Miniature shrine

Underneath the text, Ikhernofret, a 12th dynasty treasurer under Pharaoh Senwosret III, is depicted at an offering table with his family.

The insides of the ears, the eyebrows, and the rims of the eyes, and the collar and the band knotted around the neck, are worked in gold leaf.

By the early Imperial period, household shrines were known generically as lararia (plural lararium) because they typically housed a figure of a Lares, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion.

Painted lararia from Pompeii show two Lares flanking a genius or ancestor-figure, who wears his toga in the priestly manner prescribed for sacrificers.

The placing of Lares in the public or semi-public parts of a house, such as its atrium, enrolled them in the more outward, theatrical functions of household religion.

Nichos originated as a popular adaptation of the Roman Catholic retablo tradition of painting patron saints on wood or tin.

Some contemporary artists, particularly in Asia where domestic altars remain a cultural and spiritual staple, have acted as inspiration for a number of works.

The Japanese design firm moconoco released a kamidana (literally "god shelf") modeled after the iPhone in order to "seamlessly incorporate [the altar] into modern environments.

Along with 12 candles and small effigies of animals, they contain three books entitled Hex to Kill the Unfaithful Man, Mayan Love Charms, and Magic for a Long Life.

[citation needed] The Korean artist Yeesookyung exhibited his piece Portable Temple, based on traditional East Asian folding screens, at the Mongin Art Center, South Korea in 2008.