Sarcophagus of the Spouses. Detail of banqueting couch.

ETRUSCAN Anonymous: The Sarcophogus of the Spouses features a couple reclining together on a banquet couch. The detail of the banqueting couch shows a thick matress that falls over the ornately molded frame and legs. Etrurian aristocracy originally dined sitting upright on chairs and thrones and some women continued to dine upright seated beside reclining husbands after dining customs shifted to a reclined position. Etruscan wives were permitted to participate as equals of their husbands during feasting and many women exerted this equality by reclining with their husbands while dining.