Lot 55
  • 55

A Roman Marble Cinerary Urn inscribed for Caius Telegenius Azmenus, circa late 1st/early 2nd Century A.D.

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
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Description

  • A Roman Marble Cinerary Urn inscribed for Caius Telegenius Azmenus
  • marble
  • 26.7 by 33.5 by 31.5 cm.
the front carved in relief with a fruit-laden garland hanging from two corner theatre masks with ringlets, an eagle with outspread wings beneath each mask, two birds picking at the garland in the lunette, the recessed panel engraved with four lines of Latin inscription: Dis Manibus / C(aio) Telegenio Azmeno / vixit a(nnos) XXI (m)enses III Telegennia / Mater ("To the spirits of the departed. To Caius Telegenius Azmenus. He lived twenty-one years and three months. (His) mother Telegennia (had this made)," the gabled lid with palmette-shaped acroteria, the pediment decorated in shallow relief with a bird picking fruit flowing from a cornucopia.

Provenance

found near the Porta Capena in Rome in 1639
Senator Carlo Strozzi (1587-1671), Villa Casamorata, Florence, and by descent in the same location until at least 1875
Galleria Sangiorgi, Rome
Joseph Brummer, New York, inv. no. N401, acquired from the above on January 2nd, 1920 
(http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16028coll9/id/5225)
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Part I of the Notable Art Collection belonging to the Estate of the Late Joseph Brummer, April 20th-23rd, 1949, lot 165
American private collection, Connecticut, acquired in the 1970s
American private collection, by descent from the above (Westport Auctions, Westport, Conn., July 17th, 2016, no. 46)

Literature

Antonio Francesco Gori, Inscriptiones antiquae in Etruriae urbibus exstantes, vol. I, Florence, 1727, p. 341, no. 15
Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Novus thesaurus veterum  inscriptionum, vol. II, Milan, 1740, p. 1219, no. 7
Hans Dütschke, Antike Bildwerke in Oberitalien, vol. 2:  Antike Bildwerke in Florenz, Leipzig, 1875, pp. 224-225, no. 481 (24)
Christian Hülsen, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. VI: Inscriptiones Urbis Romae Latinae, part. IV, fasc. 1: Tituli sepulcrales: Plotia-Zozion, Berlin, 1894, no. 27136

Condition

As shown. No restorations. Chipped on lower edge and upper corners in front. Both faces have chipped noses and abraded chins. Several deep stress cracks in the back of the urn, which do not affect the stability of the object. Minor chips and abrasions elsewhere. Small circular hole in the centre of the top of the lid.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."