imagine

Roman mask

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

In ancient Roman burials, masks, known as imagines, were used to represent the deceased. These masks were typically modeled over the features of the dead and cast in wax. They served to honor the deceased and to establish a connection with the spirit world. In patrician families, these imagines were sometimes preserved as ancestor portraits and displayed on ceremonial occasions. This practice of creating effigy masks was revived in Europe from the late Middle Ages through the 18th century.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

mask
Funerary and commemorative uses
…patrician families these masks, or imagines, were sometimes preserved as ancestor portraits and were displayed on ceremonial occasions. Such masks were usually modeled over the features of the dead and cast in wax. This technique was revived in the making of effigy masks for the royalty and nobility of Europe…
Read More
…patrician families these masks, or imagines, were sometimes preserved as ancestor portraits and were displayed on ceremonial occasions. Such masks were usually modeled over the features of the dead and cast in wax. This technique was revived in the making of effigy masks for the royalty and nobility of Europe…
Read More

Western sculpture
The last century of the Republic
Ancestral imagines, or funerary masks, made of wax or terra-cotta, had become extremely individualized and realistic by the middle of the 2nd century bce. The source of this realism is in the impact on Rome of late-Hellenistic iconography; although this use of masks was rooted in…
Read More
Ancestral imagines, or funerary masks, made of wax or terra-cotta, had become extremely individualized and realistic by the middle of the 2nd century bce. The source of this realism is in the impact on Rome of late-Hellenistic iconography; although this use of masks was rooted in…
Read More