A Roman Marble Cinerary Urn inscribed for Gellia Aphia, 1st Century A.D.

the front carved in relief with a fruit-laden garland hanging from two ram's heads in the corners, an eagle with wings outspread beneath each head, a gorgoneion in the lunette, and an erote riding a dolphin below the garland, the central panel engraved with seven lines of Latin inscription: Q(uintus) Gellius /Crestus / Gelliae / Aphiae / l(ibertae) suae / carissimae. / Vixit a(nnos) XVIIII ("quintus Gellius Crestus [had this made] for Gellia Aphia, his most beloved freedwoman. She lived nineteen years"); the lid (not belonging) carved in the pediment with an eagle and a serpent; one palmette acroterion formerly restored.

François Duval-Toepffer (1776-1854), jeweller to the Imperial court, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, then Morillon near Geneva, acquired circa 1800
by descent to his wife Ninette Duval and to his son the painter Etienne Duval (1824-1914), Morillon near Geneva
Louis Fould (1794-1858), Paris, acquired from the above in 1856 together with ten other marbles (Charles Pillet, Paris, Catalogue de la précieuse collection d'objets d'art, d'antiquités et de tableaux formée par feu M. Louis Fould, June 4th, 1860, and following days, no. 882)
William Lowther (1787-1872), 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, Lowther Castle, Penrith, Cumberland, probably acquired at the above sale
thence by descent to Lancelot Lowther (1867-1953), 6th Earl of Lonsdale (probably Maple & Co., Ltd., and Thomas Wyatt, Penrith, Cumberland, Lowther Castle, near Penrith, Cumberland. The Major Part of the Earl of Lonsdale's Collection, April 29th-May 1st, 1947)
English private collection, acquired at auction in Kent, in the 1960s (Bonhams, London, November 30th, 2016, no. 72, illus.)

Theodor Mommsen, Inscriptiones Confoederationis Latinae Helveticae (Mittheilungen der Antiquarischen Gesellschaft in Zurich, vol. 10), Zurich, 1854, p. 104, no. 14 ("ex Italia allata Genevam"), based on a transcription by Heinrich Meyer
Anatole Chabouillet, Description des antiquités et objets d'art composant le cabinet de M. Louis Fould, Paris, 1861, p. 34, no. 882 ("acquis à Genève en 1856"), engraved on p. 33, mentioned as being from the collection of François Duval on p. 28, note 1
Gazette des beaux-arts, 1860, p. 269, engraved
Adolf Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge, 1882, p. 497, no. 60
Eugen Bormann, Wilhelm Henzen, and Christan Hülsen, eds., Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. VI: Inscriptiones urbis Romae Latinae, part 3: Tituli sepulcrales: claudius-Plotius, Berlin, 1886, no. 18958
Otto Hirschfeld, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. XII: Inscriptiones Galliae Narbonensis Latinae, Berlin, 1888, no. 203
William Deonna, Pierres sculptées de la vieille Genève (Collections lapidaires du Musée et Documents hors du Musée), Geneva, 1929, p. 37, no. 129
Heikki Solin, Die stadtrömischen Sklavennamen: Ein Namenbuch, Wiesbaden, 1996, p. 477
Alessandro Teatini, I marmi Reksten e il collezionismo europeo di antichità tra XVII e XIX secolo, 2003, pp. 33-34, note 87

As shown. No restorations. Lid is ancient but belonged to another cinerary urn. Muzzles of corner rams' heads slightly abraded. Eros on dolphin slightly weathered. Minor chips and abrasions overall.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

François Duval-Toepffer's and Louis Fould's most prized ancient marble, a figure of a satyr originally from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, is now in the Louvre (Cécile Giroire and Daniel Roger, Roman Art from the Louvre, 2007, no. 26).