Relief of a Hunter from a Funerary Monument in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Relief of a Hunter from a Funerary Monument
Greek, made in Thessaly or Macedonia, about 325 BC
Marble

Inventory # 96.AA.48

A young hunter rests his spears against his shoulder. Either a petasos (traveler's hat) or a bag to hold the day's catch hangs from the spears. Funerary monuments and objects were often decorated with hunting scenes. Hunting was a symbol of elite status in ancient life, and it was thought to be one of the pleasures in the afterlife.

The relief displayed here would have decorated the interior of a small, three-sided funerary building, as shown in this illustration [on the label.].

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.