Marian Feldman | Johns Hopkins University (original) (raw)
Papers by Marian Feldman
Wilhelm Fink Verlag eBooks, 2018
that for centuries" colonia" ha.s been turned into fI colonus/' 1\ farmer, thus th e "Kolnischer ... more that for centuries" colonia" ha.s been turned into fI colonus/' 1\ farmer, thus th e "Kolnischer Bauer" (Cologne peasant), and the" Kiilnischer Jungfrall" (Cologne maiden), have been adopted as typical of the city, and often.[ used as a, coat-of-arms. fl 'o-day \Ve find engraved on one of the city gates :-" Hiite dich, 'l'ochter des rvmiRch en Rich, Gcistlich nnd wcltlich buhlen am dich.'• COLOGNE C"' TH~I)RAL. (Beware, 0 d,mghter of , this Hom:1n renll)) , thou art sought a fter both spiritually and worldly). Glorious thollgh the history of the city may he, yet, when we read abollt its past fights , past conquests, past tragedies, we , find that it is stained with hloo<1.
The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean, 2019
The "Orientalizing period" represents a scholarly designation used to describe the eighth and sev... more The "Orientalizing period" represents a scholarly designation used to describe the eighth and seventh centuries BCE when regions in Greece, Italy, and farther west witnessed a flourishing of arts and cultures attributed to contact with cultural areas to the east-in
A Companion to the Art of the Ancient Near East, 2018
Art/ifacts and ArtWorks in the Ancient World, 2021
The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East, 2022
One Who Loves Knowledge: Studies in Honor of Richard Jasnow, 2022
The Connected Iron Age: Interregional Networks in the Eastern Mediterranean, 900-600 BCE, 2022
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2007
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2009
A Companion to the Ancient Near East, 2020
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2006
In the 14th and 13th centuries B.C.E., Assyria emerged as an independent state and began expansio... more In the 14th and 13th centuries B.C.E., Assyria emerged as an independent state and began expansionist policies. Yet the international world of that time operated according to a protocol of brotherhood, parity, and reciprocity. Taking material culture as constitutive of sociopolitical identity, this article explores the clash between imperialism and diplomacy through an archaeological and art historical case study of Assur Tomb 45. The luxurious grave goods, in conjunction with the associated historical figure of Bābu-aha-iddina-a powerful Assyrian official involved in international affairs-permit an exploration of Assyria on the cusp of imperialism. Many of the pieces exhibit connections with international arts, yet at the same time assert a new Assyrian artistic identity. The adoption of internationalizing elements hints at Assyria's attempts at diplomatic acceptance, while the state's ultimate rejection of diplomacy in favor of imperialism finds expression in a forceful Assyrian style based on narrative and verisimilitude.
Iraq, 2017
Excavations at the 109 hectare site of Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil plain in the Kurdistan Region ... more Excavations at the 109 hectare site of Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil plain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were conducted by the Johns Hopkins University in 2013 and 2014. The Middle Bronze Age (Old Babylonian period) is the main period of occupation evident on the site, and the project therefore aims to study the character of a north Mesopotamian urban centre of the early second millenniumb.c. On the high mound, excavations revealed three phases of Mittani (Late Bronze) period occupation, including evidence of elite residential architecture. On the low mound and the south slope of the high mound, Middle Bronze evidence included domestic remains with numerous ceramic vessels left in situ. Also dating to the Middle Bronze period is evidence of a city wall on the site edges. Later occupations include a cemetery, perhaps of Achaemenid date, on the south slope of the high mound and a Middle Islamic settlement on the southern lower town. Faunal and archaeobotanical analysis provide informa...
In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the inte... more In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the interconnections between ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East. She draws on a wide range of archaeological, iconographic, and cuneiform sources to show how ritual performance was not set apart from the real practice of politics; it was politics. Rituals provided an opportunity for elites and ordinary people to negotiate political authority. Descriptions of rituals from three periods explore the networks of signification that informed different societies. From circa 2600 to 2200 BC, pilgrimage made kingdoms out of previously isolated villages. Similarly, from circa 1900 to 1700 BC, commemorative ceremonies legitimated new political dynasties by connecting them to a shared past. Finally, in the Hellenistic period, the traditional Babylonian Akitu festival was an occasion for Greek-speaking kings to show that they were Babylonian and for Babylonian priests to gain signific...
