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'Breaking the Mould' Roman Non-Elite Plaster Death Masks: Identifying a New Form of Funerary Commemoration and Memory

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'Breaking the Mould' Roman Non-Elite Plaster Death Masks: Identifying a New Form of Funerary Commemoration and Memory This is a repository copy of 'Breaking the mould' Roman non-elite plaster death masks: Identifying a new form of funerary commemoration and memory. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/153282/ Version: Published Version Article: Madden, K.S. orcid.org/0000-0003-0479-3944 (2017) 'Breaking the mould' Roman non-elite plaster death masks: Identifying a new form of funerary commemoration and memory. Assemblage: the Sheffield graduate journal of archaeology (16). pp. 13-31. ISSN 1365-3881 Reuse This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. This licence allows you to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as you credit the authors for the original work. More information and the full terms of the licence here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ assemblage (2017): 13-31 ‘Breaking the Mould’ Roman Non-Elite Plaster Death Masks: Identifying a New form of Funerary Commemoration and Memory By Kelsey Madden This paper sets out to explore the Roman non-elite plaster death masks and their place in non- elite funerary commemoration and memory preservation. The non-elite plaster death masks have been overlooked due to overall interest focused on the elite class more than their less wealthy counterparts. This research explores the timeline in which the masks belong, the provinces they belong to, technique of manufacture, evidence of uniformity, degrees of likeness, and examination of age and sex represented. The results of the analysis of these factors has determined that the non-elite plaster death masks in Rome appear in a funerary context starting in the second century AD and spread to the provinces of France and Tunisia into the late third to early fourth century AD. The earliest masks date to the first century BC to first century AD from Egypt. This practice spread through trade into the ports of Rome, simultaneously influencing the Roman plaster death masks with the elite imagines. Non-elite Roman citizens were not allowed to have ancestors, who comprised of prominent men in the family. The presence of women and children plaster masks concludes that the non-elite were allowing members of the family outside of the older male category to become ancestors. Therefore, the non-elite had to begin crafting their ancestry in the present through their representation in funerary commemoration. Keywords: death masks, plaster, Roman, non-elite, memory, funerary, commemoration Introduction most were probably made in life, there are likely to have been some made in death as not The faces of the Roman non-elite class have everyone could have had a mask made before been left behind in the form of plaster moulds their death. Additional analysis will be taken at the time of their death. Besides the conducted on the timeline into which the material descriptions of the masks (Drerup masks fit in the progression of likeness 1980; Slim 1976) and the identification of portrayed in funerary commemoration of the specific plaster moulds of children (Dasen non-elite, the timeline of the masks use, and 2010), there has been little research conducted characteristics that are unique to the masks. to answer the questions as to when the practice Lastly, I will discuss possible reasons as to why was established among the non-elite and why the moulds were being placed into graves, they are only being found in a funerary tombs, or mausoleums. context. The aim of this paper will be to create The masks in this study come from Rome, Italy a comprehensive analysis of the plaster death and the Roman provinces of Gaul (France), masks for the purpose of identifying a form of Portugal, Egypt, Thessaloniki, Greece, and memory preservation that is unique to the Tunisia and date from the 1st century BC to the Roman non-elite class and its spread into 3rd century AD (see Appendix III for map of Roman provinces. This study is not about the mask locations). Archaeological evidence will construction of the masks, although this will be drawn from burial sites in Rome, Italy be briefly discussed, but about analysing the (Drerup 1980; Dasen 2010), the site of El data set collected by Drerup (1980), Dasen( Djem located in the ancient Roman city of 2010), and Slimm (1976) in terms of age, sex, Thysdrus in Tunisia (Slimm 1976), and the the timeline of mask representation in the masks of young children found in stone archaeological record, and how they are sarcophagi in France (Dasen 2010). There are associated with memory preservation of the twenty-one samples in total that range from non-elite. This paper will also analyse the main small infants to adults around the age of 60 influence of their creation, the elite ancestor and comprise of both males and females. The masks (imagines), otherwise argued by Flower sample size may be small, but the locations as ‘life masks’ (Flower 1994:38). Although and timeline of use is broad and their intentional placement into graves undeniable. Kelsey Madden © Madden 2017 University of Sheffield © assemblage 2017 MADDEN This paper will set the non-elite plaster death themselves and their family, slaves were fed, masks into a chronological context of funerary clothed, and often paid (Graham 2006:4). memory preservation of the Roman people and While this may not be true for some slaves, it will help to bring forth a funerary tradition should be kept in mind as a reality for most. that has been pushed aside, proving that the Slaves and freedmen had the opportunity to non-elite have adopted and developed death have their burial taken care of by their patron. masks into a unique funerary tradition. Freedmen and slaves would be buried in the Analysis of the manufacture and tomb of their owner or in a columbarium run characteristics of the non-elite plaster death by a burial club they could pay to be a part of masks will significantly contribute to our (Graham 2006:4). By this means of burial, this understanding of funerary commemoration assured that freedmen and possibly their and the role of memory amongst the non-elite offspring would be granted a “decent burial Roman class. In order to better understand the and permanent monument to perpetuate their Roman non-elite plaster death masks, we must memory and display their new social status” look at the funerary practices of the non-elite, (Carroll 2011b:135; see Borg 2012 on freedmen the importance of portraiture and physical displaying newly acquired social status). likeness, and the elite wax ancestor masks, also Freedman could also develop their own known as imagines. The way in which Romans funerary commemoration and burial by expressed their social status, building a personalized tomb, mausoleum, or accomplishments, and ancestors was through erect a funerary monument (Petersen 2011). the medium of funerary commemoration. In Freedmen also had the opportunity to enter death, the Romans were able to tell the story of into an industry and become as wealthy as they their life, controlling how and what would be pleased. According to Roman legal sources, the remembered about them forever. When funerary monument was designed to preserve discussing the non-elite, it should be noted memory, to reflect and be appropriate to the that the non-elite group of people are those essence and standing of an individual or family that do not and will not ever hold a magisterial (Carroll 2011a:66). Former slaves were able to position or obtain military “glory”. “The exert more control over their self- expression of ‘lower social status’ does not representation as newly freedmen. exclusively refer to their financial situation but Archaeological evidence for self-representation to their social position” (Dexheimer 2000: 81). of freedmen appears in Rome at the beginning The non-elite comprise Roman people from all of the first century B.C., bringing about the spectrums of the financial and social strata, first representation unique to the freedmen including the working class, urban poor, class, a new genre of family portrait groups in wealthy or unwealthy freedmen and their the form of reliefs that were attached to family citizen born children, or slaves. It is important tombs in public cemeteries (George 2006). to remember that the fortunes, economic and Moving into the first and second centuries AD, status related, could rise and fall on a daily freedmen used alters with portraiture attached basis and that life on the lower end of the to them, set up in the open air or in front of or social scale (those who were not slaves or inside monumental tombs. The portrait would freedmen) was unpredictable (Graham be placed at the top of the alter in a niche or 2006:55). The terms for moulds and casts pediment with an epitaph below, making the needs to be clarified. According to Pointon use of portraiture on alters exclusive to the (2014), the mould and the cast, or imprint, is freed class (Kleiner 1992:194; Peterson 2011). each referred to as a death mask, “an elision Additionally, the epitaphs revealed the families indicative of the desire to maintain the who commissioned them were always recently connection between face and mask.” The enfranchised slaves or their immediate mould is in direct contact with the face; the offspring (Kleiner 1992:194). Freedmen were cast from the mould is at one removed, each required to participate in the funeral subsequent casting increases this distance procession of their master, were in charge of from the face.
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