Funerary monument of a priestess of Demeter

This high relief is framed by elaborate architecture: a profile socle supports two thin Corinthian columns, which in turn support an entablature with architrave and dentils above. Above these is an attic decorated by two rosettes and a wreath in the middle, crowned by a pediment with dentils and acroteria. The relief itself is so deep that the figures stand almost entirely free from the background. A female figure, the deceased, dominates the scene, richly dressed and holding up her open hand in a gesture of speech. She wears a mantle that dips over her left shoulder and crosses her body in a thick rope before ending in a swag wrapped around her left arm. This rich drapery – also emphasized in the detailed neckline of her sleeved chiton – corresponds with Hellenistic taste in the second century BC and thus occurs in some female statues from Pergamon as well.
The deceased holds a poppy in her left hand. Her face is marked by age. Sandal-clad feet peek out from under her chiton. In keeping with Classical Greek tradition, the two girls to her right and left are depicted on a smaller scale than the deceased – although in this case they are unusually tiny. The girl on the left steadies an enormous torch while the girl on the right holds a pitcher to her chest. A pillar behind the righthand girl supports a cornucopia filled with fruit – possibly a symbol of the cult of Demeter and Kore, as are the torch and poppy. A cult image of the two goddesses in Athens may have shown Kore with a large torch and small cornucopia, highlighting her beneficent aspect – for every year the goddess returned to earth to bring blossoms and sow grain. However, the deceased depicted here is a highly regarded city-dweller and thus sows grain only in the figurative sense; her use of the attributes is purely symbolic. Her portrayal in this relief may be based on an honorific statue of a priestess of Demeter in Smyrna.