Reception and transformation of the Greek repertory in Roman late-republican portraits: the role of the fringed cloak in the military image

Paper on the meaning of the fringed cloak in the Roman portraiture from the Late Republic to the Augustan Age. The existing statues suggest that the use of a fringed cloak mainly involved the Roman military image; the literary evidence confirms that Roman soldiers and officers actually wore fringed cloaks (lacernae) in the field and this garment might also be considered by the Romans as a typical military (castrensis) costume in contrast to the civilian toga. Therefore, we can identify the fringed mantle as a characteristic Roman military cloak.