

PID:

digcoll:1902000