kallistoi: romegreeceart:Funerary plaque depicting childbirth * 2nd century CE * Isola sacra necro
kallistoi: romegreeceart: Funerary plaque depicting childbirth * 2nd century CE * Isola sacra necropolis * Ostia Antiquarium * Exhibition: Ostia, Gateway to Rome. Vapriikki, Tampere 1.11.2019-10.5.2020 Tampere, November 12, 2019 [image description: two photos, one of a roman funerary relief showing women assisting in childbirth. the woman in labor sits on a chair with one woman embracing her from behind, another sitting in front of her. the next photo is of a museum plaque describing the relief. it reads, “Relief depicting childbirth and a midwife. Terracotta | Around 140 CE | Ostria, Isola Sacra necropolis, tomb 100. Ostia Antiquarium. This memorial plaque for a midwife named Scribonia Attice depicts two women assisting in childbirth. The delivery is taking place in a special chair with a hole in the seat. The assistant is behind the woman in labour, holding her shoulders tightly, while the actual midwife is sitting on a low stool in front of the woman. The woman giving birth is completely naked, and her hair is open. This was a magical aid used in childbirth: all knots, such as hair buns and belts, had to be symbolically opened. This relief is the only surviving image of the use of the birthing chair in antiquity. It provides unique information about childbirth in Ostia.”] -- source link
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