Term for one of the dated series of ivory diptychs (a hinged pair of oblong panels) that were issued by consuls of the Roman Empire on their succession to office. The earliest surviving consular diptych is that of Flavius Felix, consul of the West in AD 428 (one leaf survives in Paris, Bib. N., Cab. M?dailles); the series ended c. AD 541, when the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (reg 527-65) abolished the civil consulate. One side of each diptych panel was carved, usually with the name, cursus honorum (list of offices) and likeness of the official in question, which provide chronological, prosopographical and ideological information. Many of these diptychs were later used for Christian purposes.
See the Abbreviations for further details.
