Jacqueline Dawson Chittenden:a forgotten classical scholar

This article explores the life and career of Mrs Jacqueline Chittenden, a classical scholar whose story and voice exist in archives across the world, but whose achievements and career have hitherto been omitted from accounts of either classical or archaeological scholarship. Chittenden was an American archaeologist, classicist, collector, curator and cataloguer with close ties to the University of Cambridge and Newnham College. Her career flourished during and in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in Britain and is closely linked to opportunities that arose during this period. Through study of her curatorial work, collecting and academic publications, Chittenden emerges as a significant scholar whose work had important implications on the fields of archaeology and classics, and one whose work was shaped, and limited, by her gender. Chittenden's input in wartime Greek art exhibitions emphasised the voice of Greek women and their art of embroidery, revealing their contribution to the heritage of ancient Greece. This article discusses and evaluates Chittenden's work in order to give a better understanding of the significant role of women in the study of the material culture of the past and, in particular, the historiography of women's art and ancient religion