Large painted wooden cutout depicting a Vestal Virgin carrying a yoke and a sacred fire.
A Vestal Virgin was a priestess of ancient Rome dedicated to Vesta. The cult of Vesta was intimately linked to the origins of the city of Rome. The College of Vestal Virgins and their well-being were considered essential to the maintenance and security of Rome. They were responsible for maintaining the public hearth of the Temple of Vesta located in the Roman Forum. Vestal Virgins were freed from the usual social obligations of marriage and motherhood and took a vow of chastity for thirty years to devote themselves to study and observance of state rituals, which were forbidden to male priestly colleges. The historians Livy, Plutarch, and Aulus Gellius attribute the creation of the Vestal priesthood to King Numa Pompilius, the legendary second king of Rome, who reigned from 717 to 673 BC.
The Vestal Virgins were responsible for overseeing the sacred fire, symbolizing Vesta, goddess of the hearth and home, collecting water from a sacred spring, preparing food used in rituals, such as a special flour called mola salsa, which is sprinkled on public offerings to a god, and maintaining the sacred objects of the sanctuary.
Early 19th century
Italy
Height: 220 cm
Width: 110 cm
