Column krater

Installed in Art Before 700 CE, Spring 2025 Label Text:

Dancing women grace two sides of this krater, which was a vessel for mixing wine and water. In these lively pictures, women wear tunics and mantels, which have been pulled up over their faces so that only the upper part of their faces are visible. Five of the women dance to a tune played by a sixth woman on double pipes.

Women dressed in this fashion are rarely seen on ceramics of this period. However, statuettes depicting similarly dressed women have been found in religious sanctuaries dating from a hundred years later, suggesting that such costumes may have been worn during religious rites. These dancers may be cult performers, covering their faces in honor of gods or goddesses. However, it is also known that some Athenian women covered their faces when they went out in public, partly through modesty and partly as protection against the elements.