Dressing the Other: Foreign Women in Moche Ceramic Art
Affiliation of Author, Researcher, or Creator
School of the Arts
Department
Visual and Media Arts
Author(s)
Sarahh Scher
Resource Type
Article
Publication, Publisher or Distributor
West86th 26 (2): 188-213
Publication Date
Fall 2019
Brief Description
Defining foreignness is an important element of how cultures demarcate their own sense of being and identity, and artists translate these definitions into depictions of the foreign and Other. Analyzing depictions of the Other can also aid in understanding the ways cultures interacted with those outside their cultural sphere, and how they created stereotyped identities for them. Studying the representation of costume provides a way to understand how foreigners were perceived as Other, as well as how they might be perceived as similar. Two vessels excavated in 1899 hold the key to understanding a group of foreigners depicted in Moche ceramic art from Huaca de la Luna on the north coast of Peru (ca. 200–900 CE). Elements of dress and accessories point to a highland origin of these foreigners, who may themselves be indicators of trading ties between the Huacas de Moche site and their neighbors to the east.
Keywords
Peru, Moche, dress, Other, art history, archaeology, Max Uhle
Preferred Citation Style
Chicago Manual