A DAUGHTER’S EPITAPH, ROME(?) Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL ANChandler.3.110.xml Oxford Ashmolean Museum ANChandler.3.110 AshLI 109

A plain squarish slab of white marble (0.286 0.30 0.037), in a modern mount. The sides remain rough. It is in good condition, apart from a missing section at the front right bottom corner.

The first and last lines are roughly centred. Large triangular interpuncts are freely scattered, even within words. The mother’s name has been mis-inscribed as Iutsine rather than as Iustina. Guiding lines for the stonecutter are faintly visible, but are sloping and so contribute to the somewhat haphazard layout of the text.

 0.031 (line 1); 0.031-0.034 (line 2); 0.035-0.04 (line 3); 0.031 (lines 4-5); 0.035 (line 6). The lettering is irregularly executed. Of unknown provenance, it probably originated from Rome. possibly second century AD (use of DM formula). It is first recorded by Chandler in Oxford according to CIL, but is in fact listed in the sale catalogue (Langford 1749) for the collection belonging to Christopher Wren, Esq., of Hampton Court (son of Sir Christopher Wren) sold at auction in London as lot 64 on 4th April 1749, after his death. Lot 64 comprised seven marble inscriptions (also C3-113; C3-117; C3-118; C3-128; C3-132; C3-134). This lot was bought by Richard Rawlinson: he is listed in the sale catalogue as one of the buyers at the auction, and also himself writes later that year of having bought Latin inscriptions from Mr Wren’s sale (Enright 1956: p.306 - Rawlinson Bod. MS. C 989 f.123, 16 Nov 1749, letter to Bodleian’s librarian). All of these Latin inscriptions are in the Ashmolean as part of the Rawlinson Collection, which was given to Oxford University in 1753, and at first kept in the University Collection in the Bodleian Library (Enright 1956: p.340). At some point it then ended up in the basement of the (Old) Ashmolean Museum on Broad Street (now the Museum of the History of Science) (Munby 2013), since it is included in the archive MS. ‘Marbles sent from Ashmolean Museum’ (p.33, no.162), a list of ancient marbles transferred in Jan. 1888 from the (Old) Ashmolean Museum basement room to the marble rooms of the Randolph Building on Beaumont Street, which had been built alongside the University Galleries. The Ashmolean Museum in its current location was built behind the University Galleries, was opened in 1894, and finally the University Galleries and Ashmolean were amalgamated by statute in 1908. It is currently in a storeroom. Photograph
dis manibus Felicissimae filiae Iusttsine mater bene merenti quae vixit annos IV menses VIIII dies XVII

To the spirits of the dead. Iustina, mother, to her well-deserving daughter Felicissima who lived for 4 years, 9 months and 17 days.

FE LI E IVTSINE (Chandler); IVTSINE is inscribed in error for IVSTINA the final I in VIII is inscribed above the rest of the numeral

Given the use of single names for both deceased and the mother here, it is possible that both individuals were slaves: Iustina is attested during the first to third centuries for a few individuals who can definitely be identified as slaves (four examples in Solin 1996: vol.1, p.63), whilst Felicissima is a more common name for slaves (sixteen examples in Solin 1996: vol.1, p.95). Possibly the poor quality of the engraving might reflect lack of financial means or low literacy on the part of the dedicator (and stonecutter!).

Chandler (1763) Part 3, Pl.III.cx, with drawing; CIL VI.3 no.17806 [Hübner] (1886)

Online: EDCS-00600805 [accessed 10/09/15]

Ashmolean Museum Department of Antiquities Marbles sent from Ashmolean Museum Chandler R. 1763 Marmora Oxoniensia Oxford Clarendon Press Enright B.J. 1956 Richard Rawlinson: collector, antiquary, and topographer (Bod. MS. D.Phil. d.1786) Langford A. 1749 A catalogue of the genuine and entire collection of medals and statues of Christopher Wren Esq, late of Hampton Court, deceased; together with the collection of drawings of architecture of the late Sir Christopher Wren, his father (London 1749) http://artworld.york.ac.uk R. Stephens The art world in Britain 1660 to 1735 Munby J. 2013 A rare collection: Oxford museums past and present Excalibur: Essays on Antiquity and the History of Collecting in Honour of Arthur MacGregor H.Wiegel and M.Vickers Oxford BAR Int. ser. 2512 75-85 Solin H. 1996 Die stadtrömischen Sklavennamen Stuttgart Steiner