Libation bowl (phiale)

Painter of London D 12 (active ca. 480-450 BCE)

Item type:

vessel

Date of creation:

ca. 450 BCE

Height:

3.2 cm  (1 1/4 in.)

Width:

22.5 cm  (8 7/8 in.)

Technique / Medium:

ceramic, white ground

Place of creation:

Athínai (Ellás)

School:

Attic

Description

From museum website:
The interior of this libation bowl, used for liquid sacrifices, depicts what appears to be a religious ritual, in which girls dance around an altar. The girls are identically dressed in flowing dresses (chitones) and pink mantles (himatia) and are barefoot, and all but one wears her hair up.. Seven of them grasp each other by the wrist, but do not join at the ends, so it is unclear whether or not they are simply meant to be in a row, or a circle. One other girl faces the altar, playing the double pipes to facilitate the dance. Upon the altar is a burnt offering, evidenced by the high flames. To the right of the altar is a wool basket (kalathos) and a ribbon hanging above. These are either priestesses or initiates.

Iconclass

12B213
ritual music and dancing ~ non-Christian religions

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Aulos [4173]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

RIdIM record id

6030