Scandalous Miniature Portraits

I got to the above miniature looking for what type of object Cicero’s letter might refer:

in his inventae sunt quinque imagunculae matronarum,

Who commissioned these images? Did Vedius to flatter his mistresses/admirers into thinking he couldn’t live on his travels without seeing them? Are we to believe the women commissioned them as lover’s tokens to send with Vedius? Are there other options?

There is no suggestion of medium. Were they panel paintings? Or more durable media? When we think of images fit for travel we think of the little gold glass medallions (which I’m delighted to see also are faked throughout the 19th century). BUT these types of objects really don’t get going until the 3rd century or later CE.

What is remarkable is that Cicero is confident he knows the identities of all five women and that one is Brutus’ sister (Bruta = stupid) who married the future triumvir (Lepidi = charming).

The assumption must be that the images are life-like enough and/or clearly labelled but the former is what seems to be implied.

But I guess if this was my neighbor I’d recognize her…