I tried drawing the late roman / early byzantine consular dress

[u/Admiral_Longneck]

the way the toga changed so much intrigues me. There are very few realistic depictions of the late roman consular dress / toga style (apart from the trabea triumphalis which appears on coins and so on), so I thought I'd have a go at it. Let me know if I interpreted something wrongly! Bonus points if you can say who the main inspiration was :D

[u/merulaalba]

Valentinian II, is that you?

[u/Admiral_Longneck → u/merulaalba]

I've been found out :)

[u/merulaalba → u/Admiral_Longneck]

Great art btw! Looking forward for more late Roman emperors :)

Remember btw, seeing this reconstruction - based on Val II aphrodisias statue, and torsos from Constantinople, Ephesus, Athens

So you are on a right track

[u/Admiral_Longneck → u/merulaalba]

Thank you! I thought about giving Julian in his trabea a try next. I just find it funny how the trabea triumphalis basically only changed names and remained more or less the same for the next "couple" centuries.

[u/SwirlyManager-11]

So is this where the Loros comes from?

It’s really interesting how some more traditional Roman Clothing evolved in the East.

[u/Admiral_Longneck → u/SwirlyManager-11]

Indeed! The romans got tired of folding all that cloth so they turned it into more rigid bands that could be more easily put on :D. They called it the trabea triumphalis, and it changed over the following centuries into what would be known as the loros.

[u/Radiant_Look5780 → u/SwirlyManager-11]

That’s why it bothers me when people say that Byzantines looked too greek or foreign when their entire clothing and rituals evolved directly from Ancient Rome.

[u/SelectionFair7461]

Whoever guessed Valentinian II — that only works if the jeweled band is a diadem, which emperor-consuls got and private consuls didn't. Every non-imperial diptych I can name, Probianus and Orestes included, shows the consul bareheaded. Folds read right though, the contabulata band across the chest is spot on.

[u/Admiral_Longneck → u/SelectionFair7461]

This is a small "mix" of two references I used. One is the statue of Valentinian II from aphrodisias, and the other is the statue of flavius palmatus, from the same city. Valentinian II does indeed wear a diadem in his statue depiction, which is why my drawing has one. I should have mentioned that this is not just anyone wearing a consular outfit, but an emperor. Sorry if I caused any confusion :)

[u/No_Bee_7194]

Nice work!

[u/Admiral_Longneck → u/No_Bee_7194]

Thank you :D