Italian marble Renaissance shield portrait

A small, marble wall bust depicting a veiled young woman within a round frame. The woman is depicted at a slight tilt, angling her gaze past the viewer.

In ancient times, round framed busts such as this – nowadays often referred to as tondi or medallion portraits – were known as imagines clipeatae, Latin for “shield image” or “shield portrait”. As the name suggests, the round frame is the rim of a shield, a clipeus. These often life-sized portraits were cast in bronze or sculpted from marble and mounted high up on the walls of temples, public buildings and private dwellings. According to Pliny the Elder (first century AD), the first shield portraits in Rome were installed in temples by victorious generals as a way of portraying their ancestors. Over time, this type of portrait found its way into the private realm as decorations in the entrance halls of wealthy homes and on family graves. In the funereal context, the heroic associations of shield portraits made them a popular way to honour the departed on sarcophagi and grave monuments. Aside from specific family members, portraits of this genre were also used represent gods, emperors and famous scholars.

Looking beyond sculpture, we also occasionally find clipeatae in ancient Roman murals. The Villa Poppaea in Oplontis has various examples: one atrium wall is decorated with an elaborate false door, framed by painted shields with lifelike busts. This wall painting gives a good impression of how these objects were positioned. Examples such as these also reveal the popularity of shield portraits in various contexts and media, as a way for homeowners to advertise their wisdom and status.

Stylistically, this imago clipeata can be placed within the Northeast Italian tradition of Renaissance sculpture.