PURCHASE OF CINERARY URNS, ROME Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL ANChandler.3.112.xmlliga Oxford Ashmolean Museum ANChandler.3.112 AshLI 111

A plain rectangular slab of blue-grey marble with pink veins (0.12 0.257 0.022) (in a modern mount). In its present condition, it is broken on its left side, from halfway down to the bottom, so that its bottom left corner is missing. A fragment which had broken off at the top left corner has been stuck back. The rear is not visible in its modern mount.

The text is inscribed on the front face. There are ligatures in line 1 only, where the stonecutter ran out of space at the end of the line: in STEPHANUS, PH and then NV are joined in a ligature and the final S is added above on a smaller scale at the end of the line. The cognomen Rufio may be restored in line 3. There are triangular interpuncts.

 0.02, with tall T 0.022 (line 1); 0.018, with tall T 0.022 (line 2); 0.017, with tall I and tall T 0.019 (line 3); 0.017 (line 4) Of unknown provenance, it probably originated from Rome. first century AD (Solin 2003: vol 1, p.587). 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 49 on 5th April 1749, after his death. Lot 49 comprised six marble inscriptions (also C3-104, C3-105, C3-106, C3-111, 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.164), 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 on display in the Reading and Writing Gallery. Photograph
Marcus Voconius Marci libertus Stephanus emit ab Caio Scribonio Cai liberto Rufione ollas IV sibi et Voconiae Marci libertae Helenae

Marcus Voconius Stephanus, freedman of Marcus, has bought from Gaius Scribonius [R]ufio, freedman of Gaius, four cinerary urns for himself and for Voconia Helena freedwoman of Marcus

This inscription records the purchase of four urns in a columbarium by Marcus Voconius Stephanus for his own use and for his wife, Voconia Helena. Presumably he has purchased two additional urns for use by other members of his household, as necessary (possibly for children, freedmen/freedwomen, or perhaps slaves). This couple appear to have been freed by the same patron, a Marcus Voconius, or alternatively Helena might herself be both freedwoman and wife of Stephanus himself.

Chandler (1763) Part 3, Pl.III.cxii, with drawing; CIL VI.4 fasc.1, no.29444 [Hübner] (1894).

Online: EDCS-14803413 [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. 2003 Die griechischen Personennamen in Rom. Ein Namenbuch (2nd edn) 3 vols Berlin De Gruyter