Matthias Grawehr | Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (original) (raw)
Conference Programs by Matthias Grawehr
This conference will explore the richness of colour and texture in Roman architecture. More speci... more This conference will explore the richness of colour and texture in Roman architecture. More specifically, it will consider colour schemes and surface finishes of the architectural orders in relation to regional variation, 'global' trends, and semantics.
Roman architects seem to have used a broad range of colour schemes, surface treatments, and a wide variety of materials with diverse tones and optical qualities. Moreover, they blended these things in seemingly unorthodox ways. For example, polished white marble, sometimes highlighted by gilding, was juxtaposed with rough stone textures. Dull stucco-coated columns and brick facades painted in monochrome red or yellow coexisted with lush veining and luxuriant vegetation emulated in paint.
The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars, working on different regions of the Roman empire, to discuss the striking plurality (or unity) of concepts of colour in Roman architecture.
The panel will focus on economy as a driving force for cultural contact. It will debate the inter... more The panel will focus on economy as a driving force for cultural contact. It will debate the interconnectivity of economical and cultural zones in the Mediterranean Sea and beyond, especially on its Eastern and Western shores. The Ancient World has long been understood as a cluster of cultural entities that interacted. When historians and archaeologists acknowledged that the concept of 'culture' as a stable entity is fundamentally problematic, a larger variety of factors have come into consideration. 'Culture' is now seen to be fluid in nature and to have fuzzy edges. It circumscribes a network that has an ever-changing amount of connections to other networks, making it difficult to delineate extensions or boundaries. In this debate economy can offer a down-to-earth approach of studying interregional and intercultural exchange. Economical networks can be elucidated through the mapping of resources, trade routes and the traveling objects themselves. Studying economy in the environment of cultural contacts or vice versa, means to lay bare the interfaces between networks and to follow connecting lines into the core of 'culture'. Contributions to this panel should tackle the questions of resources and trade routes (1), of commodities (2) or of settlements as interfaces (3): (1) Where did the trade routes start, run and end? What boundaries or borders were crossed? How was information about supply and demand transmitted along the routes? (2) Finally attention can be given to the commodities themselves: What was traded? Which objects traveled afar? How were they enacted as ostentations of cultural interaction? (3) How did settlements act as interfaces between different economical and cultural zones? Could a settlement provide exclusive or cheaper access to resources? What did render a settlement an attractive meeting point?
Until now, the academic community has regarded the 4th century B.C. as one of transition, using s... more Until now, the academic community has regarded the 4th century B.C. as one of transition, using such monikers as ′late classical′ or ′pre-hellenistic′. The Zurich conference will take a new approach by studying this period within its own framework. The 4th century can be regarded as a dynamic and innovative artistic period: palaces and dynastic tombs became important places for creative expression; traditional themes of Greek art were transferred into new settings appropriate for modern representations of the sovereign; vernacular themes were translated into the language of Greek art. The conference will address the following questions:
Which media were preferred for self-representation among the pre-Hellenistic dynasts? What kind of new topics emerged in Greek art during the 4th century? Can inter-regional strategies of distinction be found? Was 'Greek style' regarded as a common cultural language, and if so, why?
Taking archaeological, epigraphical and literary sources into account, we aim at providing an overview of the practice of art at royal courts in and around the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. The conference seeks to bring together disparate case studies from different regions, and re-evaluate them in a new, comparative perspective.
Books by Matthias Grawehr
Panel 5.9 Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World – Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018, 2022
The economy has always been a driving force for cultural contact. Analyzing the economic connecti... more The economy has always been a driving force for cultural contact. Analyzing the economic connections within the Ancient World can provide a promising basis for studying intercultural connections. The Iron Age is a period of increasing inter-connectivity between different 'cultures' in the Mediterranean and it offers the fascinating possibility of studying an emerging economic and cultural system. Where did the new routes pass through that the people moved and shifted commodities along? How did the emerging demand on foreign markets influence production patterns and social structure within the local communities? How did local customs react to foreign commodities and how did such imports shape local culture? This volume is a collection of papers that focus on the 8th–6th century BC. Long object biographies are meticulously reconstructed and analyzed through up-to-date methodology to provide answers on production modes, trade routes, and consumption. Debating resources, commodities, and the reception of foreign products, the volume offers new details and insights to further our understanding of the role played by the economy in cultural contacts.
