Cypriot Limestone Group of a Banquet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2010

Title: Limestone group: banquet

Medium; Technique: Limestone

Culture: Cypriot

Period: Archaic

Date: end of the 6th century B.C.

Dimensions: H.: 6 7/8 x 17 1/2 x 11 1/4 in. (17.5 x 44.5 x 28.6 cm)

Classification: Stone Sculpture

Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76

Accession Number: 74.51.2577

On View

Description:

Five figures are disposed around the edge of an irregular plinth. They face inward; a cutting may have held an altar or offering table. The banqueters recline on cushions, not on couches as in Greece. The central male figure is alone. On either side is a couple, a reclining male and a woman seated at his knees. The heads probably do not belong with the bodies. As with the terracotta group scenes, the Cypriot artist used all means at his disposal to render familiar subjects. The malleable clay and soft limestone facilitated his efforts.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...