Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond

The motif of three women sharing the same mantle is pictured on about a dozen vases dating from the first half of the sixth century BCE. Among these vases, the so-called “François Vase” and a dinos signed by Sophilos (now in London, British Museum) are of particular inte...

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Main Author:	Valérie Toillon
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2019-10-01
Series:	Arts
Subjects:	iconography greece vase-painting wedding mantle chorus
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/8/4/144

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spelling	doaj-4d920e2b849e4f13a4cb2dbebfeed5052020-11-25T02:16:45ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522019-10-018414410.3390/arts8040144arts8040144Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social BondValérie Toillon0Département d’histoire de l’art et d’études cinématographiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaThe motif of three women sharing the same mantle is pictured on about a dozen vases dating from the first half of the sixth century BCE. Among these vases, the so-called “François Vase” and a dinos signed by Sophilos (now in London, British Museum) are of particular interest. The wedding of Thetis and Peleus is pictured on both vases. This theme is well-adapted to the representation of a procession of deities in which the Charites, Horai, Moirai, and Muses take part. The main feature of these deities is a shared mantle, which covers and assembles them, emphasizing that these deities are plural by definition. The main study on this iconographical theme remains that by Buchholz, who documented most of the depictions of the “shared-mantle” in ancient Greek vase-painting and small terracottas. The shared-mantle motif has been interpreted successively as a reference to the sacred <i>peplos</i> (in relation to the wedding), a simplification from the painter to avoid painting all the mantles, a sign of emotional/sexual union, a religious gesture, and a depiction of choruses. The present study aims to consider in more detail the “shared-mantle” as an iconographic sign that involves the idea of community, shared identity, and emotional bond.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/8/4/144iconographygreecevase-paintingweddingmantlechorus
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Valérie Toillon
spellingShingle	Valérie Toillon Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond Arts iconography greece vase-painting wedding mantle chorus
author_facet	Valérie Toillon
author_sort	Valérie Toillon
title	Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond
title_short	Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond
title_full	Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond
title_fullStr	Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond
title_full_unstemmed	Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond
title_sort	three women sharing a mantle in 6th century bce greek vase-painting: plurality, unity, family, and social bond
publisher	MDPI AG
series	Arts
issn	2076-0752
publishDate	2019-10-01
description	The motif of three women sharing the same mantle is pictured on about a dozen vases dating from the first half of the sixth century BCE. Among these vases, the so-called “François Vase” and a dinos signed by Sophilos (now in London, British Museum) are of particular interest. The wedding of Thetis and Peleus is pictured on both vases. This theme is well-adapted to the representation of a procession of deities in which the Charites, Horai, Moirai, and Muses take part. The main feature of these deities is a shared mantle, which covers and assembles them, emphasizing that these deities are plural by definition. The main study on this iconographical theme remains that by Buchholz, who documented most of the depictions of the “shared-mantle” in ancient Greek vase-painting and small terracottas. The shared-mantle motif has been interpreted successively as a reference to the sacred <i>peplos</i> (in relation to the wedding), a simplification from the painter to avoid painting all the mantles, a sign of emotional/sexual union, a religious gesture, and a depiction of choruses. The present study aims to consider in more detail the “shared-mantle” as an iconographic sign that involves the idea of community, shared identity, and emotional bond.
topic	iconography greece vase-painting wedding mantle chorus
url	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/8/4/144
work_keys_str_mv	AT valerietoillon threewomensharingamantlein6thcenturybcegreekvasepaintingpluralityunityfamilyandsocialbond
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Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond

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