Papers by Margaret L. Laird
Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 69 (2024), iv–vii
Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 66 (2021), iii–vi.
Women's Lives, Women's Voices: Roman Material Culture and Female Agency in the Bay of Naples, ed. by B. Longfellow and M. Swetnam-Burland, 247–74 (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2021)
Drawings of women made by amateurs – rendered as graffiti, brush and monochrome pigment (dipinti)... more Drawings of women made by amateurs – rendered as graffiti, brush and monochrome pigment (dipinti), charcoal or other marker – constitute a unique source for ancient imagery and for the mindscape of ancient people. This chapter focuses on drawings of human and divine women at Pompeii, considering their formal characteristics and the built environments in which they were rendered to understand popular notions of women held by ancient Pompeians. I suggest that non-professional artists had little desire to render females visually. Those few drawings that were made do not conform to the female image portrayed in more elite media like painting and sculpture. Although few draftspeople chose to depict women, those who did employed a variety of strategies to attract attention to their drawings.
Afterwards: Reuse and Renovation in Roman Material Culture, edited by D. Ng and M. Swetnam-Burland, 51-83 (New York and Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2018)., 2018
Between 138 and 162 CE, the vigiles (firemen) set up six imperial images on inscribed bases in th... more Between 138 and 162 CE, the vigiles (firemen) set up six imperial images on inscribed bases in the shrine at the heart of the Caserma dei Vigili (their barracks) in ancient Ostia. These bases formed a cohesive group honoring living members of the Antonine dynasty: L. Aelius Caesar, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus. This paper examines how the gallery’s formation reflects how the vigiles constructed and reified imperial stability through their material commissions before turning to focus on the two latest pedestals in the group, one dedicated to the then-emperor Marcus Aurelius, the other to an individual whose identity is no longer known, lost to reuse. Some scholars have suggested that these may have been repurposed altars. If this was not actually the case, I propose that the pedestals were deliberately fashioned to resemble altars to convey the active form of emperor worship practiced by the vigiles. In 195 CE, the firemen modified the gallery by reinscribing one of these bases and rededicating it to the new emperor Septimius Severus. Although this repurposing has been understood as the result of damnatio memoriae, I argue that the theme of dynastic continuity developed among the Antonine statues, the pedestal’s form, and the identity of its original honoree made it particularly suitable for reappropriation. Its deliberate reuse integrated Septimius Severus into the previous dynasty of “good” emperors and made a positive statement about the vigiles’ understanding of political change and their organizational identity vis-à-vis the Severan accession.
Ahoros: Gedenkschrift für Hugo Meyer, edited by M. Fuchs, 71-80 (Vienna: Phoibos, 2018)., 2018
Art historians long cast Roman freedmen as appropriators of elite architecture and visual culture... more Art historians long cast Roman freedmen as appropriators of elite architecture and visual culture. Although libertini are now recognized as sophisticated patrons, they still are characterized as consumers of elite forms, not generators of iconography in their own right. It is possible, however, to pinpoint instances of invention. This paper explores a unique array of iconography that was developed by Augustales in and around Asisium (modern-day Assisi) in the late first century CE to decorate their funerary stelae and express their participation in a common community within their town.
A Companion to Roman Italy, ed. by A. E. Cooley, 2016
Chapter 10 10.1 Introduction the material culture of any society is inherently diverse. a chapter... more Chapter 10 10.1 Introduction the material culture of any society is inherently diverse. a chapter addressing the physical remains of roman Italy might survey, for instance, a variety of building types (such as amphitheaters, temples, or houses), various artworks (sculpted portraits, wall painting, or mosaic), and even quotidian objects (vessels, lamps, jewelry). these artifacts vary greatly in scale and are made from different fabrics: stone, clay, wood, metals, pigments, and gemstones. even a single category of object that seems coherent at first glance is intrinsically diverse: bath buildings, for instance, differ in plan from one town or region to another, or may be constructed from different materials worked in distinctive techniques. Or mythological stories can be depicted in a variety of artistic styles or through certain iconographies (conventional ways of depicting a particular subject). Finally, material culture can diverge across cultures, geography, and time. Because of these variables, this chapter cannot hope to provide a comprehensive survey of the art and architecture produced in Italy. rather, it will focus primarily on civic and sacred architecture and city planning to understand the cultures of the Italian peninsula during key periods of social change, first as Latins, etruscans, and Greeks overlapped in the archaic period (late seventh to fifth century bc); then as rome expanded beyond Italy to the eastern Mediterranean in the Late republic; and finally as a common "roman" material culture united the peninsula in the principate. the chapter examines how, in the earlier period, architecture reflects the cultural diversity of the peninsula, marks indigenous responses to roman encroachment, and demonstrates acceptance of, and resistance to, roman culture. It explores how, in the later periods, a common architectural language that appears monolithic nevertheless allows for local and regional diversity that can parallel or overlap traditional cultural patterns. Before turning to these questions, it is worth understanding the importance of material culture as evidence as well as some of its inherent difficulties. While many ancient objects and buildings were (and remain) aesthetically pleasing, they were not created as "art for art's sake." rather, artists, architects, and craftsmen catered to the needs and tastes of buyers who might be more or less involved in the planning and execution of particular commissions
Corinth in Context. Comparative Perspectives on Religion and Society. Ed. by S. J. Friesen, J. Walters, and D. Schowalter, 2010
The Art of Citizens, Soldiers and Freedmen in the Roman World. An Illustrated Anthology, edited by E. D’Ambra and G. P. R. Métraux, 31-43 (London: Archeopress, 2006)., 2006
This paper examines the interrelation between the physical and the social/ritual aspects of "foun... more This paper examines the interrelation between the physical and the social/ritual aspects of "foundation monuments," honorific statues and inscribed bases that celebrated capital gifts whose interest would annually benefit a town or specific civic groups. I argue that these monuments non only honored the donor but functioned as temporal and spatial markers that articulated municipal society while promoting cohesion and continuity.
Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 45 (2000), 41-84., 2000
Using archival, epigraphical and archaeological evidence, this article argues that the "Sede degl... more Using archival, epigraphical and archaeological evidence, this article argues that the "Sede degli Augustali" at Ostia (V vii, 2) did not serve as the meeting place for the town's seviri Augustales and the sculptures found within did not form a gallery of imperial portraits.
Walls and Memory. The Abbey of S. Sebastiano at Alatri (Lazio), from Late Roman Monastery to Renaissance Villa and Beyond, 2005
Books by Margaret L. Laird
This book examines ancient Roman statues and their bases, tombs, dedicatory altars, and panels co... more This book examines ancient Roman statues and their bases, tombs, dedicatory altars, and panels commemorating gifts of civic beneficence made by the Augustales, civic groups composed primarily of wealthy ex-slaves. Margaret L. Laird examines how these monuments functioned as protagonists in their built and social environments by focusing on archaeologically attested commissions made by the Augustales in Roman Italian towns. Integrating methodologies from art history, architectural history, social history, and epigraphy with archaeological and sociological theories of community, she considers how dedications and their accompanying inscriptions created webs of association and transformed places of display into sites of local history. Understanding how these objects functioned in ancient cities, the book argues, illuminates how ordinary Romans combined public lettering, honorific portraits, emperor worship, and civic philanthropy to express their communal identities.
Book Reviews by Margaret L. Laird
Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2013
Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2012.01.42, 2012
Journal of Roman Archaeology 21: 509-514, 2008
Classical Philology 99.4: 385-390, 2004
Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2003.09.26, 2003
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Papers by Margaret L. Laird
Books by Margaret L. Laird
Book Reviews by Margaret L. Laird