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Chapter 2 - Masks of Blackness

Reading the Iconography of Black People in Ancient Greece

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2022

Sarah F. Derbew
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

Chapter 2 offers a visual paradigm for representations of black people in the ancient Greek world. It considers fifth-century BCE janiform cups that depict black and brown faces on opposite sides. Contemporary ideas are all the more pronounced when dealing with visual constructs of skin color in Greek antiquity and therefore require continual interrogation. Disputing the uncomfortable ease with which some art historians presume a fixed connection between black people and bumbling inferiority, this chapter argues that the black face serves as part of a repertoire of sympotic performance. Similar to masks, janiform cups enable drinkers in the symposium to adopt new identities. The discourse about the chromatics on janiform cups leads to a broader examination of black skin in ancient Greek art. Close scrutiny of museum displays reveals the temporal clash that can occur when audiences encounter iconography of black people in Greek antiquity. In particular, scrupulous inspection of the British Museum unearths a troubling tendency to privilege ancient Egypt as an indication of legitimacy and legibility, contrasted with Nubia.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Masks of Blackness
  • Sarah F. Derbew, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity
  • Online publication: 12 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108861816.002
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  • Masks of Blackness
  • Sarah F. Derbew, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity
  • Online publication: 12 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108861816.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Masks of Blackness
  • Sarah F. Derbew, Harvard University, Massachusetts
  • Book: Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity
  • Online publication: 12 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108861816.002
Available formats
×