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Art

The line between art, craft, tool — and warning

Eleanor Konik
Written by Eleanor Konik

I write stories & articles inspired by all eras of history & science... so I wind up putting notetaking software like Obsidian & Readwise thru their paces.

2 min read.
Photo of texture in white plaster by Steve Johnson from Pexels
We tend to think of art as a critical component of humanity, and especially of civilization. But artistic styles are rarely a component of fantasy stories. When they do make it into a fantasy world, it tends to feel like a direct "port" of a particular period of art history, for example the patron-based portraiture of L. E. Modesitt's Imager series. I wanted to think about fantasy art a little differently, so I went digging...

Quick Facts

Dog Depictions

Mosaics do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of decorating the floors of Ancient Roman villas, such as those found in Pompeii. The most famous shows a battle between Alexander III of Macedon and Darius III of Persia, but other mosaics are a bit more mundane. My favorite depicts an aggressive dog wearing a collar and chain, teeth bared. Its purpose was probably to declare "beware of dog" to visitors.

Commercial Pots

I used to be confused about why artistic, painted pottery was so often by archaeologists to learn about ancient peoples, until I realized it's less likely to degrade than many other materials, and painted amphorae are functionally the equivalent of tractor trailer trucks with advertisements and art decorating them, or the logos painted on wine bottles. Commercial art tells us a lot about commerce.

Clay Cats

Art is not limited to places with social hierarchies and complex economies. 27,000 years ago, prehistoric people in Central Europe were creating art. In addition to decorated shells, they made decorative ceramics. One ceramic lion's head was styled by pressing reindeer hair and textiles against the clay to create a sense of texture.

Women's Work

In Ancient Greece, most of the known female painters were themselves the daughters of artists. But understanding the role of "art" in history is in some ways a classification problem. The line between "fine craftsmanship" and "beautiful art" is blurry and in many ways political. This has implications for the status of things like "women in art."


📗 ICYMI: If you found this interesting, you may also enjoy the last time I touched on art and amphorae. Check out the ceramics edition to find out what pottery has to do with ancient sewers & knockoff turquoise.

💚 If you learned something from this overview, consider forwarding it to a friend and encouraging them to sign up for more research deep dives into obscure history and science.

🧭 Next week's topic? Wayfinding! Do you know any obscure folk tales involving navigation, or weird algorithms involved in path finding? If so, please reach out and let me know.

Note: There are a couple of affiliate links & codes scattered around, but these always come from links I was already recommending and usually I share them because they benefit you too (i.e. getting you extra time on trials).

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