Astragali players

A painting on marble with three standing female figures and two who kneel on either side. The standing figures at right and center reach toward the figure at left. An inscription above the heads of the standing figures lists the names of characters from the story of Niobe, who boasted about her many children to Leto, the mother of the gods Apollo and Diana. The kneeling figures are Niobe’s children, who play knucklebones (astragali), unaware of the offense that their mother (at center) has caused Leto (at right). In the upper left-hand corner, an inscription in Greek letters.

Astragali players

Artist:
Alexander of Athens
Medium:
Marble and pigment
Dimensions:
47.6 cm wide, 50.5 cm high
Context:
Herculaneum
Date:
1st century BCE–1st century CE
Inventory Number:
MANN 9562
Lender:
National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Credit:
Image © Photographic Archive, National Archaeological Museum of Naples