A ROMAN MARBLE CINERARY URN INSCRIBED FOR VOLUNSEIA TYCHE, 1ST HALF OF THE 1ST CENTURY A.D. | A Roman Marble Cinerary urn inscribed for Volunseia Tyche

of almost square form, carved in front and on the sides with garlands of flowers, fruit, and ears of grain suspended from the horns of rams's heads at the corners, a bird picking at the fruit in the lunette, two others below, leaf moulding along the base and crown, the framed panel engraved with three lines of Latin inscription reading Volunseia / Mariae l(iberta) / Tyche v(ixit) a(nnos) XXXII ("Volunseia Tyche, Maria's freedwoman. She lived 32 years"), the gabled lid with tiles of echeloned pointed leaves, pulvini, and pediment adorned with palmettes growing from twin linked rosettes, wave pattern along the base; no restorations. 

recorded in the Fall of 1752 at a private house in Orvieto by Cardinal Giuseppe Garampi (1725-1792), Prefect of the Archivio Segreto Vaticano
Alan Gradon Thomas (1911-1992), Bournemouth, UK
English private collection, received as a gift from the above, in the late 1950s/early 1960s
by descent to the present owner

RECORDED
Archivio Vaticano, Fondo Garampi, no. 135 (adv. III), p. 55 PUBLISHED
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. XI: Inscriptiones Aemiliae Etruriae Umbriae latinae, part 2, fasc. 2, Berlin, 1926, p. 1308, no. 7364 (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/marbilder/4274499)
L. Fumi, "L''Iter urbevetanum et perusinum' del Garampi", Bollettino della Deputazione di storia patria per l'Umbria, vol. 14, 1908, p. 598
Ronald Syme, "The Early Tiberian Consuls," Historia, vol. 30, 1981, p. 191

As shown; note chip to urn's cornice above panel of inscription as well as losses to apex of lid's pediment and around rosettes in front of rotuli; end of one rotulus in back is chipped away; small square hole through bottom of urn is coated in lead; circular hole drilled through front of urn below bottom of garland; minor chips and abrasions overall; surface slightly weathered in areas and very dirty, much more so on top of lid; lid and urn were originally secured together with three lead clamps, one on each side and one in back.
"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."

For the decoration of the urn cf. e.g. F. Sinn, Stadtrömische Marmorurnen, 1987, p. 106, no. 60 and pl. 19, e-f.