Zürcher Archäologische Forschungen 7, 2020
Die wichtigsten Auftraggeber von griechischer Kunst im 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. waren dynastische H... more Die wichtigsten Auftraggeber von griechischer Kunst im 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. waren dynastische Herrscher am westlichen Rand des Perserreichs. Diese politische, soziale und räumliche Verortung der Klassik widerspricht der überkommenen Auffassung von der Bindung der klassischen Kunst an die freie griechische Polis. Im vorliegenden Tagungsband gelingt es den Autoren, charakteristische Merkmale, Medien und Themen der 'Kunst der Könige' im 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. herauszuarbeiten und vertieft nach den Gründen für die Wahl des griechischen Stils zu fragen. Die 15 Beiträge geben damit anhand archäologischer, epigraphischer und literarischer Quellen vielfältige Einblicke in das Kunstschaffen, die Architektur und das kulturelle Leben in Kleinasien, auf Zypern und in der Levante, aber auch im nordägäischen Raum und im Schwarzmeergebiet. Das 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. kann in dieser Perspektive als Kunstepoche mit grosser Dynamik und Innovationskraft verstanden werden, welche die Vorlage für das Kunstschaffen an den hellenistischen Königshöfen bilden wird.
Papers by Matthias Grawehr
in: F. Rumscheid – N. Toma (Hrsg.), Unfertigkeit in antiker Architektur. Definitionen und Ursachen. Beiträge einer Sektion des Neunzehnten Internationalen Kongresses für Klassische Archäologie in Köln und Bonn am 23. Mai 2018, Beihefte der Bonner Jahrbücher 61, 2022
The bosses on the backwall of the propylaia of the Athenian Akropolis have since long become an i... more The bosses on the backwall of the propylaia of the Athenian Akropolis have since long become an iconic example for the aesthetics of unfinished architecture. In general, there has been a feeling of unease about the exact purpose of such knob-like protrusions: For lifting, levering or the decorative effect?
In the contribution, the forms and functions of knob-like bosses are traced from the early beginnings in the late Bronze Age down to Late Antiquity. No single explanation fits all the evidence, instead form and function of the bosses developed over time. After forerunners in the Bronze Age, protruding bosses started again in the 6th cent. B.C. in Lydia, Ionia and the Cycladic Islands to be used for levering heavy blocks, and occasionally to lower them into their position. Inspiration may have come from the study of the Bronze Age antecedents, but could also have been developed indipendentally in an atmosphere of international exchange between Egypt, the Persian Empire and the Greeks on its western fringe. It was only in the late 6th cent. B.C. that the technique spread to mainland Greece. When from ca. 515 B.C. builders began to lift also heavier by cranes rather than ramps, protruding bosses were also used for lifting, especially on ashlars and column drums. But already by the 4th century B.C. the bosses ceased to be used for this special purpose. Lifting bosses remain a phenomenon limited in time and space, and it was only the great importance that was given by scholars to Athens in the Classical Period, that made it the foremost use known to handbooks and encyclopedias. In reality, levering remained their prime purpose throughout antiquity. In addition there are specific cases, where bosses were used to record or to identify the contractor who provided or worked the stone. And if not removed, bosses could also become signifiers for certain structural functions of the stones that carried them.
Mainzer Winckelmann-Blatt, 2023
This article gives an in-depth presentation of an 'eye-olpe' in the Mainz University Collection (... more This article gives an in-depth presentation of an 'eye-olpe' in the Mainz University Collection (Inv. 87) and discusses its position within this group of Archaic wine jugs. The vase can be attributed to the Painter of the Nicosia Olpe. Its curious decoration on the back, a rudimentary eye made up by nothing else than two triangles, leads back to a protoattic motif taken up first by the early black-figure Gorgon Painter and then again by the Amasis painter. It can be understood as one example of many visual puns popular in late Archaic vase painting.
