Chariot terma Staatliche Antikensammlungen

Description

One of the prominent painters of classical Athens, the Niobid Painter (named after his most famous vase) is praised for his serene and harmonious compositions. In the women’s quarters of a house, three elaborately dressed women prepare for a music session. A seated woman relaxes while playing a “barbiton” (a stringed instrument). Above her head hangs a lyre. She faces a woman holding double flutes, while a third woman lifts the lid of a box. The scene evokes the leisurely and relatively educated world of affluent Athenian women. On the back, women dressed in the garments of maenads, the female followers of Dionysus, hold pine branches and a torch; these may be the same women, now getting ready for their ritual roles in Dionysus’ cult.
Dimensions: height: 44.7 cm (17.5 in); width: 30.3 cm (11.9 in) (h. x diam.)