This is one of a group of small tempera paintings by Estella Canziani in the Birmingham Collection. They are particularly valuable in providing documentary information on the clothes and associated lifestyle of the local people living in remote villages in Northern Italy. 'These great stones are nearly always close to the old highways of communication, or on the summit of some high mountain or hill... The general opinion is that they were used for sacrificial purposes, and this is certainly supported by the fact that they are found in very elevated areas... nearly every one of these stones have their own legends...' (Estella Canziani, 1911)