'Hidden Identities'. Observations on the 'Grinning' Phoenician Masks of Sardinia

The terracotta "grinning" masks are certainly among the most typical artefacts of western Phoenician coroplastic production. They have been the subject of important studies and research, which have elaborated the classification and cataloguing of the products, providing the basis for an analysis of the social and economic background, and for an understanding of their function, iconography and meaning. Nevertheless, several grey areas continue to characterize the role of these artefacts within the framework of Phoenician culture, especially with regard to interpreting their symbology and, particularly, one of their essential features, namely the concealment of the wearer's "identity" and the subsequent process of reconstructing another identity (in front of the community). Therefore, examining some recent scholarly contributions and archaeological discoveries and according to an "identitarian" perspective, the present study aims to retrace some of the main problems and to suggest new or updated lines of interpretation.