112 - A PUBLISHED FUNERARY STELE FOR SOTERIDAS, LYDIA, ROMAN IMPERIAL PERIOD, DATED BY INSCRIPTION TO 192-193 AD

A PUBLISHED FUNERARY STELE FOR SOTERIDAS, LYDIA, ROMAN IMPERIAL PERIOD, DATED BY INSCRIPTION TO 192-193 AD Published: Peter Herrmann (ed.), Tituli Asiae Minoris V. Tituli Lydiae linguis Graeca et Latina conscripti. Fasciculus I: Regio septentrionalis ad orientem vergens, Vienna, 1981, no. 63. Finely carved from white marble, the rectangular stele centered in the upper field by a large stylized funerary wreath, tied at the top and composed of paired leaves around a circular element, above four lines of carefully incised Greek inscription. The broad undecorated lower field and the surrounding surface retain pronounced diagonal dressing marks. Inscriptions: To the front, inscribed [ἔ]τους σοζʹ, μη(νὸς) Γορπ̣[ι]- [α]ίου ηʹ. Σωτηρίδαν Ἀ̣θηνιανὸς ὁ πατ[ὴρ] ἐτείμησεν. [‘In the year 277, on the eighth day of the month Gorpiaios, Athenianos, his father, honored Soteridas.’ (corresponding to 192-193 AD)] Provenance: From the private collection of Ernst-Ulrich Walter, Germany, acquired between 1963 and 1986, by repute, and thence by descent. Ernst-Ulrich Walter (1919-2013) was a German lawyer specializing in international commercial law and an avid collector whose collection was formed over several decades during professional travels to Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Morocco, and Persia. He assembled a remarkably diverse group of ethnographic, archaeological, and historical objects from the Mediterranean world and Southeast Asia, documenting his travels and acquisitions meticulously through films, photographs, and diaries. Until his death, Walter displayed the collection on his wife’s family estate in Leutwitz, near Bautzen, where he established the “Museum für Morgenlandfahrer”. Conceived as the collection of a traveller, it reflected his personal engagement with the cultures he encountered and was distinguished by the extensive documentation accompanying many of the objects. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected wear and weathering, losses along the edges, scattered encrustations, small chips, and old repairs with associated touchups. The wreath and inscription remain largely intact and well legible! Weight: 26.4 kg Dimensions: Height 50.5 cm (incl. stand) With an associated metal stand. (2) Expert’s note: Roman-period funerary monuments from northeastern Lydia are distinguished by a rich and highly localized epigraphic tradition, in which carved wreaths and the formula τιμάω, ‘to honor,’ recur with particular frequency. The present stele is a characteristic and notably concise example, recording the exact date, the deceased Soteridas, and the act of commemoration by his father Athenianos. The name Soteridas, inscribed here in the accusative as Σωτηρίδαν, is a well-attested masculine Greek personal name. Together, the wreath and the succinct ἐτίμησεν formula place the monument firmly within the funerary conventions of Silandos and the surrounding Lydian region. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related funerary stele, ancient region of Lydia, dated 225 AD, 66 cm high, from the collection of Ernst-Ulrich Walter, and now in the Museum der Westlausitz Kamenz, inventory number SW 2609. Compare a closely related funerary stele for Soterida, dated to 191-192 AD, 64 cm high, from Saittai in Lydia, now in the Museo d’Antichità J.J. Winckelmann, Trieste, inventory number 2233. Compare a related marble stele with Greek inscription, dated to circa 160-180 AD, Roman Imperial period, from Samothrace, in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, inventory number MNC 1423, catalogue numbers Ma 2373 and Ma 4191. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 7 December 2006, lot 144 Price: USD 38,400 or approx. EUR 56,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A Roman marble funerary stele for Stratonike, Lydia, circa mid-2 nd century AD Expert remark: Compare the closely related Lydian origin, Roman Imperial dating, marble medium, pedimental form, large funerary wreath, and dated Greek inscription employing the formula ἐτείμησαν, ‘honored’. Note the considerably larger size (98.4 cm).