CfP EAA (Session 9)
It is what you make of it
imperial and private images at the borders of the Empire
Submission: https://submissions.e-a-a.org/eaa2025 Deadline: 6th February 2025
This panel proposes to explore the intersection between making, viewing, and message in provincial portraiture between the 1st and 3rd century CE. We aim to bring together papers analysing the public image of the members of the imperial family – both males and females – as well as of the local elite as perceived and understood by provincial audiences. This approach will, in turn, highlight the reception and manipulation of properly ‘Roman’ models by different recipients: the local population observing these images in public spaces, the patrons commissioning them, and the makers involved in their creation. Ultimately, this investigation will bring to light both the local reception of imperial propaganda and how the civic elite shaped their public personas by declining the Roman message in light of local traditions.
Among the themes to be investigated in this panel are:
- Local identities within a world-empire
- Representations of the emperor and members of his family outside of Italy
- Imperial propaganda expressed in visual media in the provinces
- The role played by the artisans producing these representations
- Local variations in the self-representations of private individuals
- Zeitgesicht, potential and pitfalls
We invite expressions of interest from scholars specialising in different media or any form of visual culture (sculpture, numismatic materials, metalwork etc). We are particularly interested in papers dealing with local ethnic traditions and/or the representation and agency of female figures, both private individuals and members of the imperial family.
Keywords: Imperial images, Zeitgesicht, Local identity, Agency, Roman provinces, Reception
Organizers: Francesca Bologna (University of Verona), Raffaella Bucolo (University of Verona), Hritsina Ivanova-Anaplioti (University of Verona/University of Sofia), Francesca Lam-March (King’s College London)