South, central panel from the Harpy Tomb (Panel 5)
- Gallery: Room 15
- Culture: Classical Greek; Achaemenid
- Made in: Lycia (historic)
- Date: 480BC-470BC
- Object type: tomb
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1848,1020.1.5
- 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
Before you is a central panel from the so-called "Harpy Tomb," a classical Greek tomb that once crowned a Lycian sepulchral tower. The panel shows a seated man on the left, dressed in an Ionic chiton, a mantle, and shoes with turned-up toes. He is holding an apple in his right hand and a pomegranate in his left, suggesting symbolic or ritual significance. Before him stands a figure of uncertain sex, with one hand holding a dove and the other raised in an adoration gesture.
The panel is carved from large-grained marble and features intricate detailing, including the delicate waves of hair, raised eye features, and soft drapery folds. This tomb, discovered in 1838 in Xanthus, has been the subject of various interpretations over time. Some see it as a depiction of mythological or religious scenes, while others believe it honors human figures associated with burial rites.
The tomb is among the finest examples of Hellenistic art from Lycia, where Greek influences were strong, and its detailed craftsmanship reflects the artistic sensibilities of the Classical Greek world.
See it in person
South, central panel from the Harpy Tomb (Panel 5) 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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