Martin Guggisberg and Matthias Grawehr (Eds.) Economy and Cultural Contact in the Mediterranean Iron Age Panel 5.9 Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World – Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018, 2022
In the past decades, the study of cultural contacts in the Mediterranean has tested an ever-incre... more In the past decades, the study of cultural contacts in the Mediterranean has tested an ever-increasing number of theoretical models to describe the exchange between people from different backgrounds, and, as one of the outcomes of the still ongoing discussion, the basic concept of culture, as a monadic entity has been questioned. A growing discomfort has been felt in dividing the people of the Mediterranean into distinct cultural entities, which then can come into contact with each other. As an alternative, in the panel "Economy and Cultural Contact in the Mediterranean Iron Age", an approach was chosen, that turns away from the discussion of theoretical models and instead tries to understand economy as a basic driving force of cultural exchange: Which commodities and objects were shifted from on place to another, and which were not? In our introductory contribution we will concentrate on the 8th century BC and develop two perspectives on the east and the west, both involving traders from the Aegean.
The building materials used in Rome are well known. Yet beyond marble, which has commanded great ... more The building materials used in Rome are well known. Yet beyond marble, which has commanded great attention from both ancient authors and modern researchers, much can still be discovered regarding the specific meaning, or semantics, of other building materials. In this contribution, the semantics of travertine are studied as an exemplary case through a collection of archaeological and written testimonies. Following the introduction of travertine into Rome in the 2 nd century B.C., it was favoured for its strength. Still, its distinctive surface texture remained largely hidden under stucco coatings. In contrast to marble, the visual qualities of travertine were apparently considered unappealing. Only during the Early Imperial period did travertine surfaces become the standard for prestigious substructures of all kinds. With the Flavian emperors-who sought a visual contrast to Neronian aesthetics and propagated a new, down-to-earth approach to building-even the most iconic monuments, such as the Colosseum, received a travertine façade. In addition, a special 'plain' style became standard for the design of travertine structures.
in: E. Günther – J. Fabricius (Hrsg.), Mehrdeutigkeiten. Rahmentheorien und Affordanzkonzepte in der archäologischen Bildwissenschaft, Philippika 147 (Wiesbaden 2021) 207–244, 2021
Conventionally, images are interpreted through an iconographical analysis and, if possible, relat... more Conventionally, images are interpreted through an iconographical analysis and, if possible, related to surviving texts explaining the significance of a motif. Incomplete or altered versions of the same motif are often conceived as being defective. This is especially true for images on Roman lamps, which in general are rarely credited with much meaning. As an alternative, I argue that lamp makers intentionally produced derivative series with only fragments of the modelʼs more complete scenes. Discussing a stock of lamps with the depiction of a butcher and other motifs, I demonstrate how such fragmented images remained open to a larger variety of interpretations and therefore could be fittingly used in many different contexts. It is the context of its use that is primordial for the reception and understanding of the image rather than some distant iconographical antecedent. Borrowing from the concept of "framing" in linguistics and communication theory, such context can be described as "frames", which besides iconography are of major importance for determining the meaning of images.
B. Geißler – U. Wulf-Rheidt, Aspekte von Unfertigkeit in der kaiserzeitlichen Architektur. Ergebnisse eines Workshops am Architekturreferat des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 26. und 27. September 2016, TUK 1 (Berlin 2021) 7–20
Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology 14, 2020
The paper offers a fresh analysis of the long-discussed subject of the 'Nabataean' blocked-out ca... more The paper offers a fresh analysis of the long-discussed subject of the 'Nabataean' blocked-out capitals. The phenomenon is presented on a wider background, with particular reference to Nabataea and Cyprus. The definition and description of the blocked-out capitals are followed by a short history of research since their first discovery. A focus of previous research lays on the transformations of the capitals from the classical forms to their simplified versions. Presently many aspects of this change are well known, but there are still questions that need to be answered. We argue that the properties of the material used to carve this special type of decoration were the basic reason for using the simplified forms instead of the fully ornamented: the local stone, present in all of the areas where the blocked-out capitals were used, was characterised by low quality, and enforced the use of simpler shapes. This interdependence between the material and the form constitutes the main topic of the paper, at the same time presenting a new approach to the studies of the 'Nabataean' blocked-out capitals. As a further result of our research we discuss the use of the capitals in their contexts: in rock-cut and freestanding architecture.
