Memorial Tablet for Vitalis
Dublin Core
Title
Memorial Tablet for Vitalis
Subject
MARBLE
Description
Description:
A small upright rectangular headstone with a rounded top, decorated with a relief carving of the goddess Diana as a huntress accompanied by a hound. The relief scene is framed by a flat border, c.20 mm wide, and set into the surface of the marble slab. Beneath the figures is an inscription, carefully spaced and carved in capital letters and framed by double incised lines on the sides and base, as follows:
DM
VITALINI
FILIAESVAE
QVAVIII.M.XI.D.III
FECERVNT
PARENTESPIENTISSIMI
Translated, this reads: "To the gods of the shades, her loving parents erect this memorial to their daughter, Vitalis, who lived for eight years, eleven months and three days." "D M" is the usual abbreviation for "Dis Manibus" ["To the gods of the shades"]. The fine-grained marble is white with grey veins and some rust-coloured speckles on the surface. The stele is in good condition with one fault or deep scratch on the front surface across the upper right corner of the lettering and another running down the right-hand side of Diana? face and along her left arm. There is slight damage to her nose and to the top of the dog head. The outside edges of the stele are chipped, especially on the right.
Function:
A memorial marker for the grave of a young girl at a time in Roman history when children were greatly valued, especially in the families of freed men and women. The chaste and beautiful goddess Diana was frequently chosen for funerary reliefs commemorating unmarried young girls.
Decoration:
The rather squat figure of Diana has a frontal body and a head in three-quarter view. Her gaze is directed to her left, in the direction of the prey she is about to shoot using the bow that she holds in her left hand. Her right hand is reaching behind her head in order to take an arrow from the quiver she carries on her back. Her legs are spread apart in order to steady her body for the shot and her hound, depicted in profile, leaps to the right in the direction of the presumed target. On her feet are soft boots reaching just above her ankles. She also wears a chitoniskos with a short mantle or chlamys. Straps holding the quiver on her back cross at the front, between her breasts. Her hair is tied back into a knot. Her features are coarse and over-large for the size of her body. The face is perhaps a portrait of the dead Vitalis since portraits were often added to stock figures. However, indications of breast development make the body seem too mature for an eight year old.
A small upright rectangular headstone with a rounded top, decorated with a relief carving of the goddess Diana as a huntress accompanied by a hound. The relief scene is framed by a flat border, c.20 mm wide, and set into the surface of the marble slab. Beneath the figures is an inscription, carefully spaced and carved in capital letters and framed by double incised lines on the sides and base, as follows:
DM
VITALINI
FILIAESVAE
QVAVIII.M.XI.D.III
FECERVNT
PARENTESPIENTISSIMI
Translated, this reads: "To the gods of the shades, her loving parents erect this memorial to their daughter, Vitalis, who lived for eight years, eleven months and three days." "D M" is the usual abbreviation for "Dis Manibus" ["To the gods of the shades"]. The fine-grained marble is white with grey veins and some rust-coloured speckles on the surface. The stele is in good condition with one fault or deep scratch on the front surface across the upper right corner of the lettering and another running down the right-hand side of Diana? face and along her left arm. There is slight damage to her nose and to the top of the dog head. The outside edges of the stele are chipped, especially on the right.
Function:
A memorial marker for the grave of a young girl at a time in Roman history when children were greatly valued, especially in the families of freed men and women. The chaste and beautiful goddess Diana was frequently chosen for funerary reliefs commemorating unmarried young girls.
Decoration:
The rather squat figure of Diana has a frontal body and a head in three-quarter view. Her gaze is directed to her left, in the direction of the prey she is about to shoot using the bow that she holds in her left hand. Her right hand is reaching behind her head in order to take an arrow from the quiver she carries on her back. Her legs are spread apart in order to steady her body for the shot and her hound, depicted in profile, leaps to the right in the direction of the presumed target. On her feet are soft boots reaching just above her ankles. She also wears a chitoniskos with a short mantle or chlamys. Straps holding the quiver on her back cross at the front, between her breasts. Her hair is tied back into a knot. Her features are coarse and over-large for the size of her body. The face is perhaps a portrait of the dead Vitalis since portraits were often added to stock figures. However, indications of breast development make the body seem too mature for an eight year old.
Creator
AD 50 - 150
Source
Purchased from Charles Ede Ltd, London, 1978
Date
Italy
Rome (?)
Identifier
78.004
Coverage
Italic
Roman
Imperial
Files
Citation
AD 50 - 150, “Memorial Tablet for Vitalis,” RD Milns Antiquities Museum Online Exhibitions, accessed April 28, 2024, https://uqantiquitiesonlineexhibitions.omeka.net/items/show/320.