Tried to Domesticate You: An Examination of “Domestic”

Gendered Tasks in Greek Vase-Painting

Alexander Mazurek

November 15, 2013

Agenda

• Methods, Approaches, and Challenges

• Examination of Domestic Scenes – Wool-working

– Food production

– Fetching of water

• Concluding Thoughts, Questions, and Further Problems

A Feminist Art History

• Perspective, not procedure

• Emphasis on: – Particular group of people

– Art and representation

– Relationships with other groups

• Methods to analyze: – Representation of women

– Ideology as a tool of constructing gender

– Use of images to promote individual or cultural agendas

Poststructuralist Approach

• Must consider:

– Context

– Who purchased it?

– Who was the owner?

– Function of object

– How was it made to meet one’s interests?

Marxist Approach

• Emphasis on:

– Production

– Distribution

– Context

• Who does the scene appeal to?

• Where was it distributed?

• Direct export vs. Second-hand trade

“Women’s Objects”

Epinetron Pyxis

How do we account for the complex range of imagery that has a wide variety of agendas?

Literary Sources on Women

• Athenian women have second-class status

• Notion of the “proper” woman

• Restricted regarding law and citizenship rights

• Highly sexed

• Irrational and emotional

• Important to keep in mind who were the authors?

Many Stages of Wool-Working

Teracotta lekythos

Amasis Painter

550 BCE

Terracotta lekythos

Amasis Painter

550 BCE Wool-work

Attic red-figure hydria

Painter of the Yale

Oinoche

470-460 BCE

Wool-work

Wool-work

Attic red-figure pyxis

450 BCE

Wool-Work

Attic red-figure pyxis

460 BCE

Attic red-figure kylix

Douris

480-470 BCE

Interior

Exterior

Carding Wool

The Wool-Working Bride

Attic red-figure skyphos

Phiale Painter

480-470 BCE

Folding the Cloth

Attic red-figure stamnos

Copenhangen Painter

A Little Light Humor

Attic white-ground lekythos

Pan Painter

470 BCE

HE ΠAΙΣ [K]AΛΕ

Food Preparation

Attic red-figure skyphos

460 BCE

Women Making Bread

Attic red-figure cup

500 BCE

Mortar and Pestle

Attic black-figure amphora

Swing Painter

540 BCE

Death by Pestle

Attic red-figure amphora

Polygnotos

440-430 BCE

Non-Ritual Cooking

Attic red-figure squat lekythos

430 BCE

Cooking Scenes on Boeotian Ware

Boeotian black-figure lekythos

550 BCE

Boeotian black-figure skyphos

525-500 BCE

Cookin’ with a Pal

Boeotian terracotta

Early 5th century BCE

Muesum of Fine Arts, Boston

Fetching Water

Attic black-figure hydria

520 BCE

AD Painter

Place to Socialize

Attic black-figure hydria

510-500 BCE

Class of Hamburg

Attic black-figure hydria

520-510 BCE

Interaction with Men

Attic black-figure hydria

520 BCE

Acheloos Painter

Not all about the Fountain-House

Attic black-figure hydria

510 BCE

Priam Painter

Issues to Keep in Mind Concerning Hydria with Fountain-House Scenes

1. Motif particularly popular in black-figure

– Dies out with the emergence of red-figure

– Why the drastic change?

2. Context of black-figure hydria

– Heavy majority found in Italy

– Different market and context different function

Conclusion and More Questions

• Must accept the complex nature of the beast

• Avoid simple interpretations

• Defining themes are subjective

• Why some domestic scenes and not others?

• Be aware of inherent biases

• Importance of archaeological context

• How do we properly use the literary record?

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