Memorial Tablet for Decimus Junius Venerianus
Dublin Core
Title
Memorial Tablet for Decimus Junius Venerianus
Subject
MARBLE
Description
A small rectangular marble memorial tablet with this inscription finely carved in capital letters or scriptura monumentalis.
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum entry for this piece notes that it was discovered in Rome in 1733 by the antiquary Francesco Ficoroni at a site near the church of Sanctus Caesarius. The tablet has been broken and reassembled from three large fragments. Two cracks are evident, one more vertical to the left of the centre and another running obliquely from the lower part of the vertical crack to the upper right-hand side of the tablet. One large chip is missing from the upper edge of the tablet and the right and bottom edges are extensively chipped. Remains of horizontal lines inscribed on the surface for the positioning of the letters can be seen, especially in the first and last lines, along with traces of red in the letters.
The inscription reads: "To the Gods, the Shades. Pompeia Primitiva set this up for her beloved son Decimus Junius Venerianus, and for herself and her household, her freed slaves male and female, and their descendants. Two feet wide, two and half feet deep."
Function: A memorial tablet identifying a rectangular niche, probably situated in a columbarium, of the dimensions indicated in the inscription. Set up primarily by a mother (probably a freedwoman) for her son, the niche was also used to hold the ashes of the extended family, including servants.
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum entry for this piece notes that it was discovered in Rome in 1733 by the antiquary Francesco Ficoroni at a site near the church of Sanctus Caesarius. The tablet has been broken and reassembled from three large fragments. Two cracks are evident, one more vertical to the left of the centre and another running obliquely from the lower part of the vertical crack to the upper right-hand side of the tablet. One large chip is missing from the upper edge of the tablet and the right and bottom edges are extensively chipped. Remains of horizontal lines inscribed on the surface for the positioning of the letters can be seen, especially in the first and last lines, along with traces of red in the letters.
The inscription reads: "To the Gods, the Shades. Pompeia Primitiva set this up for her beloved son Decimus Junius Venerianus, and for herself and her household, her freed slaves male and female, and their descendants. Two feet wide, two and half feet deep."
Function: A memorial tablet identifying a rectangular niche, probably situated in a columbarium, of the dimensions indicated in the inscription. Set up primarily by a mother (probably a freedwoman) for her son, the niche was also used to hold the ashes of the extended family, including servants.
Creator
AD 50 - 75
Source
Purchased from Charles Ede Ltd, London, with funds from Mr I.R. Given and Mrs. V.J. Given, 1991.
Date
Italy
Rome
Identifier
91.001
Coverage
Italic
Roman
Imperial
Files
Citation
AD 50 - 75, “Memorial Tablet for Decimus Junius Venerianus,” RD Milns Antiquities Museum Online Exhibitions, accessed May 2, 2024, https://uqantiquitiesonlineexhibitions.omeka.net/items/show/321.