The Material and the Ideal: Essays in Medieval Art and Archaeology in Honour of Jean-Michel Spieser (Medieval Mediterranean, 70)

Reflecting the diverse interests of Jean-Michel Spieser, his colleagues, students and friends contribute papers focused on topics ranging from the changing role of the apse and the layout of late antique basilicas to holy relics said to have been brought from Constantinople. Many of the articles address the nature and impact of specific media - goldsmiths' work, ivory and ceramics - while a group of highly original, broader studies is devoted to such larger issues as ritual display in the tenth century, the metaphorical significance of pottery and an interrogation of the supposed influence of Byzantine icons on Western medieval art. Throughout, the achievement of the authors is to move from concrete observations of particular objects to the larger meaning they held for those who commissioned and made use of them. Table of Contents The Material and the Ideal: An Introduction (Anthony Cutler) Publications by Jean-Michel Spieser Zur Apsis als Bildort (Beat Brenk) Divine or Human? Some Remarks on the Design and Layout of Late Antique Basilicas (Arietta Papaconstantinou) Urban and Rural Funerary Practices in Early Medieval Illyricum. Some General Considerations (Etleva Nallbani) L'orfèvre et l'architecte: autour d'un groupe d'édifices constantinopolitains du VIe siècle (Brigitte Pitarakis) —: Display in Court Ceremonial (De Cerimoniis II,15) (Jeffrey Featherstone) A Recently Discovered Ivory of St. Ignatios and the Lions (Anthony Cutler and Nancy Patterson Sevcenko) Le nouvel ordre du monde ou l'image du cosmos à Lesnovo (Ivana Jevtic) The Sacred Vessel and the Measure of a Man (Sharon E.J. Gerstel) On the Personal Life of Objects in Medieval Byzantium (Maria Parani) Des potiers de Nicée aux faïenciers d'Iznik: tradition maintenue ou fausse continuité? (Véronique François) Un tétraévangile provincial d'origine syro-palestinienne: Florence, Bibliothèque Laurentienne Conv. Soppr. gr. 160 (Elisabeth Yota) Une prétendue relique de Constantinople: la «Véronique » de Corbie (Jannic Durand) À propos des influences byzantines sur l'art du Moyen Âge occidental (Jean Wirth) Index Illustrations Reflecting the diverse interests of Jean-Michel Spieser, his colleagues, students and friends contribute papers focused on topics ranging from the changing role of the apse and the layout of late antique basilicas to holy relics said to have been brought from Constantinople. Many of the articles address the nature and impact of specific media - goldsmiths' work, ivory and ceramics - while a group of highly original, broader studies is devoted to such larger issues as ritual display in the tenth century, the metaphorical significance of pottery and an interrogation of the supposed influence of Byzantine icons on Western medieval art. Throughout, the achievement of the authors is to move from concrete observations of particular objects to the larger meaning they held for those who commissioned and made use of them. -- Amazon.com