A charming Grand Tour pottery wall plaque, exquisitely hand-decorated with scenes of symposium after Ancient Greek and Apulian examples.

Why We Like It

We admire the tenderness of line in this exquisite painting and the archaeological accuracy of its rendering. An homage to the arts of Ancient Greece, informed by the knowledge of archaeology and passion for the history of decorative arts.

In Ancient Greece, a symposium was a male aristocratic activity, a tightly choreographed social gathering where men drank wine together, conversed, and enjoyed themselves in a convivial atmosphere.

Bedecked in garlands, participants reclined—one or two to a couch—in a room designed to hold seven to fifteen couches with cushions and low tables.

Many such rooms have been identified archaeologically in domestic settings, although the best representation is perhaps the painted Tomb of the Diver at Paestum.  As described in Plato’s Symposium, the menconversed, recited poetry or enjoyed music. 

Dimensions

Height: 31 cm / 12.25"

Width: 30.5 cm / 12”

Depth: 1 cm / 0.5”