Die Mehrdeutigkeit antiker Bilder spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der archäologischen Forschung. Bi... more Die Mehrdeutigkeit antiker Bilder spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der archäologischen Forschung. Bislang allerdings manifestierte sie sich vor allem als eine unwägbare Herausforderung bei der historischen Kontextualisierung der Artefakte und Denkmäler. Dies will der interdisziplinäre Band, der aus einer Tagung an der Freien Universität Berlin hervorgegangen ist, ändern: In neun Beiträgen werden die Mehrdeutigkeiten antiker Bilder vom Alten Ägypten über das archaische und klassische Griechenland bis in die römische Kaiserzeit diskutiert. Neue Perspektiven bieten dabei zwei theoretische Modelle: Rahmentheorien und Affordanzkonzepte. Rahmentheorien beschreiben die Strukturierung menschlichen Wissens und die Abhängigkeit der Bilddeutung von den Erfahrungen und Erwartungen der Rezipient*innen. Affordanzen sind Eigenschaften von Objekten, die bestimmte Gebrauchsweisen nahelegen. Auf Bilder übertragen wird darunter deren Potenzial beschrieben, unterschiedliche Deutungen im Rezeptionsprozess anzubieten, und zwar abhängig von den „Rahmen“ der Betrachter*innen und dem jeweiligen Rezeptions- bzw. Gebrauchskontext. Da Bilder gerade auch für die modernen digitalen Kommunikationsformen von größter Bedeutung sind, trägt die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Phänomen der Mehrdeutigkeit dazu bei, den Umgang von Menschen mit Bildern ebenso wie die Beeinflussung von Menschen durch Bilder besser zu verstehen.
Vorlage der gleichnamigen Tagung vom 2.-4.11.2018 an der FU Berlin: https://www.topoi.org/event/46051/
W. Held – Z. Kotitsa (eds.), The Transition from the Achaemenid to the Hellenistic Period in the Levant, Cyprus, and Cilicia: Cultural Interruption or Continuity?, 2020
Światowit 58, 2019
In the Augustan Age, a new aesthetic preference was propagated in the Roman Empire – the surface ... more In the Augustan Age, a new aesthetic preference was propagated in the Roman Empire – the surface of white marble was valued as it symbolised the strength and superiority of the ‘new age’. Soon, an immense trade in high quality marble over land and sea developed to meet the emergent demand. While the development and scale of this trade is well studied, the repercussions that the new aesthetic preference had on the local architectural traditions in areas where no marble was close at hand is not commonly considered. In this contribution, two developments are traced, taking the Corinthian capital as the leitmotif. First, in the short period between c. 40 and 10 BC, patrons would choose imitation of marble in plaster to meet up with the demands of the new standard and to demonstrate their adherence to the Empire. In the second line of development, a different path was taken – a conscious use of local materials which went hand in hand with the development of a new type of capital, the so-called ‘Nabataean blocked-out’ capital. This combination turned into a new vernacular tradition across large parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Both developments were local responses to a new ‘global’ trend and can therefore be viewed as a phenomenon of glocalisation in the Roman Period.
In: M. Grawehr – C. Leypold – M. Mohr – E. Thiermann (Hrsg.), Klassik. Kunst der Könige. Kings and Greek Art in the 4th Century B.C. Tagung an der Universität Zürich vom 18.–20. Januar 2018, Zürcher Archäologische Forschungen 7 (Rahden 2020) S. 12–36 Taf. 1–11, 2020
Whereas the artists of the 4th century BC received highest praise by ancient art criticism, their... more Whereas the artists of the 4th century BC received highest praise by ancient art criticism, their artworks were judged very negatively by Classical Archaeology. Nurtured by the ideology of idealism, it had bound the accomplishments of a Greek style in art to the political institution of the polis and to the Greek soil, whereas many of the artworks of the 4th century BC had been found outside Greece and commissioned by kings. The art of these 4th-century kings on the western fringes of the Persian empire is introduced in this contribution by surveys of its scholarship and its material record. As one example of the shift of the commissioning centres of Greek art away from the Greek poleis, the financial volume of architectural commissions will be considered. In the past, Classical Archaeology has often judged this change in patronage as leading to a downfall of Greek art. In a more balanced and less ideologically tainted view the 4th-century art can be understood as being rich in new media like theatre, tomb, and palace decoration as well as in new subjects like the royal lion hunt, the royal family group, or the royal banquet. In this framework the 4th century BC can be regarded as a creative and innovative period in the history of art, leading the way to the centuries to come.
