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Photo courtesy Steven L. Tuck.

Three of the images are domestic and reinforce Priscus as a host, receiving clients and welcoming guests, while the silver service establishes his pretensions to high status domestic display. As modern viewers of this, we need to be aware that this seemingly circumstantial imagery is, or at least could be, something different than it appears. In the matter of images that convey status, we must remember that they are symbolic, not documentary. There is no evidence that Priscus had a silver service that looked like this, or, if he did, that it was on display in his home. This painting represents that Priscus is the type of person who would have this sort of display. It projects his status, not his ownership, much like the scene of Priscus surrounded by attentive listeners indicates status, but is not thought to reflect any particular episode. The emphasis on the spaces and decor of his home brings us to another issue, that of the place of the home in the Roman elite world. This represents another cultural gulf between ourselves and the Romans.