Vatican Museums

Intended for herself, her loved ones and their descendants, the tomb built by freedwoman Iulia Irene first held the mortal remains of the eighty year-old patroness Iulia Agele, a resinaria by profession. Resin is a vegetable essence extracted from some trees (also mentioned in the emperor Diocletian’s Edict on prices, of the year 301), mainly used for flavoring wines. The form resinarius, which is not attested to in other epigraphic sources, may indicate the trading and sale of resin, but may also refer to those who use it as a depilatory agent. This latter interpretation would appear to be confirmed by the bas-relief at the top, which shows two seated women: the “beautician” beside the stove used to heat the product, and the client with bare legs. The iuventus resinata, mentioned with irony by the Latin poet Juvenal, famous punisher of bad habits, is commonly interpreted as “youth coated with resin”, or rather “depilated”.