Portraits and Identity: “Roman” and “Elite” in the Late Antique Villas of Aquitania

Abstract

This article examines late antique marble portraits from three Roman villas in Aquitania (southwestern France). These objects are striking evidence for a vibrant, Theodosian-era (r. 379–95 CE) portrait tradition, which contrasts with the absence of contemporary portraiture elsewhere in the western provinces. This raises questions about the motivations and identities of the patrons, which I investigate by approaching the portrait as a tool for the construction and navigation of “elite” and “Roman” identities. Such claims were politically charged in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, which witnessed the admission of outsiders (the nouveaux riches and “barbarians” like the Visigoths) into high society.