Reshaping Gendered Narratives: Reinterpreting Female Art, Identity and Social Change in the Late Nordic Bronze Age

Laura Ahlqvist*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

This paper explores the changes to art on artefacts attributed to females in the Late Nordic Bronze Age (ca. 1100–500 BC) from a gender critical, feminist perspective. Traditionally, Scandinavian research has focussed on the art of male artefacts, which is believed to represent a cosmological narrative, whilst female art has been considered devoid of cosmological motifs–concomitantly, it is often assumed that prominent social standing was reserved males. Through analytical discussion, the paper shows how the same motifs as are considered cosmological in male objects can be found on female objects, too, in compositions diverging from the male use, suggesting a gender differentiated use of art and association to cosmology. Through a gender theoretical lens, the paper explores what the social use of the art on these objects may suggest regarding identity and power relations in society, linking up with a reconfiguration of female identity at this time.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNorwegian Archaeological Review
Volume57
Issue1
Pages (from-to)1-18
Number of pages18
ISSN0029-3652
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Art
  • Feminism
  • Gender
  • Identity
  • Nordic Bronze Age

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Reshaping Gendered Narratives: Reinterpreting Female Art, Identity and Social Change in the Late Nordic Bronze Age'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this