The talk, 'Through a Glass Darkly.' The Figurines of Jerusalem as a Window on the Past by Rev. Dr Josef Mario Briffa SJ will be held on Monday 12 March at 18:30 at the Archaeology Farmhouse, University of Malta Msida Campus.
Abstract
The figurines of Jerusalem are often linked with rituals of fertility and protection, using a restrictive paradigm that isolates the female figurines from the wider repertoire. This lecture argues that figurines need to be read as part of a miniature figural world, including female figurines, other anthropomorphic types, figurines of riders and horses, other animals and things. Focused on Jerusalem, the study works on two geographical scales. On a site level, the potential significance of context is considered for Caves I and II, and Area E in the City of David. On a regional level, commonalities and differences of the figurines from Jerusalem within their southern Levantine context are explored, with an attention to manufacture types, construction and representation of gender, and the performative potential of the clay figurines. Informed by semiotic and post-structural debate, the figurines are seen as a medium for the production and manipulation of social identities and meanings, offering a pale reflection, on the persons and communities who made and used them, as though 'looking through a glass darkly.'
The talk is organised by the Maltese Oriental Studies.