Imago clipeata

An imago clipeata on a consular diptych of Areobindus, Roman consul in 506 A.D. Musée du Louvre.

Imago clipeata (Latin: "framed portrait") is a term in art usually used in reference to the images of heroes on Roman shields.

These shield portraits were often employed in Roman military memorial statuary (sometimes hung from a tree). In later classical Roman and Italian Baroque imagery, the medallion portraits supported by nymphs or genii came to signify an apotheosis.

External reference

Description and reproduction of Imago clipeata at the Forum of Augustus on the Athenian Acropolis