Kimberly Cassibry

Associate Professor of Art

Contact
Phone:
+1 (781) 283-2182
Email:
kcassibr@wellesley.edu
Department
Art
Art History

Art and architectural historian specializing in the ancient Mediterranean.

book cover for Destinations in Mind, pale greenish gradient background with etched glass vessel in the center

My research focuses on the ancient Mediterranean and asks what art and architecture can tell us about international relations and the experience of empire. Interests include global art history, classical reception studies, monuments and memory, and the politics of replicating antiquities.

My book Destinations in Mind: Portraying Places on the Roman Empire's Souvenirs was published by Oxford University Press in 2021. A companion website has bonus content, links to online resources, and over a thousand photographs from my research and travels.

I am currently writing a book about my favorite empress. In Collecting Julia Domna: Roman Portraits and Modern Museums, I consider why the empire's residents put this intriguing woman's face on dolls, paintings, sculptures, vessels, jewelry, and coins. I then explore the fascinating history of how these same portraits came to be in museums around the world.

Another book project focuses on my favorite landmarks. In Memorable Monuments: Designing and Transforming Triumphal Arches, I emphasize innovative features (such as bubbling fountains and zodiac archways) and unusual settings (such as soaring bridges). I also explore how these monuments have changed over time, some recycled for building materials, some destroyed for political reasons, and some reconstructed for heritage and tourism initiatives.

To create new resources for teachers and students, I am collaborating with Smarthistory (The Center for Public Art History) to broaden the site's coverage of the Roman Empire. So far, I have contributed essays on Egyptian Obelisks and Ancient Rome, Hadrian's Wall, The Dying Gaul, and Julia Domna's Portraits. A chapter on The Roman Empire in a Connected World is coming soon.

At Wellesley, my courses on the ancient Mediterranean and Mesopotamia address the political and social uses of art and architecture, as well as the modern lives of antiquities. Because seeing art in person is fundamental to understanding it, my classes analyze collections not just on campus, but also in nearby museums. They also explore and critique technologies of replication, from plaster casts to 3D prints.

I am honored to have received the 2019 Pinanski Teaching Prize and to have served as president of the college's chapter of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa.

Selected Publications

Selected Talks

  • "A Curious Canon: Modelling Triumphal Arches for Mussolini's Mostra Augustea," Ancient Monuments and Fascist Italy panel, AIA Chicago 2024
  • "A Colonial Monument: Remembering an Ancient Triumphal Arch in France," Case Western University, 2023
  • "An Obelisk, A Glass, and a Cast: Why Mobility Matters for Roman Art History," Intersections and Entanglements panel, CAA New York, 2023
  • "Seeing the Roman Empire through Ancient Souvenirs," UMass Amherst, 2022
  • "The Captive Gaul in the River Rhône," Grounding Roman Sculpture panel, AIA San Diego, 2019
  • "Seeing the Supernatural: Art and Religion in Roman Gaul," ISAW, 2018
  • "The Tyranny of the Dying Gaul," Unlocking the Provinces symposium, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 2017
  • "Palmyra at the Crossroads", MFA Boston, 2016
  • "Gifts for the Gods: The Art of Devotion in Roman Gaul," Getty Villa, Los Angeles, 2015
  • "Gauls Dying and Victorious," Art of War symposium, Joukowsky Institute, Brown University, 2015

Education

  • B.A., Louisiana State University
  • M.A., The University of Texas at Austin
  • Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley

Current and upcoming courses

Building an Empire: Roman Architecture as Cultural Heritage

ARTH243

This is a course about the Roman Empire’s buildings; the art that once adorned them; and how these ensembles have been preserved over time. Key themes include the ancient experience of architecture, Mediterranean traditions of design, and the place of this complex heritage in modern politics and cityscapes. Case studies will focus not just on Rome, but also on cities across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, all lands that were once within the empire’s borders. Students will leave the course knowing how to use the Roman Empire’s roads, temples, and amphitheaters and understanding why preserving them matters.

More Info

  • Antiquities Today: The Politics of Replication

    ARTH373

    New technologies that enable the 3D scanning and fabrication of art and architecture have become integral in attempts to combat the decay, destruction, and disputed ownership of ancient works. Our seminar contextualizes the development of these current approaches within the longer history of collecting and replicating artifacts from the ancient Mediterranean. We will think critically about the role that replicated antiquities play in site and object preservation, college and museum education, and the negotiation of international political power. Potential case studies include the Bust of Nefertiti, the Parthenon Marbles, the Venus de Milo, and the Arch of Palmyra, all of which now exist globally in multiple digital and material iterations. (ARTH 373 and CLCV 373 are cross-listed courses.)

  • Ancient Jewelry from the Mediterranean to the Museum

    ARTH123

    Jewelry is art made to adorn the human body, and designs from the ancient Mediterranean have inspired artists for thousands of years. This introductory course analyzes the creation and use of jewelry from 2,600 BCE to 800 CE. Case studies drawn from the connected Mediterranean world will compare the traditions of neighboring peoples such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, Romans, and Celts. Readings will introduce these communities and the meanings they gave to symbols, metals, and gemstones. Lectures will consider how adornment expressed gender, asserted freedom, and attracted magical protection. Class discussions will critique the history of excavating, collecting, and exhibiting this portable art now held by museums around the world. Assignments will develop the skill of conducting research in museum databases.

  • Iraq's Antiquities, Then and Now

    ARTH203

    This course explores the rich libraries, splendid palaces, and innovative public monuments that emerged in ancient Iraq between 3,300 BCE and 500 BCE. The royal jewels from the cemetery at Ur, the Law Code of Hammurabi, and the palatial sculptures from Nineveh feature among the case studies. The course also critiques international claims to these and other Iraqi antiquities, with a focus on their excavation by European empires and American universities; their acquisition by “encyclopedic” museums; and the digital colonialism of current replication schemes. We conclude by looking at the work of Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz, who has recreated many antiquities to protest their varied display and ongoing destruction. Students leave the course understanding how Iraq's ancient art and architecture have been used to negotiate power from antiquity to the present day.