Collectables, Antiques and Sumptuary Trends in Ancient Roma: A Look Around the Dining Halls of the Late Republic and Early Empire

Among the various aspects which are useful to focus the evolution of Roman sumptuary tendencies, the use of collecting particular objects appreciated not merely for their artistic qualities but also for their economic value, sometimes due to their age deserves special mention. In this vein, a good example is represented by those used in the dining rooms and more generally concerning convivial contexts. The introduction of such items into private use and more specifically the habit of collecting them as stated in some particular cases, allows us to understand that they were progressively perceived as emblems of high social rank. Through the analysis of passages from different sources, the chapter aims to focus on not only the economic but also the social and political meaning the Roman practice of collecting progressively reached in the phase between the end of the Republican Age and the first centuries of the Empire.