Plate IV, Eight Parrot Dancers in Two Rows with Parrots and an Open Cage, from Ballet of Bears with Parrots, Ballet by Jean Baptiste Balbi for "La Finta Pazza" c. 17th century

Curator: This small etching by Valerio Spada from the Harvard Art Museums is titled "Plate IV, Eight Parrot Dancers in Two Rows with Parrots and an Open Cage, from Ballet of Bears with Parrots, Ballet by Jean Baptiste Balbi for La Finta Pazza." Editor: It feels so strange... a miniature stage, awkwardly posed figures. There’s something almost menacing about it, like a dream gone slightly wrong. Curator: Indeed! It visualizes a ballet scene. The figures, adorned with feathered headdresses and skirts, seem to be in mid-performance, surrounded by parrots and an open cage, perhaps alluding to freedom and confinement. Editor: And what about the dancers? Their costuming, posture, and performance seem to mock Indigenous or African dance practices. It speaks volumes about the power dynamics of the period. Curator: It’s a piece that invites us to consider the complex relationship between art, performance, and cultural representation. It’s both beautiful and deeply unsettling. Editor: Absolutely. It compels us to question what we see and the narratives we project onto it. A glimpse into a past that still reverberates today.