The Work of Nails: Religion, Mediterranean Antiquity, and Contemporary Black Art

Abstract

Abstract This article contributes to the study of religion by investigating the ritual significance of the ancient nail, focusing on its material power in piercing curse tablets (defixiones, sing. defixio) in Mediterranean antiquity. It thus brings a humble object and the gestures and labor associated with it more centrally into the study of religion in antiquity. The article also contributes to the study of religion more broadly by developing a theoretical framework derived from contemporary artistic, material practices. I interpret these ancient ritual objects—the materiality and aesthetics of defixiones and the function of the nail—by engaging contemporary artworks by Valerie Maynard, Renée Stout, and Titus Kaphar. In the racial condition of the United States, these artists materialize theory regarding aesthetics, history, and justice, drawing in part from Kongolese minkisi minkondi, which were nailed and pierced to mark rituals of justice.

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