Red-Figure Stemmed Dish

On the bottom of this elegant handleless kylix (a drinking cup) is a young dancing girl in a short chiton. At her feet is a five-string lute entwined with a purple ribbon and above it an inscription reading "going at the head of the choir". The inscription indicates that the subject shown is the leader in a group of young girls performing a ritual dance at some religious festival. The girl's pose as she looks back to see what is behind her and the gold diadem on her head - an element in ceremonial ritual costume - confirm this. The light figure is reserved, using the colour of the fired clay to stand out against the black lacquer background, and the details are painted in diluted lacquer and red paint.