SCENE FROM A CORRIDOR IN THE DOMUS OF THE FARNESINA, 30-20 BCE. PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME
A baffling scene from a myth or a ritual. Against a blue-green background, two women are walking toward the right. Both are wearing long plain chitons with red lines along the sides going from shoulder to hem. The shorter woman in the front seems to be wearing a shield on her head, convex side out, which is covered with leafy branches of laurel or olive. She holds another branch in her left hand and steadies the shield with her right. She looks a bit downtrodden. Behind her, at left, is a taller woman (?) whose face is missing, dressed identically. In both hands she holds a very strange tool in black, a straight diagonal line which expands upward like 3 sides of a rectangle before returning to its original line. A dotted line closes off the bottom of this shape, and I've interpreted this as a sort of jigsaw, possibly for cutting the branches the woman in front is carrying. I have no idea what is going on here. The internet offers no clues. But I *can* say with confidence that if you wear these outfits for Halloween, absolutely no one will guess who you are.
Costume suggestions for #FrescoFriday #Halloween from a #fresco from the #domus of the #Farnesina, 30-20 BCE: this odd pair of women in long chitons, one in front with a shield on her head topped with olive branches, and another taller woman behind, holding a menacing little saw. #AncientBluesky 🏺
