Nereid Monument frieze
- Audio guide stop: 241
- Gallery: Room 17
- Culture: Classical Greek
- Made in: Lycia (historic)
- Date: 390BC-380BC
- Object type: frieze
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1848,1020.97
- 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.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is a frieze from the Nereid Monument—a Classical Greek work dating to 390–380 BCE. Created in Lycia, a region in ancient Anatolia, the frieze once adorned a chamber within the monument, which honors a local king.
Before you is a scene of a banquet. A bearded man, shown in a relaxed, reclining pose, wears a wide strip of fabric called a taenia and holds a rhyton shaped like a winged ibex. He may represent King Arbinas, ruler of Xanthos. A man stands nearby and seems to whisper to him. Three attendants offer food or drinks, with gestures that suggest careful service during a lavish event. A dog rests beneath the couch, adding a touch of realism to the scene.
The frieze is carved from smooth marble, which helped the artist highlight fine details like drapery folds and facial expressions. Though part of the sculpture is missing, the composition still offers a glimpse into the luxury and culture of royal banquets in ancient Lycia.
See it in person
Nereid Monument frieze is on display in Room 17 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 241, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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