The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean, 2015
Artistic interconnections in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean are often considered throu... more Artistic interconnections in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean are often considered through the lens of iconography as a window onto motif transference. In this chapter, I argue that such approaches present inherent limitations that constrain our search for ancient meanings. Taking a more dynamic view of meaning-making as social processes of engagement between human beings and the material properties of objects, I investigate the case of cylinder seals in the Aegean and touch upon related issues for monumental ashlar masonry, frescoes , and Mycenaean pottery. Drawing upon Webb Keane's notion of bundled qualities, I trace conjunctions of various properties across material assemblages in order to sug est values and resonances that would have been central to generating meaning. I conclude with a brief consideration of these processes across the Late Bronze-Iron Age transition with respect to north Syrian carved stone reliefs.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2002
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2013
Die Wandmalereien aus Tell Mišrife/Qaṭna im Kontext überregionaler Kommunikation. By Constance... more Die Wandmalereien aus Tell Mišrife/Qaṭna im Kontext überregionaler Kommunikation. By Constance von Rüden. Qaṭna Studien, vol. 2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011. Pp. x + 278, 70 plts. €84.
Wilhelm Fink Verlag eBooks, 2018
that for centuries" colonia" ha.s been turned into fI colonus/' 1\ farmer, thus th e "Kolnischer ... more that for centuries" colonia" ha.s been turned into fI colonus/' 1\ farmer, thus th e "Kolnischer Bauer" (Cologne peasant), and the" Kiilnischer Jungfrall" (Cologne maiden), have been adopted as typical of the city, and often.[ used as a, coat-of-arms. fl 'o-day \Ve find engraved on one of the city gates :-" Hiite dich, 'l'ochter des rvmiRch en Rich, Gcistlich nnd wcltlich buhlen am dich.'• COLOGNE C"' TH~I)RAL. (Beware, 0 d,mghter of , this Hom:1n renll)) , thou art sought a fter both spiritually and worldly). Glorious thollgh the history of the city may he, yet, when we read abollt its past fights , past conquests, past tragedies, we , find that it is stained with hloo<1.
The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean, 2019
The "Orientalizing period" represents a scholarly designation used to describe the eighth and sev... more The "Orientalizing period" represents a scholarly designation used to describe the eighth and seventh centuries BCE when regions in Greece, Italy, and farther west witnessed a flourishing of arts and cultures attributed to contact with cultural areas to the east-in
A Companion to the Art of the Ancient Near East, 2018
Art/ifacts and ArtWorks in the Ancient World, 2021
The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East, 2022
One Who Loves Knowledge: Studies in Honor of Richard Jasnow, 2022
The Connected Iron Age: Interregional Networks in the Eastern Mediterranean, 900-600 BCE, 2022
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2007
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2009
A Companion to the Ancient Near East, 2020
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2006
In the 14th and 13th centuries B.C.E., Assyria emerged as an independent state and began expansio... more In the 14th and 13th centuries B.C.E., Assyria emerged as an independent state and began expansionist policies. Yet the international world of that time operated according to a protocol of brotherhood, parity, and reciprocity. Taking material culture as constitutive of sociopolitical identity, this article explores the clash between imperialism and diplomacy through an archaeological and art historical case study of Assur Tomb 45. The luxurious grave goods, in conjunction with the associated historical figure of Bābu-aha-iddina-a powerful Assyrian official involved in international affairs-permit an exploration of Assyria on the cusp of imperialism. Many of the pieces exhibit connections with international arts, yet at the same time assert a new Assyrian artistic identity. The adoption of internationalizing elements hints at Assyria's attempts at diplomatic acceptance, while the state's ultimate rejection of diplomacy in favor of imperialism finds expression in a forceful Assyrian style based on narrative and verisimilitude.
