Exquisite Slaves centers on clothing and its unique ability to convey an unspoken language of status. Tamara Walker argues that dress served two purposes: it was central to elite dominance and claims of superiority, while it simultaneously provided the means for enslaved men and women to challenge those dominant norms. By examining material culture, Walker examines the racialization of Blackness in colonial and republican Lima, Peru. Her work engages scholars, such as Herman Bennett, Ira Berlin, and Rebecca Earle, who study the legal use and social ramifications of clothing by enslaved people throughout the Americas. Her work, however, shifts the focus to not just the bodies that wore the clothing but also the visual representation of clothing in print culture.
Walker uses legal codes, edicts, newsletters, criminal cases, notarial records, wills, and runaway ads to delve into the body politics of Lima. Walker refers to these sources as “fragments” that...
