Relief of Banqueter (Horace?), detail of head and chest: three-quarter vie...
Relief of Banqueter (Horace?): general view
Relief of Banqueter (Horace?), detail of kantharos: frontal view
Relief of Banqueter (Horace?): three-quarter view from left
Relief of Banqueter (Horace?), detail of lower right portion of frieze
Relief of Banqueter (Horace?), detail of head and chest: frontal view
| Collection: | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
| Title: | Relief of Banqueter (Horace?) |
| Summary: | Banqueter (Horace?) holding wine cup |
| Material: | Marble |
| Sculpture Type: | Stele, relief-decorated |
| Category: | Single monument |
| Technique: | Medium relief |
| Original or Copy: | Original |
| Date: | ca. 50 BC - ca. 1 BC |
| Dimensions: | H 0.29 m; W 0.235 m |
| Scale: | Under life-size |
| Region: | Italy |
| Period: | Late Republican |
Subject Description: An older man wearing a short-sleeved tunic and cloak reclines on a draped couch holding a two-handled, fluted, stemmed wine cup in his left hand. A garland of flowers hangs from his left wrist, and traces of another wreath are visible above his right shoulder. At the right edge is a tree trunk with a vine twined around it. The man has some facial lines on his cheeks, under his eyes, and on his forehead. He has closely cropped hair. In 1936 it was proposed the man depicted was the Augustan court poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus, or Horace (65-8 B.C.). While reminiscent of funerary banquet reliefs, this example may be decorative for placement in the wall of a garden courtyard. Alternatively, it may be a votive relief, celebrating the peace and joy stemming from the worship of Dionysos.
Condition: Fragmentary
Condition Description: The stele is broken at the top, the left side, and the lower right corner. Some chipping on the man's face.
Material Description: Marble from Carrara, Italy
Sources Used:
Other Bibliography: H. Fuhrmann, AJA 40 (1936), 73-91