Unseen-Untold. Visual stories of non-elite communities in ancient Egypt

Historical disciplines have long been studying ancient societies through the exclusive lens of its elite, i.e. rulers and their close circle of high officials. My postdoctoral project at NINO aims to contribute to the recent wake-up call issued by social sciences to redirect attention to other social categories. It is the further development of my work at UCLA, which examines how post-Amarna and Ramesside Theban intermediary elites (“sub-elite”) developed their own visual and textual identity on stelae – one of the less expensive commemorative monuments available to such a social group and one conducive to individual social expression – by borrowing and transforming high elite repertoire.

This lecture will give a glimpse into the results of my past postdoctoral stay at UCLA and the project I will conduct at NINO, as I will expand this research into the Third Intermediate Period, a time when stelae production is intensified.

Alisée Devillers NINO is Postdoctoral Fellow 2022-2024.

Practical information

The lecture will be held as an in-person event.

• date: Wednesday 11 October 2023
• venue: Leiden University, Lipsius 0.19
• time: 17.00-18.00 hrs, drinks afterwards at Barrera
• admission: free – no registration required
• main language: English

Illustration: Stela of Djedkhonsuiuefankh, Louvre N 3657.