DiscussionLost base for statue of Lucius Aradius Valerius Proculus; erected to its patron by the guild of bakers (pistores). Rome. 337-352. INSCRIPTIONIn seven lines. An elegiac distic followed by the dedication Populonii. / Ille ego sum Proculus, / totus qui natus honori. / Aut dic quis sit honos /(5) quem mihi inesse negas. / Collegium pistorum / patrono prestantissimo. '(Statue) of Populonius. That man am I, Proculus, who was entirely born for honour. Or tell which is the honour that you deny resides within me. The guild of the bakers (corpus pistorum) [set this up] to their most outstanding patron.' DESCRIPTION The base was drawn by Giovannantonio Dosio, and based on this drawing Alföldy suggested that our inscription wa carved into the back of a re-used base. This is due to the fact that the epigraphic field, as shown in the drawing, is not framed by any moulding (CIL VI, p. 4735). PROVENANCE AND CURRENT LOCATION Our base was discovered in the 16th century in the gardens of S. Stefano Rotondo beside the church of S. Erasmo, on the Caelian hill. This was the site of the house of the Valerii (Barbera, Palladino and Paterna 2008; Guidobaldi 1995, 207). It was found with LSA-1396, LSA-1397 and LSA-1399, all dedicated to the same Proculus by his clients. A number of inscriptions to his brother (CIL VI, 1684-1689) were also found there. Our base is now lost. HONORAND, AWARDER AND DATE Lucius Aradius Valerius Proculus was a member of the powerful and prestigious family of the Valerii. His impressive career attests to the role he played during the government of Constantine, confirmed by an imperial letter displayed in the Forum of Trajan (possibly part of a statue-dedication, LSA-2685). Proculus occupied many important offices, including the prefecture of the City in 337-338 and again in 351-352, and the consulship in 340 (PLRE I, 747-749 Proculus 11). Our base was probably dedicated during one of these terms of office, the most important of his career. The most likely date is 340. The base was dedicated by the corpus pistorum, a guild that played a crucial role in the economic and social life of late antique Rome. Main ReferenceCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum; , VI, 1692 (+p. 4735)Discussion ReferencesBarbera, M, S. Paladino and C. Paterna, "La domus dei Valerii sul Celio alla luce delle recenti scoperte", Papers of the British School at Rome, 76, 2008, pp. 75-98 Guidobaldi, F., "Domus: Valerii", in E. M. Steinby (ed), Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae, vol. 2, Rome 1995, p. 207 Jones, A. H. M. et al., The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. I 260-395, Cambridge et al. 1971 (1975), pp. 747-749 (Proculus 11) |
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