Synopsis
This volume provides an ambitious synopsis of the complex, colourful world of textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography. A wealth of information on ancient textiles is available from depictions such as sculpture, vase painting, figurines, reliefs and mosaics. Commonly represented in clothing, textiles are also present in furnishings and through the processes of textile production. The challenge for anyone analysing ancient iconography is determining how we interpret what we see. As preserved textiles rarely survive in comparable forms, we must consider the extent to which representations of textiles reflect reality, and critically evaluate the sources. Images are not simple replicas or photographs of reality. Instead, iconography draws on select elements from the surrounding world that were recognisable to the ancient audience, and reveal the perceptions, ideologies, and ideas of the society in which they were produced. Through examining the durable evidence, this anthology reveals the ephemeral world of textiles and their integral role in the daily life, cult and economy of the ancient Mediterranean.
Table of Contents
Preface
Author biographies
1. Introduction: Approaching textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography
Cecilie Brøns, Susanna Harris, and Marta Żuchowska
2. Textile Production in Aegean Glyptic: Interpreting small-scale representations on seals and sealings from Bronze Age Greece
Agata Ulanowska
3. Textiles and Iconography in the Bronze Age Aegean Scripts: tela logogram and the ligatured endogram te
Rachele Pierini
4. Loom or Lyre: A dual reading of iconography from the Iron Age II site of Kunitllet ‘Ajrud
Thaddeus Nelson
5. Abundance and Splendour: Textiles on Archaic Greek statues of young women (korai)
Susanna Harris
6. The Color of Cult: Artemis Brauronia and the krokotos
Daphne Martin
7. Furniture Textiles in Classical and Hellenistic Iconography
Demi Andrianou
8. Ideology, Gender and Textile Production: The iconography of women in the Iberian Culture
Riccardo Basso Rial
9. All that Glitters is Gold: Golden textiles in the ancient Mediterranean
Cecilie Brøns
10. Arachne Revisited: Hubris and Technology in the Forum Transitorium Frieze, Rome
Magdalena Öhrman
11. Fringed Clothing in Roman Iconography and Written Sources
Kelly Olson
12. Between Realism and Artistic Convention: Woollen mantles in the iconography of Roman Palmyra
Marta Żuchowska
13. Reading Dress and Identity in the Roman Mosaics of Carthage and Tabarka
Amy Place
14. Epilogue
Mary Harlow
Glossary
Index
About the Author
Cecilie Brøns is a post-doctoral researcher at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. She has a PhD in Classical archaeology from the National Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen. Her research interests include ancient textiles, ancient polychromy, pigments and dyes, colours of antiquity, ancient Greek cult and religion and votive offerings. Her first book, Gods and Garments: Textiles in Greek Sanctuaries in the 7th to the 1st Centuries BC, appeared in this series in 2016.
Marta Zuchowska is Lecturer in Archaeology at the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw. She completed her PhD at the Faculty of History, University of Warsaw. Her current research focuses on textiles and their role in the economies of ancient societies. She was a member of the Polish archaeological team at Palmyra in 1995-2010.
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