Epitaph of Fructosa
Culture: Roman
Date: 1st-3rd century A.D.
Medium: Marble
Dimensions:
h. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm); w. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); d. 1 in. (2.5 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, bequest of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 2005.1.89
Inscribed: Inscribed in Latin:
D(is) – M(anibus)
Fructosae vern(ae)
Clari·Aug(usti)·lib(erti)·ta
b(u)lari vix(it) an(nis)·II·me(nsibus)
XI – d(iebus) – VIII
To the shades of the dead. For Fructosa, a slave born in the household of Clarus, an accountant and former slave of the emperor. She lived 2 years, 11 months, and 8 days.
Provenance: sold by Charles Ede, Ltd., London, to Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. (1921-2004), San Antonio, 1992; Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., by bequest to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2005
Published References
Charles Ede Ltd., "Writing and Lettering in Antiquity XV," (London, 1992) no. 31
Label Text
Epitaphs form an important source of information about the lives of Roman slaves and freedmen. This inscription commemorates a child born into slavery in the household of an imperial freedman. It reads, “To the shades of the dead. For Fructosa, a slave born in the household of Clarus, an accountant and former slave of the emperor. She lived 2 years, 11 months, and 8 days.” Similar plaques labeled burials in columbaria, communal tombs so named because their rows of niches for cremated remains resembled houses for doves.
(J. Powers, 2008)
(J. Powers, 2008)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
