Andromeda and the Representation of Foreigners at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (20 min)

Presenters

William Austin, Princeton University, and Phoebe Segal, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Abstract

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) holds many objects featuring representations of foreigners in Greek art. During the course of gallery renovations over the last decade, some attempts were made to draw attention to the complexities of these images. Nevertheless, there remain interpretive limitations to the presentation of this material to the public in thematic galleries. For instance, a pelike at the MFA (63.2663), which depicts the Aithiopian princess Andromeda being tied to a stake by two attendants, is currently exhibited in a gallery devoted to ancient Greek theater, encouraging the visitor to focus on the narrative. The current presentation, with its focus on the myth of Andromeda, sidesteps issues of race and ethnicity on the vase, which presents three levels of othering through clothing, physiognomy, and skin color. The challenges of displaying multivalent objects like the pelike led to conversations about how to confront these issues more directly.

For our paper, we will present the recent interpretive work that was undertaken for the reopening of the ancient galleries in 2021. Specifically, we will focus on the strategies and terminology employed in a display case devoted to foreigners in Greek art, which includes head-vases, an alabastron depicting an Aithiopian warrior, and vases signed by the potter Amasis. In addition, we will present plans for integrating this work in the foreigner’s case into other thematic galleries. Our aim is to create a continuous dialogue throughout the galleries on the range of ideas concerning foreignness and “others” in antiquity, including the presence of racial prejudice on the Andromeda pelike and other instances of divergence from the Greek ideal. Using the pelike as a focalizing object, we will discuss preliminary plans for a label series and online programming that will extend the discussion of visualizing others beyond the confines of a single gallery.