Banquet Relief

Description The banquet scene, of Near Eastern origin, was used for Classical funerary reliefs and also as votive offerings to gods. Here, the deceased male reclines at his funerary banquet accompanied by his wife and family. The large vessel holds wine; on the table are an incense burner, cakes, and fruits. Banquet reliefs are important because they illustrate both the domestic setting and the traditions of the ritual funerary meal. As in most grave sculpture of this period, the figures are not actual portraits, but instead represent generalized types.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
7/20/1970	Treatment	cleaned
1/23/1978	Treatment	cleaned
1/25/1978	Treatment	cleaned
11/08/1988	Treatment	cleaned; loss compensation

Exhibitions

• In Search of Ancient Treasure: 40 Years of Collecting. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1978.
• From Alexander to Cleopatra: Greek Art of the Hellenistic Age. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1988-1989.
• Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), New York. 2009-2011.

Provenance Spink and Son, London [Octagon, Winter 1966, 8] [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1967, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase with funds provided by the S. & A.P. Fund, 1967