Details

LOT 0126

Roman Inked Wooden Tablet with Testamentary Dispositions of Emilius Vernucius

CIRCA 300 A.D.

8 1/4 x 7 5/8 in. (99 grams, 21 x 19.5 cm).

Well preserved square tablet with a recessed panel to each face and two holes to accept thongs, probably the third tablet of a Roman will made by Emilius Vernucius around 300 A.D., two small holes at the upper rim (for binding the tablets of this document together); the text of the inner and first half of the outer face consisting of testamentary dispositions always starting with the verbs do lego, slaves, fields, buildings, and sums of money are mentioned; at the end the mancipatory formula of Roman testaments can be read, mentioned are the familiae emptor and the libripens as well as the first of the witnesses, Emilius Cerealius. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Acquired by Albert Sfez in the early 1950s.
Formerly the property of Monsieur Alain Sfez, a Belgian collector; acquired by gift from his father Albert Sfez, in 1965.
Acquired by a London dealer in 1973.
From an important London collection since 1975; thence by descent.

Accompanied by a copy of a four page academic report by Professor Dr phil. Peter Rothenhöfer.
Accompanied by a collection of four old black and white photographs of the the tablet.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12599-230809.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Published

Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 26th May-15th September 2025; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.

Literature

Cf. Rothenhöfer, P., Blänsdorf, Jürgen, ‘Sana mente sanaque memoria testa-mentum feci: Eine testamentarische Verfügung vom 12. April 340 n. Chr.,’ in Gephyra 13, 2016, pp.153-163; Rothenhoefer, P. Bemerkungen zum Testament des Pomponius Maximus aus dem Jahr 371 n. Chr. (Notes on the Testament of Pomponius Maximus from the Year AD 371). Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte (Romanistische Abteilung) 142, 2025, pp. 200-232; also see Thomas, J. D., Vindolanda: The Latin Writing Tablets, Britannia Monograph Series No 4, London, 1983, for examples of wooden tabulae re-used as writing surfaces; for examples of testamentary documents on wooden tablets that have survived, see FIRA III, p.47, for Anthony Silvanus from 142 AD, also see BGU VII 1695 for Safinnius Herminus; for another from Transfynydd, North Wales, see Arch. Camb. 150, pp.143-156; and see Bowman, A.K., Life and letters on the Roman frontier : Vindolanda and its people, London, 1994, for discussion of the uses of Roman writing tablets; Rothenhoefer, P., Neue römische Rechtsdokumente aus dem Byzacena-Archiv / New Roman Legal Documents from the Byzacena Archive, (forthcoming).