HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.

On the upper half of this stele is a funerary banquet sculpted in raised relief within a recessed panel. At the center three draped men recline, each holding a cup. To both sides sits a veiled woman, each with one arm bent acutely, holding the edge of her veil. In the foreground there are three diminutive attendants and a fully-laden table. Greek inscriptions below identify two of the deceased, “Son of Dionysius, Greetings!” and “Apollonios, son of Apollonios, Greetings!" For a similar example at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, see pl. 29 in E. Berger, Antike Kunstwerke aus der Sammlung Ludwig III, Skulpturen.