Peinture aux Cadeaux (xenia)

The painted decoration of a room in the Xenia house was reconstructed thanks to fragments of plaster collected during the demolition of the building. The restored panel shows a still life painted on a small board with flaps and suspended by ribbons. It depicts a rooster, with its legs tied, on a shelf with two fruits; a jug decorated with a ribbon, two fish and a hare (on the right) are in the foreground. These are gifts of hospitality (xenia) offered to one's host, suggesting that this room was a reception or dining room. A white bird, perched on the frame of the painting, gives the whole a striking relief effect.