Marble Inscribed Cippus in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 2022

Title: Marble inscribed cippus

Period: Early Imperial

Date: 2nd half of 1st century CE

Culture: Roman

Medium: Marble

Dimensions: 30 11/16 × 15 1/2 × 18 3/4 in., 550 lb. (78 × 39.4 × 47.6 cm, 249.5 kg)

Classification: Stone Sculpture

Credit Line: Anonymous loan

Accession Number: L.2013.89

This funerary inscription records the death of an imperial freedman of the emperor Claudius (r. A.D. 41–54) named Saturninus. He had been an official who collected inheritance taxes in the province of Achaea (Greece) for the state treasury in Rome. It was set up by his wife, Flavia Saturnina. The cippus, hollowed out at the top to hold Saturninus’ ashes, once had a lid.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/630074