Cobbled Fictions

Lessons from Cultural History in Reception and Aesthetics

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20487534
AutoresRobyn Faith Walsh (0000-0002-4929-5191, University of Miami https://dx.doi.org/5452 Coral Gables, FL USA, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Volumen32
Número1-2
Páginas165-202
Fecha de publicación2025-06-23
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligion and Theology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1023-0807 • E-ISSN: 1574-3012
EditorialWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15743012-bja10092
OpenAlexW4411704947
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas14

This article interrogates the aesthetic and ideological frameworks that inform scholarly judgments of authenticity in classical art and material culture. Through three case studies – the so-called Barberini Togatus, the statue of Marcia Furnilla, and the Fonseca Bust – it explores how objects of dubious provenance and composite construction are nonetheless canonized as exemplars of Roman artistry. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Elizabeth Marlowe, and others, I argue that these artifacts are often accepted as “authentic” not because of empirical certainty, but because they conform to inherited narratives shaped by Romanticism, neoclassicism, and modern museum practices. These “cobbled fictions” reveal the extent to which aesthetic judgment is entangled with social distinction, ideological projection, and the desire for continuity with an imagined classical past. I ultimately call for a more critical and transparent engagement with the epistemological assumptions that undergird the study of ancient objects

History of religions · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Philosophy · Poetry Analysis and Criticism · Religious studies