Pathetic Pygmies. Images of Africans between Fact and Fiction (original) (raw)
Related papers
“Size Isn’t Everything: Pygmies in Greek Art”
Literary, epigraphic, and iconographic examinations of dwarfs have recently become an important topic of inquiry, especially in relation to the Greek ideal of beauty. The study of Egyptian and Greek dwarfs by Véronique Dasen serves as a pioneering work on this subject, where she catalogues and describes 213 figures, mostly from vase-painting, of Greek dwarfs. While Dasen includes pygmies as one of four dwarf-like beings in her chapter of “Dwarfs in Myth,” it must be noted that dwarfs are not pygmies, but rather are men, short in stature, who are well-proportioned. The works of Alexandre G. Mitchell and David Walsh on Greek vase-painting note this difference; however, there is an absence in the study of how pygmies are depicted in iconography over time. This paper examines the development of pygmies in Greek art, with a specific focus on their iconographic dimensions. I will look specifically at vase-paintings, but also examine terracottas and bronzes that depict pygmies or dwarfs. A trend that becomes apparent is the artist’s shift from depicting pygmies as well-proportioned men, seen mostly on black-figure vase-painting, to men with grotesque and dwarf-like characteristics, predominantly found on red-figure vase-painting. It is interesting to note that one characteristic of pygmies with dwarf-like nature is an exaggeratedly large phallus. I propose that one reason for this shift in depiction is due to the Greek desire to associate those who are in any way different as hailing from locations distant from Greece itself. The grotesque, disproportioned characteristics added to pygmies can serve a comedic role, but also emphasize the differences between the ideal Greek body and the flawed “other.” This paper, by closely examining the iconography of pygmies, sheds greater light onto the changes in artistic depictions, while providing some potential explanations for the phenomenon.
Asparkía. Investigació Feminista., 2023
At the dawn of the 3rd century BCE, the flourishing yet ambivalent relationship between Egypt and Rome starts to become clearer. The agreement of the 273 BCE triggered the beginning of an overhaul of the political, cultural, economic and religious settings in Italy, particularly visible in the artistic production originated from the clash and the interweaving between the Roman and the Egyptian worlds. Following a general overview regarding the historical and cultural background of relationships between Egypt and Rome, this paper explores the figurative development of the picta nilotica in the Roman repertoire. The focus is on the figures of female pygmies and the spread of this subject in relation to both chronology and contexts in Pompeii. Finally, the aim is to provide a preliminary analysis of these female figures, attempting to explore how they are depicted and their roles in the social environment in which they are portrayed.
— Rock art has long been neglected as a primary source of information for Predynastic Egypt. Fortunately, interest has picked up strongly for the last twenty years, resulting in numerous publications. However, recent studies tend to focus on the presentation of newly-(re)discovered rock art scenes and sites. In-depth presentations are both infrequent and mostly restricted to rock art itself. Although comparisons have often been made with the iconography on decorated pottery and other objects found in Predynastic cemeteries, the aim was, in many cases, to establish the chronological position of the rock art scenes. However, rock art iconography also offers other opportunities. For instance, comparing human representations in Predynastic rock art with those known from so-called Decorated ware vessels, brings to light a num ber of striking resemblances as well as differences. It appears that although the same semantics and visual language are being used, the meanings and contexts of rock art and cemetery objects differ rather strongly. This is probably not primarily due to the funerary character of cemetery finds, because there is no obvious difference between their iconography and that attested on materials from settlements, although, admittedly, the information available for the latter is much more limited. This paper first attempts to describe the main characteristics of Predynastic human representations from these contexts, before analysing the semantic elements used. The meaning behind the observed similarities and differences is also discussed.
Monkey and Ape Iconography in Aegean Art
A wide variety of animals inhabit Minoan art. Each type fulfill a specific role. Monkey sand apes function very differently from other creatures: sometimes they participate in rituals, sometimes they imitate humans and sometimes they simply behave as natural animals. This study explores these different roles. The discussion of their iconography is set within the broader context of Egyptian and Near eastern art and involves consideration of the use of "pattern books," or standardized images in Minoan wall paintings, figurines, and glyptic art. The analyses inform broader themes in Minoan art, religion, and cult practice. In addition, a substantial appendix surveys the range and nature of other terrestrial, aquatic, and mythical creatures.
