Meredith P . Nelson | Université libre de Bruxelles (original) (raw)

Meredith P . Nelson

Archaeologist and art historian specializing in Roman art, archaeology, and material culture. My research centers on material and visual expressions of identity around the Imperial-period Mediterranean with a special interest in jewelry, dress, and portraiture.
Address: Brussels, Belgium

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Publications by Meredith P . Nelson

Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historia pertinentia, 2021

This article considers the Roman body chain (catena), which comprises two long lengths of woven... more This article considers the Roman body chain (catena), which comprises two long lengths of woven gold chain worn crisscrossing the torso. Roman illustrations of women wearing catenae demonstrate that the form carried strongly erotic connotations relating to the goddess Venus and female sensuality. A small corpus of preserved body chains from the Vesuvian region testifies to their actual use by women in the first centuries BC and AD. This study examines the status of the women who wore such jewellery, which combined clear economic expense with erotic messaging. In opposition to claims that the sexual nature of body chains signals their association with prostitutes, it is argued here that visual and textual sources contemporaneous with the Vesuvian chains point to women of “respectable” social categories having both the freedom and incentive to express a confident sexual identity. Important archaeological evidence offers further indications for the ownership and use of catenae by Roman women of varying status. The potential meanings and motivations underlying the shared use of this symbolic form of adornment are also addressed.