ABSTRACT
Though Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, in their provincial monuments, allowed us to trace the personalization and separation of the Roman trophy from the Greek, a different sort of dramatically ‘Roman’ development was already afoot in the metropolitan centre. This was the emergence of one of the two main Roman innovations to the trophy: namely the ‘tableau’ type, consisting of a mannequin flanked by bound prisoners. The tableau was a visual reflection of Rome's Empire-building strategy of defeating and subjugating foreigners. There is artistic and literary evidence suggesting that real captives were paraded in the triumphal procession beneath mannequin trophies.
I open with an exploration of the monument-type's origins and early use in Rome proper. Apparently the tableau was the invention of C. Marius, ca 100 B.C.E., in celebration of victory against the Gauls. The tableau continued in importance on the coinage of Brutus and Caesar during the Gallic Wars, and ultimately appeared on prestigious, private monuments such as the Tomb of Caecilia Metella. This remarkable tomb, on the Via Appia near Rome, maintains the Gallic appearance of the tableau though apparently it does not celebrate a victory against the Gauls. As a result, the tomb establishes Gallic attire as the default for artistic representations of captives.
After examining the tableau's origins and use in the metropolitan centre, I will turn to the type's dissemination in the provinces, examining in particular an ambitious group of three mannequins at Lugdunum Convenarum – modern Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. This large, free-standing group occupied the new town's civic centre, announcing Roman control over the locals. Such tableau were not uncommon in the provinces: multiple fragments from other examples have been discovered across what is now the south of France. I conclude with a consideration of how the indigenous peoples might have responded to these tableaux.
