Palla
The palla was a mantle worn by women in ancient Rome, usually represented as a rectangular wrap over a tunic and, in some settings, a stola. The mantle and stola were distinct garments.
The cloth could be carried over a shoulder, drawn around the back and brought forward over an arm. It could also cover the head. Ancient images show several arrangements rather than a single compulsory wrapping method. Head covering may express ritual, respectability or the conventions of portraiture; context matters.
The palla is often compared with the male toga because both occur in public dress, but their shapes, civic associations and use were not identical. Clothing changed over the imperial centuries, and a simple claim that the palla was universally replaced in the third century is too rigid.
Statue of Livia in a prayerful pose. Marble, second quarter of the first century CE. Vatican Museums, Museo Pio Clementino, inv. 637.
Livia. Marble, mid-first century CE. Louvre, Paris, inv. MR 260 / Ma 1245.
Seated Livia, copy in the Museum of Roman Civilisation, Rome. The original is in the National Archaeological Museum, Madrid; early first century CE.Wall paintings and other coloured images show women's mantles in a range of hues, including red, yellow, blue and green. Surviving pigments, restoration and artistic convention limit what can be inferred about the original dye or how frequent a colour was. Marble statues are valuable for drapery but should not automatically be treated as evidence for white clothing.
The return of Chryseis. Wall painting from Pompeii, 45–79 CE.
Wall painting from the House of the Surgeon, Pompeii. National Archaeological Museum, Naples, inv. 9018. 50–79 CE.Reconstruction
For reconstruction, choose a dated image and a particular social setting rather than a generic "Roman woman". Fine wool can produce the flexible folds visible in many representations; the weight and weave should be chosen to match the intended effect. Linen or heavier cloth should be justified by the chosen context rather than assumed to fit every example.
A rectangular mantle usually requires finishing its edges rather than a complex fitted pattern. Test how it hangs over the underlying garment, how the arm holds the folds and whether the head is covered. Any added brooch or belt should have a specific evidential basis.
Reconstruction of a Roman woman wearing a palla.
Reconstruction of a Roman matron wearing a palla.
Related topics
Literature
- Kelly Olson. Dress and the Roman Woman: Self-Presentation and Society. Routledge, 2008.
- Judith Lynn Sebesta and Larissa Bonfante, eds. The World of Roman Costume. University of Wisconsin Press, 1994.
- "Palla", Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1890–1907 [in Russian; an older reference work].
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