ANCESTOR MASKS AND ARISTOCRATIC POWER IN ROMAN CULTURE by Harriet I. Flower ( 9780199240241 )

Item Details

Title:

ANCESTOR MASKS AND ARISTOCRATIC POWER IN ROMAN CULTURE

By:

Format:

Paperback

List price:	£89.00
We currently do not stock this item, please contact the publisher directly for further information.

ISBN 10:

0199240248

ISBN 13:

9780199240241

Publisher:

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

28 October, 1999

Pages:

434

Description:

Harriet Flower explores the nature and function of wax masks used in the commemoration of politically prominent family members by the elite society of Rome from the third century BC to the sixth century AD.It is by putting these masks, which were worn by actors at the funerals of the deceased, into their legal, social, and political context that Flower is able to elucidate their special meaning as symbols of power and prestige.

Synopsis:

In the first comprehensive study of Roman ancestor masks in English, Harriet Flower explains the reasons behind the use of wax masks in the commemoration of politically prominent family members by the elite society of Rome. Flower traces the functional evolution of ancestor masks, from their first attested appearance in the third century BC to their last mention in the sixth century AD, through the examination of literary sources in both prose and verse, legal texts, epigraphy, archaeology, numismatics, and art. It is by putting these masks, which were worn by actors at the funerals of the deceased, into their legal, social, and political context that Flower is able to elucidate their central position in the media of the time and their special meaning as symbols of power and prestige.

Illustrations:

10 black and white plates, 19 line drawings

Publication:

Imprint:

Oxford University Press

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

ANCESTOR MASKS AND ARISTOCRATIC POWER IN ROMAN CULTURE (HB)

EAST AND WEST (HB)

ROMAN REPUBLICS (PB)

THE ART OF FORGETTING (PB)