THE VEILED DANCE IN MAGNA GRAECIA: THE EVIDENCE OF APULIAN VASE-PAINTING AND TERRACOTTA FIGURINES (4TH-3RD C. BCE)

Abstract

The iconographic representation of the veiled dance is a testimony of a unique repertoire of ancient Greek choreographic culture. Veiled dancers are represented on a variety of objects and over a long period. Its interpretation challenges researchers since the 19th century. Even though terracotta figurines far outnumber the evidence of vase-painting, as a testimony to this dance, vase-painting has the advantage of inserting it into a narrative. Our focus will be to highlight its singularity in the context of Magna Graecia in the 4th and 3rd centuries. The veiled dancer appears in some wedding scenes in Middle and Late Apulian vase-painting (370-300 BC), in scenes that indicate the music and dance practiced at these parties. What does this dance mean? Does it suggest the sensuality of the bride (nymphe)? Or is it a metaphor for the virginal purity of the bride or the moral modesty of the future wife? Is it a dance performed during a pre-nuptial rite, such as the anakalypteria (ritual of removing the bride's veil)? We will explore the different possibilities of interpretation, seeking to focus on its singular meaning in the context of Italiote iconography, in contrast with the set of mainland Greek evidence, on different supports (e.g. terracotta figurines, bronze statuettes, vase-painting).