Zwischen Hunger und Überfluss. Antike Diskurse über die Ernährung, 2020
This conference will explore the richness of colour and texture in Roman architecture. More speci... more This conference will explore the richness of colour and texture in Roman architecture. More specifically, it will consider colour schemes and surface finishes of the architectural orders in relation to regional variation, 'global' trends, and semantics.
Roman architects seem to have used a broad range of colour schemes, surface treatments, and a wide variety of materials with diverse tones and optical qualities. Moreover, they blended these things in seemingly unorthodox ways. For example, polished white marble, sometimes highlighted by gilding, was juxtaposed with rough stone textures. Dull stucco-coated columns and brick facades painted in monochrome red or yellow coexisted with lush veining and luxuriant vegetation emulated in paint.
The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars, working on different regions of the Roman empire, to discuss the striking plurality (or unity) of concepts of colour in Roman architecture.
The panel will focus on economy as a driving force for cultural contact. It will debate the inter... more The panel will focus on economy as a driving force for cultural contact. It will debate the interconnectivity of economical and cultural zones in the Mediterranean Sea and beyond, especially on its Eastern and Western shores. The Ancient World has long been understood as a cluster of cultural entities that interacted. When historians and archaeologists acknowledged that the concept of 'culture' as a stable entity is fundamentally problematic, a larger variety of factors have come into consideration. 'Culture' is now seen to be fluid in nature and to have fuzzy edges. It circumscribes a network that has an ever-changing amount of connections to other networks, making it difficult to delineate extensions or boundaries. In this debate economy can offer a down-to-earth approach of studying interregional and intercultural exchange. Economical networks can be elucidated through the mapping of resources, trade routes and the traveling objects themselves. Studying economy in the environment of cultural contacts or vice versa, means to lay bare the interfaces between networks and to follow connecting lines into the core of 'culture'. Contributions to this panel should tackle the questions of resources and trade routes (1), of commodities (2) or of settlements as interfaces (3): (1) Where did the trade routes start, run and end? What boundaries or borders were crossed? How was information about supply and demand transmitted along the routes? (2) Finally attention can be given to the commodities themselves: What was traded? Which objects traveled afar? How were they enacted as ostentations of cultural interaction? (3) How did settlements act as interfaces between different economical and cultural zones? Could a settlement provide exclusive or cheaper access to resources? What did render a settlement an attractive meeting point?
Until now, the academic community has regarded the 4th century B.C. as one of transition, using s... more Until now, the academic community has regarded the 4th century B.C. as one of transition, using such monikers as ′late classical′ or ′pre-hellenistic′. The Zurich conference will take a new approach by studying this period within its own framework. The 4th century can be regarded as a dynamic and innovative artistic period: palaces and dynastic tombs became important places for creative expression; traditional themes of Greek art were transferred into new settings appropriate for modern representations of the sovereign; vernacular themes were translated into the language of Greek art. The conference will address the following questions:
Which media were preferred for self-representation among the pre-Hellenistic dynasts? What kind of new topics emerged in Greek art during the 4th century? Can inter-regional strategies of distinction be found? Was 'Greek style' regarded as a common cultural language, and if so, why?
Taking archaeological, epigraphical and literary sources into account, we aim at providing an overview of the practice of art at royal courts in and around the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. The conference seeks to bring together disparate case studies from different regions, and re-evaluate them in a new, comparative perspective.
Panel 5.9 Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World – Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018, 2022
The economy has always been a driving force for cultural contact. Analyzing the economic connecti... more The economy has always been a driving force for cultural contact. Analyzing the economic connections within the Ancient World can provide a promising basis for studying intercultural connections. The Iron Age is a period of increasing inter-connectivity between different 'cultures' in the Mediterranean and it offers the fascinating possibility of studying an emerging economic and cultural system. Where did the new routes pass through that the people moved and shifted commodities along? How did the emerging demand on foreign markets influence production patterns and social structure within the local communities? How did local customs react to foreign commodities and how did such imports shape local culture? This volume is a collection of papers that focus on the 8th–6th century BC. Long object biographies are meticulously reconstructed and analyzed through up-to-date methodology to provide answers on production modes, trade routes, and consumption. Debating resources, commodities, and the reception of foreign products, the volume offers new details and insights to further our understanding of the role played by the economy in cultural contacts.
