Still doing some research for a blog post, I came across this image. One of the points I will make is that in Greco-Roman art, there is often only a small visual difference between the spindle and a somewhat stylized, small distaff.
This is part of a late Roman sarcophagus. The Fate on the left is spinning, distaff up, spindle low. I was wondering about the one behind her though. She's holding a sphere with cross bands around it. A bound ball of wool? A globe?
![[Image: 10020267.jpg]](http://www.lessingimages.com/p3/100202/10020267.jpg)
On Wiki there's a slightly blurry picture of the full scene:
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This is part of a late Roman sarcophagus. The Fate on the left is spinning, distaff up, spindle low. I was wondering about the one behind her though. She's holding a sphere with cross bands around it. A bound ball of wool? A globe?
On Wiki there's a slightly blurry picture of the full scene:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.