A typical banquet piece illustrates a dining table covered with fine linen, a carpet or another similar textile. The table cloth is adorned and decorated with items such as: gold or silver dishes, fine ceramics, rich and luxurious foods, exotic flowers, flagons of ale, glasses of wine, decanters, expensive cutlery and other exquisite adornment.
An examples of an artist who utilised the Banquet Piece in their oeuvre is Van Beyeren. Van Beyeren produced these scenes with great virtuosity and a high degree of realism, offering the viewer a scene which was both realistic, intriguing and interesting. As the paintings not only served to highlight the patrons wealth, buy also depict the exotic products being imported from around the world to Holand and Amsterdam.
Please visit our article on Breakfast Piece for our discussion and definition of the Breakfast Piece.