Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture

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.