Marble Plaque with Funerary Inscription in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2010

Marble Plaque with Funerary Inscription
Roman, 1st- 2nd century AD

Accession # X.248.2

The inscription records the death of a woman called Lollia Genialis and says that the plaque was set up by her mother Lollia Sameramis, who describes herself as infelicissima (most unfortunate). Such superlatives appear frequently in funerary inscriptions and provide insight into personal emotions such as the deep sense of loss felt by grieving parents.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.