DiscussionBase for statue (subject unstated), re-erected by Gabinius Vettius Probianus, prefect of the City. Rome, Forum. 377. INSCRIPTIONIn eight lines. Letter height 4-5 cm. Gabinius Vettius / Probianus, v(ir) c(larissimus), / praef(ectus) urb(i), / statuam fatali /(5) necessitate con/labsam, celeberri/mo urbis loco adhi/bita, diligentia reparavit. 'Gabinius Vettius Probianus, of clarissimus rank, prefect of the City, diligently restored [this] statue, fallen in a fatal calamity, brought to the most frequented location of the city.' DESCRIPTION (personal inspection) Marble base for statue, 147 x 77 x 71 cm. The base is preserved on all sides, damaged corners. The epigraphic field measures 89 x 58 cm. It is framed by mouldings on all sides. Its surface is uneven and finished. It was cut back, indicating re-use. The base has mouldings at the top on both left and right sides. The left side has cuttings of a later date. The top is roughly finished, it has a large hole on the left towards the front and two small holes towards the back. PROVENANCE AND LOCATION Our base was found in 1876 in the Roman Forum, in front of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (CIL). It is now in front of the basilica Iulia, Sopr. For.-Pal. inv. n. 12441. HONORAND, AWARDER, AND DATE The subject of the statue is not identified by the inscription. We are told that it was restored after a 'fatal calamity' and moved to a 'most frequented space'. Our Gabinius Vettius Probianus was almost certainly the Probianus prefect of the City in 377 (Chastagnol 1962, 201-202; PLRE I, 734 Probianus 4). It has been suggested that he might have been the Probianus who was urban prefect in 416 (Bauer 1996, 29-30). However, it makes more sense to identify this later prefect with Rufius Probianus, vicarius urbis Romae in the early 5th century (Mazzarino 1942, 383-384). FURTHER DISCUSSION This dedication illustrates the importance of statues in the celebration of Rome's heritage and monumental past. Probianus was responsible for a series of dedications in the Forum, moving statues from other parts of the city to this central location (Machado 2006, 179-85; see, besides our base, LSA-1277, LSA-1340, LSA-1341, LSA-1342, LSA-1359, LSA-1362, LSA-1433 and possibly also LSA-1578). Main ReferenceCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; , VI, 3864a=31883 (+p. 4769)Discussion ReferencesBauer, F. A., Stadt, Platz und Denkmal in der Spätantike, Mainz 1996, Chastagnol, A., Les fastes de la Préfecture de Rome au Bas-Empire, Paris 1962, Jones, A. H. M. et al., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. I 260-395, Cambridge et al. 1971 (1975), p. 734 (Probianus 4) Machado, C., "Building the Past: Monuments and Memory in the Roman Forum", in W. Bowden, A. Gutteridge and C. Machado (edd)., Social and Political Life in Late Antiquity, Leiden 2006, pp. 157-192 Mazzarino, S., Stilicone. La crisi imperiale dopo Teodosio, Rome 1942, |
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