Where the Wild Things Are: Locating the Marvellous in Augustan Wall Painting

Abstract Two women engage in a scene of harmonious domesticity (Figure 1); on the left, a figure dressed in an ornate chiton and himation stands in profile, holding out a small musical instrument towards her companion, who sits on an elegant stool to the right holding a seven- stringed harp. Painted in outline with subtle colour washes of yellow and green, the formal balance, delicate brushwork, and controlled palette of the composition all speak the visual language of fifth- century bc Greece.