iNy Carlsberg GlyptotekVesterbro
The Power of Fashion in the Roman Empire
The Glyptotek's largest-ever antiquity show: how Romans used clothing, jewellery and perfume to signal identity, status and power, read through marble and bronze.
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Tiberius stands half-naked in white marble, a mantle slung around his hips. The Glyptotek's colour research shows that mantle was once pink, a shade of the snail-dyed purpura that Romans read as power, luxury and divine authority, and a digital reconstruction puts the colour back.
The show fills more than 1,000 square metres with 171 objects, mostly the museum's own Roman portraits, read for what their drapery, hair and shoes said about rank. You lean into one of 12 listening posts and hear Roman authors mocking what their rulers wore. At four scent stations, built from ancient recipes, the floral perfume turns out to be the men's; the women's were stronger and more pungent.
It suits visitors who want the scholarship behind the marble; the English-only catalogue has 12 essays. It is included in museum admission (DKK 150, DKK 135 online, under-18s free) and open until 21:00 on Thursdays. It is reached by stairs, so it is not wheelchair accessible, and drawing isn't allowed inside.
Editor's pick
Tiberius's marble mantle was once pink, a shade of snail-dyed purple, and a reconstruction puts the colour back. It reads Roman drapery, hair and shoes for rank; at the scent stations, the floral perfume turns out to be the men's.
Look for
Tiberius in pink
Look for the half-naked marble emperor whose mantle was once pinkish purple; the show also has a digital image of how it looked painted.
Septimius Severus's lionskin boots
The head and two massive leg fragments of a colossal emperor, lent by Türkiye's Burdur Museum for a display on footwear and never before shown outside Türkiye.
Three British Museum tunics
Real Roman-period garments from Egypt, the clothes people actually wore, out of the British Museum for the first time.
Fundilius Doctus in his toga
A freed slave in an elaborate toga that research shows was painted red or orange, a colour that marked his former status.
Trajan dressed as commander
Pleated tunic, leather doublet, ornate breastplate and a big ceremonial cloak: the curator doubts any real commander fought in it, which is the point.
Good for
- Evening Visits
- Going Solo
- Nerding Out
- Out-Of-Town Guests
Skip if
You use a wheelchair or can't manage stairs: the exhibition is only reached by stairs.
With kids
Under-18s get in free. In the autumn break (10 to 18 October, 11:00 to 15:00) kids can design Roman outfits for paper sculptures in the Winter Garden loggia.
Also at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
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Image credits
9
- The Power of Fashion in the Roman EmpireCourtesy of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
- What's the Big Rush?Christopher Egeberg Flip / Museum of Copenhagen
- What the BLOXPhoto : Claus Troelsgaard
- Cities for PeopleCourtesy of Danish Architecture Center
- Ny Carlsberg GlyptotekDaderot / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
- Museum of CopenhagenLauren Friedman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- National Museum of DenmarkIb Rasmussen, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- Danish Architecture CenterLeif Jørgensen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Christiansborg PalaceJulian Herzog / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0