Iraq, 2017
Excavations at the 109 hectare site of Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil plain in the Kurdistan Region ... more Excavations at the 109 hectare site of Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil plain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were conducted by the Johns Hopkins University in 2013 and 2014. The Middle Bronze Age (Old Babylonian period) is the main period of occupation evident on the site, and the project therefore aims to study the character of a north Mesopotamian urban centre of the early second millenniumb.c. On the high mound, excavations revealed three phases of Mittani (Late Bronze) period occupation, including evidence of elite residential architecture. On the low mound and the south slope of the high mound, Middle Bronze evidence included domestic remains with numerous ceramic vessels left in situ. Also dating to the Middle Bronze period is evidence of a city wall on the site edges. Later occupations include a cemetery, perhaps of Achaemenid date, on the south slope of the high mound and a Middle Islamic settlement on the southern lower town. Faunal and archaeobotanical analysis provide informa...
In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the inte... more In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the interconnections between ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East. She draws on a wide range of archaeological, iconographic, and cuneiform sources to show how ritual performance was not set apart from the real practice of politics; it was politics. Rituals provided an opportunity for elites and ordinary people to negotiate political authority. Descriptions of rituals from three periods explore the networks of signification that informed different societies. From circa 2600 to 2200 BC, pilgrimage made kingdoms out of previously isolated villages. Similarly, from circa 1900 to 1700 BC, commemorative ceremonies legitimated new political dynasties by connecting them to a shared past. Finally, in the Hellenistic period, the traditional Babylonian Akitu festival was an occasion for Greek-speaking kings to show that they were Babylonian and for Babylonian priests to gain signific...
The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean, 2015
Artistic interconnections in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean are often considered throu... more Artistic interconnections in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean are often considered through the lens of iconography as a window onto motif transference. In this chapter, I argue that such approaches present inherent limitations that constrain our search for ancient meanings. Taking a more dynamic view of meaning-making as social processes of engagement between human beings and the material properties of objects, I investigate the case of cylinder seals in the Aegean and touch upon related issues for monumental ashlar masonry, frescoes , and Mycenaean pottery. Drawing upon Webb Keane's notion of bundled qualities, I trace conjunctions of various properties across material assemblages in order to sug est values and resonances that would have been central to generating meaning. I conclude with a brief consideration of these processes across the Late Bronze-Iron Age transition with respect to north Syrian carved stone reliefs.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2002
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2013
Die Wandmalereien aus Tell Mišrife/Qaṭna im Kontext überregionaler Kommunikation. By Constance... more Die Wandmalereien aus Tell Mišrife/Qaṭna im Kontext überregionaler Kommunikation. By Constance von Rüden. Qaṭna Studien, vol. 2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2011. Pp. x + 278, 70 plts. €84.
Les objets de prestige occupent une place de premier plan dans l’histoire des civilisations. Mich... more Les objets de prestige occupent une place de premier plan dans l’histoire des civilisations. Michèle Casanova (Université de Lyon 2) et Marian Feldman (John Hopkins University) ont rassemblé dix-huit articles sur le thème des produits de luxe au Proche-Orient ancien, aux âges du Bronze et du Fer. Les articles abordent la production, la circulation, l’iconographie, les valeurs commerciales et symboliques des objets de luxe au Proche-Orient, en Égypte et en Méditerranée orientale, avec pour but de formuler des interprétations nouvelles concernant les échanges à moyenne et longue distance entre les sociétés du Proche-Orient ancien. Plusieurs de ces contributions traitent de cas spécifiques (lapislazuli, cornaline, jade, albâtre, calcite, chlorite, basalte, cuivre, bronze, or, argent, parfums) pour reconsidérer les mécanismes d’échange et certaines d’entre elles présentent les résultats d’analyses de matériaux. Le champ couvert s’étend de la civilisation de l’Indus au royaume de Kerma au Soudan. Plusieurs auteurs s’intéressent à l’iconographie en tant que moyen de construction et de différenciation des groupes identitaires en Mésopotamie, en Syrie, au Levant et en Nubie. Dans ces régions, où les objets de luxe étaient souvent dotés de fortes fonctions théologiques et surnaturelles, on assista aussi à l’émergence de la valeur marchande et des prix à l’âge du Bronze.