CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

As B. Fowlkes-Childs and M. Seymour note (p. 164 in The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East), "representations of reclining male banqueters and attendants provide glimpses of lavish feasts at Palmyra." These scenes likely refer to the deceased's role during his lifetime as a participant in religious banquets rather than depicting his own funerary feast. In this example, the sitter's elaborately-embroidered clothing consisting of a himation over a tunic points to his elevated status in society. For similar examples, see nos. 109 and 112 in Fowlkes-Childs and Seymour, op. cit.