Event: VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: Makers’ Space/Making Space: An Interdisciplinary Imagining of the Lived Experiences of Ancient Athenian Potters and Painters

Sanchita Balachandran, Senior Lecturer in Near Eastern Studies & Associate Director, Johns Hopkins University & Museum
Wednesday, October 14th, 12:00pm - 1:00pm PT

What can we know about the lived experiences of the ancient artisans who were making the now-iconic red and black ceramics in Athens between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE? Given that the potters and painters of Athens comprised a diverse group of practitioners that included Athenian citizens, immigrants and migrant workers, women and children, freed people and enslaved people, can the pots they made tell us about the conditions of their lives? Interdisciplinary approaches incorporating experimental archaeology, sensory experience, conservation documentation and digital imaging techniques may offer us new ways to “excavate” the surfaces of extant ceramics in museums, most of which were collected without archaeological context. This talk looks at how examining ancient ceramics from the perspective of production—from “preparatory” drawings on the surfaces, to the painted images, to the fired colors of the vessels—allows us to approach ancient people at work, in the moment of production, and raises questions about who they really were.

Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.