Traditional Roman households owned at least one protective Lares-figure, housed in a shrine along with the images of the household's penates, genius image and any other favoured deities. Their statues were placed at table during family meals and banquets. They were divine witnesses at important family occasions, such as marriages, births and adoptions, and their shrines provided a religious hub for social and family life Photographed at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland.