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?
Cooking Scenes on Boeotian Ware
Boeotian black-figure lekythos
550 BCE
Boeotian black-figure skyphos
525-500 BCE
Place to Socialize
Attic black-figure hydria
510-500 BCE
Class of Hamburg
Attic black-figure hydria
520-510 BCE
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?
Bibliography Berard, C. 1989. “The Order of Women.” In Berard et al., 1989, 88-107.
Fantham, E. et. al. 1994. Women in the Classical World. New York and Oxford.
Kaltsas, N. and A. Shapiro eds. 2008. Worshipping Women. Ritual and Reality in Classical
Athens. New York
Hannestad, L. 1984. “Slaves and the Fountain House Theme.” In Brijder, 1984, 252-55.
Higgins, R. 1967. Greek Terracottas. London
Lewis, S. 2002. The Athenian Woman . An Iconographic Handbook. London and New York.
Manfrini-Aragno, I. “Femmes à la fontaine: realite et imaginaire.” In Bron and Kassapoglou
(eds), 1992, 127-148
Reeder, E. D. 1995. Pandora: Women in Classical Greece, exh. Cat. Walters Art Gallery.
Baltimore and Princeton.
Stansbury-O’Donnell, M.D. 2011. Looking at Greek Art. Cambridge
Stansbury-O’Donnell, M. D. 2006. Vase Painting, Gender, and Social Identity in Archaic
Athens. Cambridge.
Top Related