There are a large number of relief sculptures depicting dancing Maenads. Most are Roman copies based on an original Greek genre. The Roman copies preserve the religious significance of the Greek prototypes — the frenzied celebrations for the god Dionysos — whilst adding a strong decorative element.

This example however is thought to be a forgery. The arrangement of head and arms is the reverse of other, genuine, Roman types, and the necklace is without parallel. Furthermore, the carving of the drapery is unusual: the folds of her garment are strangely regular and like one another, and her cloak seems to hover over her shoulders. The work also has no historical provenance to link it to a Roman context