Glyptotek Explores Roman Fashion with 171 Objects in Largest Antiquity Show

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen, founded in 1897 by brewer and collector Carl Jacobsen, will present its largest-ever exhibition on antiquity, "The Power of Fashion in the Roman Empire," from 1 October to 29 March 2027. Curated by Cecilie Brøns, the show features 171 objects and examines how clothing and adornment functioned in ancient Rome. Key loans include three Roman tunics from the British Museum, none of which have previously left the institution, and fragments of a colossal sculpture of Emperor Septimius Severus from Turkey's Burdur Museum, located 125km inland from Antalya. The exhibition highlights polychromy research at the Glyptotek, revealing that the Emperor Tiberius statue's now off-white mantle was originally a pinkish purple known in Latin as "purpura," derived from Mediterranean snails, while the freed slave Fundilius Doctus's toga was painted red or orange to reflect his former status. A digital image approximates the mantle's original shade. Brøns argues that statues depicted clothing as an instrument of statecraft rather than reflecting actual attire, citing the Emperor Trajan shown in a pleated tunic, leather doublet, breastplate, and paludamentum, a ceremonial cloak unlikely worn in battle. The British Museum's tunics and a Byzantine fragment from the Glyptotek's holdings offer clues to what ancients actually wore.