Funerary relief of the Decii
This funerary relief is carved with portraits of the deceased: the husband and wife, to the sides, are united in a ceremonial handshake (dextrarum iunctio), while at the centre a child, whose face has been lost, clutches a dove in his hands to symbolise the purity of his soul. The hairstyles of the portrayed characters refer to a time between the late Flavian and early Trajanic periods.
The inscription identifies all three figures:
A(uli) Deci Spintheris, A(uli) Deci Felicionis, Deciae Spendusae
The husband is A. Decius Spinther and the wife is Decia Spendusa. Both were probably once slaves to a man named Decius. The boy is identified as A. Decius Felicio.
The father holds a rotulus (parchment roll), the top of which has been broken off; the rotulus might be the marriage contract (tabulae nuptiales), or perhaps it signifies his status as a literate man. His head is oddly large, out of proportion to his small-shouldered torso (maybe it was recarved).
Valentin Kockel surveyed hundreds of similar portraits, and says, “The clients who commissioned the portraits belonged overwhelmingly to the freedman class... …the reliefs reflected the aspirations and ideals of that class. The format, with frontal figures standing shoulder to shoulder, was inspired by honorific statues of magistrates set in public places; the wearing of the toga expressed the newly won citizen status of the menfolk; the emphasis on marital ties declared the legitimacy of their families” (Ling, Roger. Review of Kockel (1993). The Classical Review 46 (1996) 191-192)
Found in the Columbarium along the Via Ostiense, behind the Basilica of St. Paul (1898).
Roman, from Rome, ca. 100 CE. Lunense marble.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (inv. 72480)
Funerary relief of the Decii
This funerary relief is carved with portraits of the deceased: the husband and wife, to the sides, are united in a ceremonial handshake (dextrarum iunctio), while at the centre a child, whose face has been lost, clutches a dove in his hands to symbolise the purity of his soul. The hairstyles of the portrayed characters refer to a time between the late Flavian and early Trajanic periods.
The inscription identifies all three figures:
A(uli) Deci Spintheris, A(uli) Deci Felicionis, Deciae Spendusae
The husband is A. Decius Spinther and the wife is Decia Spendusa. Both were probably once slaves to a man named Decius. The boy is identified as A. Decius Felicio.
The father holds a rotulus (parchment roll), the top of which has been broken off; the rotulus might be the marriage contract (tabulae nuptiales), or perhaps it signifies his status as a literate man. His head is oddly large, out of proportion to his small-shouldered torso (maybe it was recarved).
Valentin Kockel surveyed hundreds of similar portraits, and says, “The clients who commissioned the portraits belonged overwhelmingly to the freedman class... …the reliefs reflected the aspirations and ideals of that class. The format, with frontal figures standing shoulder to shoulder, was inspired by honorific statues of magistrates set in public places; the wearing of the toga expressed the newly won citizen status of the menfolk; the emphasis on marital ties declared the legitimacy of their families” (Ling, Roger. Review of Kockel (1993). The Classical Review 46 (1996) 191-192)
Found in the Columbarium along the Via Ostiense, behind the Basilica of St. Paul (1898).
Roman, from Rome, ca. 100 CE. Lunense marble.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (inv. 72480)