South Italian Funerary Relief with a Hunter in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Funerary Relief with a Hunter
Greek, made in Taras, South Italy, 290-250 BC
Limestone and pigment

Inventory # 74.AA.7

This relief sculpture probably comes from a grave monument. It shows a nude youth lunging forward to attack an unseen foe. A horse rears up behind him, its rider missing. The presence of a large dog, snarling menacingly, indicates that this is a hunting scene. The theme of hunting indicates the elite status of the deceased and also refers to one of the pleasures of the afterlife.

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.