East central panel from the Harpy Tomb (Panel 2)
- Gallery: Room 15
- Culture: Classical Greek; Achaemenid
- Made in: Lycia (historic)
- Date: 480BC-470BC
- Object type: tomb
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1848,1020.1.2
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
This is the East central panel from the Harpy Tomb, known also as Panel 2. Created in Classical Greece around 480 to 470 BCE, it originally decorated a Lycian tomb in Xanthus, a region with deep Greek artistic influence. Before you sits a bearded man enthroned, receiving offerings from a younger figure. The throne itself is intricately carved with a small Triton supporting railings, suggesting the importance of this central figure. His attire includes an Ionic chiton and mantle, and he holds a long spear or scepter. The panel reflects the artistic mastery of the period, with flowing drapery and expressive features. Weathering over centuries has softened details, but the craftsmanship remains clear. Once a vibrant blue and red color scheme was present, visible traces of which still linger on certain parts of the relief. Scholars suggest this panel honors ancestral figures, illustrating a long-standing Lycian tradition of family reverence through stone and art.
See it in person
East central panel from the Harpy Tomb (Panel 2) is on display in Room 15 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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