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The messages which can be discerned in the sculpture programme of the Arch of Constantine are here discussed, taking as a point of departure the collective memories of late-antique Rome. The direct involvement of Constantine in the erection of the Arch is sustained through a comparison with other examples of Constantinian public art, architecture, and topography in Rome. Particular focus is directed to the significance of recarved portraiture, and how it could be used to commemorate earlier individuals and periods. The stance taken is that although the Arch was a recycled monument with a new, Constantinian significance, the spolia were carriers of collective memories in a society where remembrance was central. The cultural adaptation of the eye as a source of error is taken into consideration in connection with the discussion of what the ancient viewer actually perceived. The general conclusion is that the Arch of Constantine is a monument which had different messages for different groups. These messages were presented in a montage of the past, present, and future. The interpretation of the details as well as of the totality of the monument dependent partly on the viewer.

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The colossal Constantinian bronze portrait in the Capitoline Museum stands out as a unique example of Roman, large-scale portraiture. It is a rare bronze portrait of colossal size, which included a lot of material of a kind which was usually remoulded into exchangeable goods in Late Antiquity. It was constructed from separately cast parts, and with a close look, there are traces of retouching and alterations. The reuse was undertaken by way of highly skilled refashioning techniques. In the present paper, I venture to suggest that the bronze colossus originally portrayed Nero (AD 54-68), thereafter Commodus (AD 177-192), before it was given its present appearance in the early fourth century.