A WIFE’S EPITAPH, ROME(?) Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL ANChandler.3.111.xml Oxford Ashmolean Museum ANChandler.3.111 AshLI 110

A small rectangular slab of white marble (0.212 0.348 0.021) (in a modern mount), decorated by an irregular wavy line above the inscription. In its present condition, a breakage has been restored at bottom centre, but a small portion is still missing; also its edges are chipped all around, and a fragment has broken off at its top right corner. Its rear is smoothly finished.

The text is inscribed on the front face, beneath a decorative line. There are triangular interpuncts throughout, except at line ends. Guiding lines for the stonecutter are still visible. The text is carefully laid out.

0.025 (line 1); 0.018, with tall Y 0.025 (lines 2-3); 0.024 (line 4); 0.018 (line 5). Of unknown provenance, it probably originated from Rome. possibly second century AD (Solin 2003: vol. 3, p.1244). It is first mentioned (Ainsworth 1720; Muratori 1740, with information sent by Henri Joseph de Thomassin de Mazaugues) as having been in the collection of the London antiquary John Kemp (1665–1717: Goodwin 2008) until his death in 1717 (Ainsworth 1720), and it may earlier have been part of the collection of John Gailhard, much of whose collection was bought by John Kemp in 1695 (Nichols 1812: p.249). In his will, Kemp stipulated that Robert Earl of Oxford or his son should inherit the collection and books for 2,000 pounds, but the bequest was not accepted on these terms. Kemp’s collection was subsequently sold in 293 lots for £1090 8s. 6d in total at an auction in the Phoenix Tavern, Pall Mall, Westminster, between 23rd-25th and on 27th March 1721: the auctioneer’s catalogue for March 1721 includes several entries for ‘Latin inscriptions’ (Online Catalogue, Sir John Soanes Museum). It is later then 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 49 on 5th April 1749, after his death. Lot 49 comprised six marble inscriptions (also C3-104, C3-105, C3-106, C3-112, C3-116). 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 in the archive MS. ‘Marbles sent from Ashmolean Museum’ (p.33, no.163), 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
Marcus Iunius Philemo Aemiliae Lyridi coniugi suae bene merenti posuit vixit annos LXXV

Marcus Iunius Philemo set (this) up for Aemilia Lyris, his well-deserving wife. She lived for 75 years.

PHILEMO (Ainsworth; Muratori)

The deceased Aemilia Lyris is of uncertain social status (whether freeborn, freed, or Junian Latin). The claim that Aemilia Lyris lived for 75 years may reflect the age-rounding that was common in Latin epitaphs rather than her real age at death, with numbers in multiples of 5 and 10 being over-represented after the ages of 20 and 70 respectively (Hopkins 1966).

Ainsworth (1720) p.39 no.7; Muratori (1740) p.1363 no.5; Chandler (1763) Part 3, Pl.III.cxi, with drawing; CIL VI.3 no.20820 [Hübner] (1886).

Online: EDCS-12201500 [accessed 10/09/15]

Ainsworth R. 1720 Monumenta vetustatis Kempiana London Vaillant Ashmolean Museum Department of Antiquities Marbles sent from Ashmolean Museum Chandler R. 1763 Marmora Oxoniensia Clarendon Press Oxford Enright B.J. 1956 Richard Rawlinson: collector, antiquary, and topographer (Bod. MS. D.Phil. d.1786) Goodwin Gordon 2008 Kemp, John (1665–1717) rev. Philip Carter, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press (online edn) [accessed 24/07/14] Hopkins K. 1966 On the probable age structure of the Roman population Population Studies 20.2 245-64 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 Muratori L.A. 1740 Novus thesaurus veterum inscriptionum I-IV Milan Nichols J. 1812 Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century. Vol. 5 London Nichols, son, and Bentley Solin H. 2003 Die griechischen Personennamen in Rom. Ein Namenbuch (2nd edn) 3 vols Berlin De Gruyter