Zürcher Archäologische Forschungen 7, 2020
Die wichtigsten Auftraggeber von griechischer Kunst im 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. waren dynastische H... more Die wichtigsten Auftraggeber von griechischer Kunst im 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. waren dynastische Herrscher am westlichen Rand des Perserreichs. Diese politische, soziale und räumliche Verortung der Klassik widerspricht der überkommenen Auffassung von der Bindung der klassischen Kunst an die freie griechische Polis. Im vorliegenden Tagungsband gelingt es den Autoren, charakteristische Merkmale, Medien und Themen der 'Kunst der Könige' im 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. herauszuarbeiten und vertieft nach den Gründen für die Wahl des griechischen Stils zu fragen. Die 15 Beiträge geben damit anhand archäologischer, epigraphischer und literarischer Quellen vielfältige Einblicke in das Kunstschaffen, die Architektur und das kulturelle Leben in Kleinasien, auf Zypern und in der Levante, aber auch im nordägäischen Raum und im Schwarzmeergebiet. Das 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. kann in dieser Perspektive als Kunstepoche mit grosser Dynamik und Innovationskraft verstanden werden, welche die Vorlage für das Kunstschaffen an den hellenistischen Königshöfen bilden wird.
in: F. Rumscheid – N. Toma (Hrsg.), Unfertigkeit in antiker Architektur. Definitionen und Ursachen. Beiträge einer Sektion des Neunzehnten Internationalen Kongresses für Klassische Archäologie in Köln und Bonn am 23. Mai 2018, Beihefte der Bonner Jahrbücher 61, 2022
The bosses on the backwall of the propylaia of the Athenian Akropolis have since long become an i... more The bosses on the backwall of the propylaia of the Athenian Akropolis have since long become an iconic example for the aesthetics of unfinished architecture. In general, there has been a feeling of unease about the exact purpose of such knob-like protrusions: For lifting, levering or the decorative effect?
In the contribution, the forms and functions of knob-like bosses are traced from the early beginnings in the late Bronze Age down to Late Antiquity. No single explanation fits all the evidence, instead form and function of the bosses developed over time. After forerunners in the Bronze Age, protruding bosses started again in the 6th cent. B.C. in Lydia, Ionia and the Cycladic Islands to be used for levering heavy blocks, and occasionally to lower them into their position. Inspiration may have come from the study of the Bronze Age antecedents, but could also have been developed indipendentally in an atmosphere of international exchange between Egypt, the Persian Empire and the Greeks on its western fringe. It was only in the late 6th cent. B.C. that the technique spread to mainland Greece. When from ca. 515 B.C. builders began to lift also heavier by cranes rather than ramps, protruding bosses were also used for lifting, especially on ashlars and column drums. But already by the 4th century B.C. the bosses ceased to be used for this special purpose. Lifting bosses remain a phenomenon limited in time and space, and it was only the great importance that was given by scholars to Athens in the Classical Period, that made it the foremost use known to handbooks and encyclopedias. In reality, levering remained their prime purpose throughout antiquity. In addition there are specific cases, where bosses were used to record or to identify the contractor who provided or worked the stone. And if not removed, bosses could also become signifiers for certain structural functions of the stones that carried them.
Mainzer Winckelmann-Blatt, 2023
This article gives an in-depth presentation of an 'eye-olpe' in the Mainz University Collection (... more This article gives an in-depth presentation of an 'eye-olpe' in the Mainz University Collection (Inv. 87) and discusses its position within this group of Archaic wine jugs. The vase can be attributed to the Painter of the Nicosia Olpe. Its curious decoration on the back, a rudimentary eye made up by nothing else than two triangles, leads back to a protoattic motif taken up first by the early black-figure Gorgon Painter and then again by the Amasis painter. It can be understood as one example of many visual puns popular in late Archaic vase painting.
