Tüskés Anna (szerk.): Omnis creatura significans - Tanulmányok Prokopp Mária 70. születésnapjára (2009)
Antik és középkori művészet
Omnis creatura significans but considering the arch tabernacle it can be assumed that it is half of a scene measuring 90 (72) in width and 54 (42) in height. The placement of the child and the table implies that there could be no other family member present. However, the presence of a slave woman can be assumed on the right side of the chair, and, naturally, a dolphin in the upper left corner. Beneath the main scene, there are remains of another scene or an inscription. Presumably, it is a scene from a family feast from the life of the deceased, which should communicate to an observer that the deceased had a comfortable life, had plenitude—he and his family—, or it can depict enjoyment of life, comfort in an ideal family, and personal happiness. The man is not dressed in an army uniform (sagum or army tunic), but in a folded civil tunic. He does not have a rough beard or haircut but has a carefully combed hairstyle and beard, which is almost invisible. This can lead to the assumption that he was not a soldier, but a rich civilian, probably a merchant. He is not holding a roll which could imply that he received a citizenship after his army service. Presumably, he had already had it for a long time. Of course, it must be mentioned that emperor Caracalla gave citizenship to all the free citizens of the empire. Nevertheless, he was a fully Romanised citizen of Rome. It is not easy to date the stele, either, mainly because of the damage to the relic and the loss of the inscription, which usually identifies the precise date of the tombstone. So we have to base our conclusions on the character of the relief. The most accurate dating means are the haircuts, especially the female haircut. They can be analyzed according to the fashion trends in the empire, which were set by female members of the imperial family. As I have already mentioned, due to the damage of the female face it is not easy to identify the haircut but presumably, it is the kind which was worn by women during the rule of the dynasty of Severus in the first half of the 3rd century. The woman is not wearing a costume (garb), which was worn during the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in Pannónia. She is a Roman. Also, Dr. Friderike Harl, who specializes in researching Roman tombstones in Vienna, dates the scene of the feast with klina in eastern Pannónia in the period of 150-230.3 Consequently, we can date the origin of the Roman tombstone in Kosice to the first decades of the 3rd century (200-230) A.D. I have found no mention of this Roman relief in scholarly literature. Also, little information has been published in the local press and in the internal papers of the Museum and Heritage Office in Kosice on the analysed relic. Notes 1 Sabol, Eugen: Kosické lapidárium. Archive KPÚ Kosice. 2 Duchon, Jozef: Neskororimska rarita. In: Kosicky Vecer 25.3.1994, s. 8. 3 www.ubi-erat-lupa.org , ID 3190. 24 Fig. 3. Roman stele, Kosice lapidarium
