Essays in Global Color History: Interpreting the Ancient Spectrum (Gorgias Studies in Classical and Late Antiquity)

"This collection of 13 interdisciplinary essays (3000 B.C.- 600 A.D) examines a wide range of topics, examining the use and cultural significance of color in the Ancient World. A unifying theme of these essays is that they examine which colors were preferred in ancient cultures, what social and cultural meanings were attached to them, and how we can gain a greater understanding of these cultures by examining how they used and perceived color. After an introduction, the essays will cover the civilizations of Ancient China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica, and the Islamic world. This set of essays will explore how color was used in art (as in sculpture and maps) and cultural attitudes towards color, especially colored clothing and color as applied to physiognomic ideals. This volume addresses the subject of color in an interdisciplinary, world historical approach, including China and Mesopotamia and the Middle East, as well as Mesopotamia and the Classical World."-- Publisher's website Introduction Part I. The Ancient Near East: Unraveling the Color Terminology for the Divine, the Sublime and the Ordinary. The Color of Fortune: The Role of Color in Mesopotamian Divination / Duane E. Smith ; Colorful Garments of Mesopotamian Stone Statues / Astrid Nunn ; The Color Blue as an 'Animator' in Ancient Egyptian Art / Lorelei H. Corcoran ; The Origins, Development, Diffusion and Significance of Early Color Terminology / David A. Warburton Part II. The Classical World: Reconfiguring the Human Face and Body. The Materiality of Color in Ancient Mediterranean Art / Jennifer M. S. Stager ; Gold and Purple: Brilliance, Materiality and Agency of Color in Ancient Greece / Adeline Grand-Clement ; Mens's Cosmetics in Plato and Xenophon / Velvet Yates ; Plautus' and Terence's Colorful Pimps and Slaves / Rachael B. Goldman ; Color and Clothing in Artemidoros' Dream Visions / Denise Reitzenstein ; Meaning and Materiality: Early Christian Theology of Color and Pagan Aesthetics / Kunibert Bering Part III. Asia and America: Interweaving New Worlds and Exploring Traditions. Perceptions of Color in Islamic Texts and Traditions with Special Reference to Shi'i Sources / Majid Daneshgar ; Ancient Chinese 'Five Colors' Theory: What Does Its Semantic Analysis Reveal? / Victoria Bogushevskaya ; Aztec Reds: Investigating the Materiality of Color and Meaning in a Pre-Columbian Society / Élodie Dupey García. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments Notes on Contributors List of Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction Part I. The Ancient Near East: Unraveling the Color Terminology for the Divine, the Sublime and the Ordinary The Color of Fortune: The Role of Color in Mesopotamian Divination Colorful Garments of Mesopotamian Stone Statues The Color Blue as an ‘Animator’ in Ancient Egyptian Art The Origins, Development, Diffusion and Significance of Early Color Terminology Part II. The Classical World: Reconfiguring the Human Face and Body The Materiality of Color in Ancient Mediterranean Art Gold and Purple: Brilliance, Materiality and Agency of Color in Ancient Greece Men’s Cosmetics in Plato and Xenophon Plautus’ and Terence’s Colorful Pimps and Slaves Color and Clothing in Artemidoros’ Dream Visions Meaning and Materiality: Early Christian Theology of Color and Pagan Aesthetics Part III. Asia and America: Interweaving New Worlds and Exploring Traditions Perceptions of Color in Islamic Texts and Traditions with Special Reference to Shīʿī Sources Ancient Chinese ‘Five Colors’ Theory: What Does Its Semantic Analysis Reveal? Aztec Reds: Investigating the Materiality of Color and Meaning in a Pre- Columbian Society Bibliography Index

A collection of essays discussing historical, cultural and social aspects of color in the Ancient World and Pre-Columbian America (circa 3000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.).