February 15, 2025 (Saturday)
5:30 PM ET
CAMLab Cave, Lower Level, 485 Broadway, Harvard University
Abstract
Beyond the solemn grandeur of canonical Egyptian art lies a vibrant parallel universe revealed by the “Cartoon Cats” – whimsical anthropomorphic drawings on ostraca and papyri from New Kingdom Deir el-Medina. This lecture deciphers these subversive creations through dual lenses of materiality and authorship. When royal tomb-builders transformed limestone flakes into satirical scenes of mice ruling over cat servants, they crafted an artistic experiment imbued with social critique. By contrasting formal tomb paintings with these vernacular “doodles”, the talk illuminates clandestine innovations within Egypt’s artistic production system. These playful anthropomorphic representations not only reshape our understanding of Egyptian visual culture, but also reclaim ancient artisans’ suppressed subjectivity from the veil of collective anonymity, revealing an artistic vitality that transcends temporal and ideological boundaries.
Speaker Bio
Jia Yan, PhD in Art and Architectural History from Harvard University, specializes in the history of ancient Near Eastern art and architecture as well as ancient Egyptian art. Since returning to China in the fall of 2015, she has been teaching at the School of Arts at Peking University. She is currently a tenured associate professor and researcher under the new academic system, serving as the Chair of the Department of Art History and a doctoral advisor. Additionally, she is a researcher at the Institute for Ancient Oriental Civilizations at Peking University.
Event Information
- Free and open to public
- Feb 15th (Saturday)
- Reception at 5:00 PM, seminar starts at 5:30 PM
- CAMLab Cave, Lower Level, 485 Broadway, Harvard University
Please note
No reservation is needed.
This event is in Mandarin Chinese.
February 15, 2025 (Saturday)
5:30 PM ET
CAMLab Cave, Lower Level, 485 Broadway, Harvard University
Event Recap
During this past weekend, on Feb 15, the CAMLab Seminar by JIA Yan, Associate Professor from Peking University’s School of Arts, took us on a fascinating journey into ancient Egyptian art.
Starting with traditional cat imagery in Egyptian art, she introduced a series of “Demonic Cats” from the New Kingdom period (1550–1070 BCE) in Deir el-Medina, to address the theme of “Beyond the Norm.” These images, created by artisans who served the pharaohs and drawn on ostraca (shards of stone) and papyrus, depict satirical scenes where mice rule over cat servants. Professor Jia linked these images to the myth of “The Return of the Distant Goddess”, highlighting how lower-class artisans used creativity to challenge elite narratives. Her insights shed light on their overlooked role in shaping cultural commentary.
