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Self, “Other,” and Beyond in the Casa del Medico

Within the general framework outlined by chapter 2, different domestic contexts might structure viewers’ encounters with Nilotic imagery in quite different ways. Chapter 4 explores this variability by examining another case study: the Casa del Medico. As at the Casa dell’Efebo, this house constructs close contextual associations between Nilotic frescoes, garden space, watery settings, and dining. Here, however, the framing and content of the imagery suggest different meanings. Among other things, this assemblage places much more emphasis on the “grotesque” potential of pygmy scenes. Although scholars often take the violent imagery of the Casa del Medico frescoes as paradigmatic for all Nilotic scenes, a close analysis points instead to the thematic multivalence of domestic Nilotica. Additionally, since the Casa del Medico is smaller and less luxurious than the Casa dell’Efebo, these two case studies enable us to compare the uses of Nilotic imagery at different points along the socioeconomic spectrum.