Banquet scene with inscribed words

Four men recline on long beds draped in cloth for a banquet or symposium. Another man is seated on the front edge of the table. He speaks to the figure at his left, and scratched above his head is the Greek word Scio (I know). He looks at a smaller male, likely enslaved, in front of the beds, who extends a silver cup to him. An even smaller male, possibly a child, appears to help the man sitting on the table with his shoe. At the right a third small figure supports a reveler who appears to be incapacitated; the word Bibo (I drink) is scratched above him. At the center of the reclining guests is a man whose white hair is covered with a cloth. A small, dark-skinned boy is seated on his lap. Scratched above the man’s head is Valetis (Be Well), and above the boy, Isisa, possibly his name.

Banquet scene with inscribed words

Medium:
Fresco
Dimensions:
77.6 cm wide, 77.5 cm high
Context:
House of the Triclinium, dining room r, east wall, central section, Pompeii
Date:
1st century CE
Inventory Number:
MANN 120029
Lender:
National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Credit:
Image © Photographic Archive, National Archaeological Museum of Naples