Joacim Seger

In my thesis, Imagines Clipeatae: Framing Memory in the Roman world, I am studying the so-called imagines clipeatae (shield-images/shield-busts) as potential mnemonic artifacts that shaped, conveyed and manipulated memory in the Roman world.

Shield-images are usually represented as a combination of a portrait busts with a shield-like frame surrounding it. They are visible in both the private and public spheres of the ancient Roman world and are represented in monuments, buildings, sarcophagi, and wall-paintings.

The thesis consists of a large sample of different shield-images from a variety of contexts ranging from the first century BC to fifth century AD, as well as a collection of ancient literature mentioning these shield-images. The thesis combines theoretical perspectives from both memory research and art history to investigate what role these shield-images played in the creation and maintenance of cultural and collective memory in the ancient Roman world.