Martin Guggisberg and Matthias Grawehr (Eds.) Economy and Cultural Contact in the Mediterranean Iron Age Panel 5.9 Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World – Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn 2018, 2022
In the past decades, the study of cultural contacts in the Mediterranean has tested an ever-incre... more In the past decades, the study of cultural contacts in the Mediterranean has tested an ever-increasing number of theoretical models to describe the exchange between people from different backgrounds, and, as one of the outcomes of the still ongoing discussion, the basic concept of culture, as a monadic entity has been questioned. A growing discomfort has been felt in dividing the people of the Mediterranean into distinct cultural entities, which then can come into contact with each other. As an alternative, in the panel "Economy and Cultural Contact in the Mediterranean Iron Age", an approach was chosen, that turns away from the discussion of theoretical models and instead tries to understand economy as a basic driving force of cultural exchange: Which commodities and objects were shifted from on place to another, and which were not? In our introductory contribution we will concentrate on the 8th century BC and develop two perspectives on the east and the west, both involving traders from the Aegean.
The building materials used in Rome are well known. Yet beyond marble, which has commanded great ... more The building materials used in Rome are well known. Yet beyond marble, which has commanded great attention from both ancient authors and modern researchers, much can still be discovered regarding the specific meaning, or semantics, of other building materials. In this contribution, the semantics of travertine are studied as an exemplary case through a collection of archaeological and written testimonies. Following the introduction of travertine into Rome in the 2 nd century B.C., it was favoured for its strength. Still, its distinctive surface texture remained largely hidden under stucco coatings. In contrast to marble, the visual qualities of travertine were apparently considered unappealing. Only during the Early Imperial period did travertine surfaces become the standard for prestigious substructures of all kinds. With the Flavian emperors-who sought a visual contrast to Neronian aesthetics and propagated a new, down-to-earth approach to building-even the most iconic monuments, such as the Colosseum, received a travertine façade. In addition, a special 'plain' style became standard for the design of travertine structures.
in: E. Günther – J. Fabricius (Hrsg.), Mehrdeutigkeiten. Rahmentheorien und Affordanzkonzepte in der archäologischen Bildwissenschaft, Philippika 147 (Wiesbaden 2021) 207–244, 2021
Conventionally, images are interpreted through an iconographical analysis and, if possible, relat... more Conventionally, images are interpreted through an iconographical analysis and, if possible, related to surviving texts explaining the significance of a motif. Incomplete or altered versions of the same motif are often conceived as being defective. This is especially true for images on Roman lamps, which in general are rarely credited with much meaning. As an alternative, I argue that lamp makers intentionally produced derivative series with only fragments of the modelʼs more complete scenes. Discussing a stock of lamps with the depiction of a butcher and other motifs, I demonstrate how such fragmented images remained open to a larger variety of interpretations and therefore could be fittingly used in many different contexts. It is the context of its use that is primordial for the reception and understanding of the image rather than some distant iconographical antecedent. Borrowing from the concept of "framing" in linguistics and communication theory, such context can be described as "frames", which besides iconography are of major importance for determining the meaning of images.
B. Geißler – U. Wulf-Rheidt, Aspekte von Unfertigkeit in der kaiserzeitlichen Architektur. Ergebnisse eines Workshops am Architekturreferat des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 26. und 27. September 2016, TUK 1 (Berlin 2021) 7–20
Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology 14, 2020
The paper offers a fresh analysis of the long-discussed subject of the 'Nabataean' blocked-out ca... more The paper offers a fresh analysis of the long-discussed subject of the 'Nabataean' blocked-out capitals. The phenomenon is presented on a wider background, with particular reference to Nabataea and Cyprus. The definition and description of the blocked-out capitals are followed by a short history of research since their first discovery. A focus of previous research lays on the transformations of the capitals from the classical forms to their simplified versions. Presently many aspects of this change are well known, but there are still questions that need to be answered. We argue that the properties of the material used to carve this special type of decoration were the basic reason for using the simplified forms instead of the fully ornamented: the local stone, present in all of the areas where the blocked-out capitals were used, was characterised by low quality, and enforced the use of simpler shapes. This interdependence between the material and the form constitutes the main topic of the paper, at the same time presenting a new approach to the studies of the 'Nabataean' blocked-out capitals. As a further result of our research we discuss the use of the capitals in their contexts: in rock-cut and freestanding architecture.
