Detail of the Standing Woman Holding a Shield Wall Painting from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sept. 2007

Standing woman holding a shield: From Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, ca. 40–30 B.C.; Late Republican
Roman
Wall painting; Fresco: 70 x 40 1/4 in. (177.8 x 102.2 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1903 (03.14.7)

This fresco from the villa at Boscoreale depicts a woman clad in a white chiton and blue cloak, and holding a gold shield in her right hand. The front of the shield shows the image of a standing nude male figure who is adorned with a white headband, the same as those worn by Hellenistic dynasts. This small male figure has been described as a reflected image on the shield, a popular motif in Hellenistic art. However, since there is no image in the fresco cycle that corresponds to a reflection, the figure should be understood as an apparition, which, in antiquity, was viewed as prophetic. The small apparition with a portraitlike head in this particular fresco may refer to a Hellenistic royal heir, and the woman bearing the shield may represent a priestess or prophetess.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cubi/hod_03.14.7.htm