Limestone Stele of Saturnilla

Culture: Roman

Period: 2nd century A.D.

Material: Limestone

Dimensions: 62.5 cm x 46 cm

Price: 18 000 Euro

Ref: 3420

Provenance: Private collection Jany Gabriel Parise, acquired prior to 1984. With an expertise by Jean Roudillon of 16 April 1984. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Condition: Nose and lower lip restored, some wear on the right corner of the stele.

Description: Large limestone stele with a sculptural bust of a woman in the carved niche. The woman, whose name is indicated at the lower bottom with Saturnilla, looks at the viewer with wide open eyes under thick lids. The pupils are perforated. She is holding possibly scrolls in her left hand, while pulling her veil together with her right. The hair is carefully curled and parted in the middle. Saturnilla wears striking earrings and a robe that is tied on the left shoulder. The depiction of the deceased and the soft limestone make it clear that the stele originates from northern Syria, possibly from Zeugma in what is today eastern Turkey. With translation and description by the Viennese epigraphist Katharina Michner BA MA.