EPITAPH OF SISTER AND BROTHER, ROME Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL ANChandler.3.35.xml Oxford Ashmolean Museum ANChandler.3.35 AshLI 34

A plain rectangular stele of white marble (in a modern mount) (0.582 0.38 0.047). At the top is engraved the inscription; beneath it a picture is incised. It depicts a youth reclining on an ornamental couch, supporting himself by his left arm, whilst holding out a shallow dish (patera) in his right hand (according to CIL) – but perhaps instead holding out a garland – and holding a cup in his left. In front of the couch is a table, to the left of which is a bird (included in a drawing by Doni, MS. cod. Vat. Lat. 7113). The bottom half of the stele remains blank. The rear remains roughly finished; to the sides, the right edge is rough, the left is smoothed. It is in a good condition, although the relief is slightly worn, the edges of the stele are chipped, and parts of the inscribed text are slightly pitted.

There are interpuncts throughout, except in line 1. Each line is roughly centred. The orthography of Felixs (Felix) and Nymfe (Nymphe) is non-standard.

 0.025throughout. Given that it was recorded by Doni and Sirmond, it probably originates from Rome. 2nd/3rd century AD (Solin 2003: vol.1, p.435). It was first recorded in Oxford by Prideaux (1676), as part of the Arundel Collection, given to the University of Oxford by Henry Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1667. The Arundel marbles were first displayed in the ‘Garden of Antiquities’ outside the new Sheldonian Theatre from 1668/9 (Sturdy and Moorcraft 1999). The inscriptions were subsequently transferred indoors in 1715 to ‘The Marble School’, an upper gallery in the Bodleian Quadrangle. In 1749, they were transferred downstairs to the ground floor in the former School of Moral Philosophy, and at some point then ended up in the basement of the (Old) Ashmolean Museum on Broad Street (now the Museum of the History of Science) (Munby 2013). 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. The epitaph is currently in a storeroom. Photograph
dis manibus sacrum Victoriae et Salacio filiis dulcissimis Felixs et Nymfe parentes fecerunt

Sacred to the spirits of the dead. For Victoria and Salacius, sweetest children. Felixs and Nymfe, parents, set this up.

NYMFE (Doni MS. cod. Vat. Lat.; Sirmond); NYMEE (Prideaux); NIMFE (Malvasia, Muratori).

The social status of the commemorators and commemorated is uncertain, but it is possible that this monument offers an unusual insight into a family of slaves, given that each individual is represented only by a single name. Moreover, Felix is one of the most common slave names in Rome (Solin 1996: vol. 1, pp.86-92, a total of 461 instances), whilst Nymphe and Victoria are also attested among slaves. Salacius, however, is not known as a slave-name, but is also almost unparalled in any context (cf. one other example, of Christian date: ICUR vol.1, no.1173). It may be derived from the sea-goddess Salacia.

The incised relief alludes to the idea of the funerary banquet (‘Totenmahl’), which is a common motif on funerary monuments, especially funerary altars, urns, and sarcophagi (Dunbabin 2003: chapter 4). It shares typical features of this genre, depicting a figure reclining on a couch, a three-legged table in front, and with drinking vessel in hand. It is, however, less often found on stelae in Rome and Italy (Dunbabin 2003: p.109). The precise meaning of such images is much debated – whether they express some sort of hope that the deceased will enjoy a pleasant afterlife, or reflect commemorative feasts held at tombs, or allude to the enjoyment of such dining during one’s lifetime – but in fact to search for a single meaning is probably misguided. Instead, it seems likely that banqueting scenes in funerary contexts were ambivalent in meaning. In this case, even though both Victoria and Salacius are mentioned in the inscription, the picture alludes only to a single individual, suggesting perhaps that the image is not intended to be a representation of a specific person, but is a generic allusion to the theme of banqueting, conjuring up an atmosphere of pleasure and privileged status that is perhaps surprising in a context such as this, if it does belong to a family of slaves. The stele overall may be reflective of the family’s aspirations towards a comfortable lifestyle rather than reflecting the reality.

Sirmond MS. BNF Paris suppl. Lat. 1419 = Lat. 10808, no. 265; Doni MS. cod. Vat. Lat. 7113 f.42’ (following Menestrier); Malvasia (1690) p.440 (following Fabretti’s schedae); Muratori (1740) vol.2, p.1229 no.3 (following Malvasia); Prideaux (1676) p.102, no.37; Maittaire (1732) p.35 no.53; Chandler (1763) p.133, no.35; CIL VI.4.1 no.28928 [Hübner] (1894).

Online: EDCS-14802892 [accessed 22/07/14].

ChandlerR. 1763 Marmora Oxoniensia Oxford Clarendon Press DoniGiovanni Battista [Donius] 1954-1647 MS. cod. Vat. Lat. 7113 DunbabinK. 2003 The Roman Banquet: images of conviviality Cambridge Cambridge University Press MaittaireM. 1732, 2nd edn. Marmorum, Arundellianorum, Seldenianorum, Aliorumque Academiae Oxoniensi Donatorum London William Bowyer MalvasiaC. 1690 Marmora Felsinea innumeris non solum inscriptionibus exteris hucusque ineditis Bononia Ex typografia Pisariana MunbyJ. 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 MuratoriL.A. 1740 Novus thesaurus veterum inscriptionum II Milan PrideauxH. 1676 Marmora Oxoniensia ex Arundellianis, Seldenianis, aliisque conflata Oxford SirmondJacques [Sirmondus] 1559-1651 Recueil d’inscriptions copiées par Sirmond, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, Paris suppl. Lat. 1419 = Lat. 10808 [consulted online 10/06/14 at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9077728w] SolinH. 1996 Die stadtrömischen Sklavennamen Stuttgart Steiner SolinH. 2003 Die griechischen Personennamen in Rom. Ein Namenbuch (2nd edn) 3 vols Berlin de Gruyter SturdyD. and N.Moorcraft 1999 Christopher Wren and Oxford’s garden of antiquities Minvera 10.1 25-28