Getty Museum

Tile Fragment

Date

about A.D. 115

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Roman

Department

Architecture

Institution

Getty Museum

Tile fragment with a crescent-shaped "orbicular" stamp in positive relief of a wolf encircled by two bands of Latin text. The wolf, at the center of the stamp, steps towards the right with its right front leg lifted. The first band of text below the wolf reads: "COS," and the outer fragmentary band reads: "M[ R L MES] SAL ET PEDONE." The text is an abbreviated form of "M. R(utili) L(upi) Messal(la) et Pedone co(n)s(ulibus)" which translates to the name of the dominus (owner) of the workshop, "Marcus Rutilius Lupus," and the year of production, "consular year of Messalla and Pedo," 115 A.D. The figure of the wolf serves as a rebus, alluding to the cognomen of the owner, "Lupus," which is Latin for wolf. This tile was likely produced at M. Lupus's pottery workshop, the figlinae Brutianae, in Rome, which was famous for being the first to include both the consular year and signia on its brickstamp.

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