Strange alliance: Pygmies in the colonial imaginary
World Archaeology, 2006
Pygmies have long served, both in Western imagination and in Western science, as a sheet anchor for racial hierarchies and for putative sequences of human physical and social evolution. In the course of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Western exploration in Africa, Asia and the Pacific generated what might broadly be termed a colonial ‘Pygmy mythology’, composed of a set of characteristics deemed diagnostic of this diminutive ‘race’, articulated with an exceptional degree of confidence by travellers and metropolitan scientists alike. This paper charts the manner in which the three central tropes of racist denigration – the primordial, the infantile and the bestial – have been applied to excess in the description of Pygmies. Yet Pygmies have also been enlisted by colonial observers in an unlikely alliance, as third-party foils in arguments that seek to naturalize the conditions of colonial subjugation of non-Pygmy others. The impetus for this strange alliance is considered through reference to the recent re-discovery by the revisionist historian, Keith Windschuttle, of a Pygmy past in the rainforests of Queensland, Australia.
🔗 Per acquistare il volume: https://bit.ly/4bkaJhM Il volume inaugura la nuova collana della SISMEL, «Iconographica Library». E' disponibile sia in formato cartaceo, sia in Open Access (➡️www.mirabileweb.it). Questo libro non ambisce a proporre una nuova teoria, bensì si propone di esplorare i molteplici modi in cui la nozione di immagine viene oggi utilizzata, affrontata e compresa nel lavoro quotidiano di chi si occupa di studi visivi. Un elenco di sedici domande è stato inviato a venticinque studiosi di diversi Paesi: le loro risposte sono di per sé una testimonianza efficace della molteplicità di approcci che emergono dall’esperienza personale dei singoli studiosi nella propria interazione dinamica con le realtà (culturali, politiche, accademiche) che li circondano. 📚 SOMMARIO: Editors’ Note, by M. Bacci, F. Crivello, and V. Šcepanovic. IMAGES IN PREMODERN SOCIETIES. H. L. Kessler, Above Iconography - H. Belting (†), Dante’s Encounter with Living “Shadows”. COMPENDIUM OF QUESTIONNAIRES. L. E. Alcalá - B. Baert - C. Barber - C. Bosc-Tiessé - M. A. Castiñeiras González - F. Conte - P. Cordez - V. Debiais - R. Dekoninck - A. Derbes - J. Elsner - P. Escalante Gonzalbo - I. Foletti - B. Fricke - T. Kaffenberger - Y. Kojima - A. Kumler - O. Pancaroglu - P. Patton - S. Shalev-Eyni - J.-M. Spieser - N. Santores Tchandeu - M. Vassilaki - A. Weyl Carr - W. Hong. PHOTOCREDITS
Ancient Pygmy myths and codes contain important truths, but we cannot experience those truths if to us they are 'just' stories or mores of the endangered 'first people' who still exist. They need to be felt as real. This calls for a view of the Pygmy descendants as stewards of healing wisdom. African Pygmy ancestors prefigured environmental activism in their codes and their direct descendants as identified by DNA, are actually the surviving roots of humanity's racial, religious and linguistic origins, to be acknowledged and treated with respect for their great contributions. This paper examines the influence of millenniums-old Pygmy cosmology and moral directives, foundations of cosmic serpent myths and rituals found among indigenous cultures spanning the world. These myths and rituals also emphasize the significence of a parallel underground world from which animals and humans emerged affer a deluge. The Pygmy cultural inheritance is also the basis for multiple Egyptian myths, which in turn, has influenced many biblical stories that are accepted in the West.
AFRICAN MOTIFS IN GREEK VASE PAINTING
2017
In the beginning the paper concisely summarises contacts of Greeks with Egypt, focusing on their interests on the North African coast, up until the Classical Period. The brief description of Greek literary reception of Egypt during the same timeframe is following. The main part of the paper is dedicated to various African (and supposedly African) motifs depicted in Greek vase painting. These are commented upon and put in the relevant context. In the end the individual findings are summarised and confronted with the literary image described above.