Grave relief with father and son

Greek grave reliefs often depict two human figures holding each other’s right hand. This is not a farewell or a meeting, but a sign of their mutual bond. The old man sits on an elegant chair, while the younger man stands, bearing the attribute of his youth − a strigil (a cleaning blade to scrape the skin after participating in sport). A badly damaged two-line inscription on the architrave above the scene, besides giving the names of the two figures depicted, also clarifies their relationship. Above the elder of the two is written ‘Dexandrides, son of Nikandreus’ and above the younger man we read ‘Kallistratos, son of Dexandrides’. In other words, the men are father and son. The grave relief once belonged to the Antwerp painter Peter Paul Rubens.