Inv.-Nr. 824

Sog. Menanderrelief

Rom, Vatikanische Museen 9985
erste Hälfte des 1. Jhs. n. Chr.

Clothes can sometimes be costumes – a form of disguise that we can put on and take off when we assume different social roles. In the case of this relief, this is taken literally. The relief represents two human figures and three masks. Masks like these were used in the theatre, and show a range of caricatured expressions. This cast is taken from a relief dating to the Roman Republican or early Imperial period, and is usually interpreted as representing the dramatist Menander. His comedic plays were written in Athens during the Hellenistic period, but were extremely popular in Rome.

Menander is seated on the left of the scene, heroically nude to the waist, contemplating a theatrical mask. Two further masks lie on the table in front of him, and a female figure stands to the right, usually interpreted as one of the Muses. The scene as a whole is understood as Menander drawing his inspiration from both masks and Muse.

The theatre was an important institution in both Greek and Roman society, acting not only as a form of popular entertainment, but also serving as a focus for political satire and critique, as well as for more philosophical contemplations about the competing demands of family, society, and individual ambition. But as we are seeing over the course of this tour, all clothes are to some extent costumes, and as Shakespeare put it “All the world’s a stage”.