Material Identities

Material Identities examines the way that individuals use material objects as tools for projecting aspects of their identities. Considers the way identity is fashioned, launched, used, and admired in the material world. Contributors intervene from the disciplines of art history, anthropology, design and material culture. Considers contrasting media - painting, print, sculpture, dress, coinage, architecture, furniture, luxury items, and interior design. Explores the complexity of identity through the intersection notions of gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality, and class. Reaffirms the central role of public identities and their impact on social life.

Series Editor’s Preface. List of Illustrations. Notes on Contributors. Acknowledgments. Introduction: Materiality and Identity (Joanna Sofaer). PART I: PROJECTING IDENTITIES. 1. Mai/Omai in London and the South Pacific: Perfomativity, Cultural Entanglement, and Indigenous Appropriation (Jocelyn Hackforth-Jones). 2. Projecting Identities in the Greek Symposion (Robin Osborne). PART II: MATERIAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS. 3. Bernini Struts (Michael Cole). 4. Architectural Style and Identity in Egypt (Doris Behrens-Abouseif). 5. Identifying the Body: Representing Self. Art, Ornamentation and the Body In Later Prehistoric Europe (Fay Stevens). PART III: POLITICS AND IDENTITY. 6. Aristocratic Identity: Regency Furniture and the Egyptian Revival Style (Abigail Harrison-Moore). 7. Architecture, Power, and Politics: The Forum-Basilica in Roman Britain (Louise Revell). Bibliography. Index.