soggetto dionisiaco (letto funerario)

This is a Roman funerary bed, or lectus funebris, a piece of furniture designed not for sleep but for the solemn display of the deceased. In Roman custom, the dead were laid out in their finest, and the bed itself was an elaborate statement of status and piety, often carved from bone, ivory, or stone.

The bed’s legs are figured cylinders, while the headrest and footrest, the fulcra, are carved in high relief. Each fulcrum has an S-shaped profile, composed of three elements: a medallion with a bust at the base, a smooth central panel with a shaped frame, and a lynx’s head at the top. The frame’s long sides are decorated with a smooth, convex band of tubular bone, ending at each extremity in griffin heads with half-open beaks.

On the leg cylinder, a single bearded head wears a headband and a crown of poppy capsules. On each side of the face, a small winged amorino grips a goose by the neck. Above them, two serpent heads rear up symmetrically, symbols of the underworld, perhaps, or guardians of the soul’s passage.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.