Die Mehrdeutigkeit antiker Bilder spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der archäologischen Forschung. Bi... more Die Mehrdeutigkeit antiker Bilder spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der archäologischen Forschung. Bislang allerdings manifestierte sie sich vor allem als eine unwägbare Herausforderung bei der historischen Kontextualisierung der Artefakte und Denkmäler. Dies will der interdisziplinäre Band, der aus einer Tagung an der Freien Universität Berlin hervorgegangen ist, ändern: In neun Beiträgen werden die Mehrdeutigkeiten antiker Bilder vom Alten Ägypten über das archaische und klassische Griechenland bis in die römische Kaiserzeit diskutiert. Neue Perspektiven bieten dabei zwei theoretische Modelle: Rahmentheorien und Affordanzkonzepte. Rahmentheorien beschreiben die Strukturierung menschlichen Wissens und die Abhängigkeit der Bilddeutung von den Erfahrungen und Erwartungen der Rezipient*innen. Affordanzen sind Eigenschaften von Objekten, die bestimmte Gebrauchsweisen nahelegen. Auf Bilder übertragen wird darunter deren Potenzial beschrieben, unterschiedliche Deutungen im Rezeptionsprozess anzubieten, und zwar abhängig von den „Rahmen“ der Betrachter*innen und dem jeweiligen Rezeptions- bzw. Gebrauchskontext. Da Bilder gerade auch für die modernen digitalen Kommunikationsformen von größter Bedeutung sind, trägt die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Phänomen der Mehrdeutigkeit dazu bei, den Umgang von Menschen mit Bildern ebenso wie die Beeinflussung von Menschen durch Bilder besser zu verstehen.
Vorlage der gleichnamigen Tagung vom 2.-4.11.2018 an der FU Berlin: https://www.topoi.org/event/46051/
W. Held – Z. Kotitsa (eds.), The Transition from the Achaemenid to the Hellenistic Period in the Levant, Cyprus, and Cilicia: Cultural Interruption or Continuity?, 2020
Światowit 58, 2019
In the Augustan Age, a new aesthetic preference was propagated in the Roman Empire – the surface ... more In the Augustan Age, a new aesthetic preference was propagated in the Roman Empire – the surface of white marble was valued as it symbolised the strength and superiority of the ‘new age’. Soon, an immense trade in high quality marble over land and sea developed to meet the emergent demand. While the development and scale of this trade is well studied, the repercussions that the new aesthetic preference had on the local architectural traditions in areas where no marble was close at hand is not commonly considered. In this contribution, two developments are traced, taking the Corinthian capital as the leitmotif. First, in the short period between c. 40 and 10 BC, patrons would choose imitation of marble in plaster to meet up with the demands of the new standard and to demonstrate their adherence to the Empire. In the second line of development, a different path was taken – a conscious use of local materials which went hand in hand with the development of a new type of capital, the so-called ‘Nabataean blocked-out’ capital. This combination turned into a new vernacular tradition across large parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Both developments were local responses to a new ‘global’ trend and can therefore be viewed as a phenomenon of glocalisation in the Roman Period.
In: M. Grawehr – C. Leypold – M. Mohr – E. Thiermann (Hrsg.), Klassik. Kunst der Könige. Kings and Greek Art in the 4th Century B.C. Tagung an der Universität Zürich vom 18.–20. Januar 2018, Zürcher Archäologische Forschungen 7 (Rahden 2020) S. 12–36 Taf. 1–11, 2020
Whereas the artists of the 4th century BC received highest praise by ancient art criticism, their... more Whereas the artists of the 4th century BC received highest praise by ancient art criticism, their artworks were judged very negatively by Classical Archaeology. Nurtured by the ideology of idealism, it had bound the accomplishments of a Greek style in art to the political institution of the polis and to the Greek soil, whereas many of the artworks of the 4th century BC had been found outside Greece and commissioned by kings. The art of these 4th-century kings on the western fringes of the Persian empire is introduced in this contribution by surveys of its scholarship and its material record. As one example of the shift of the commissioning centres of Greek art away from the Greek poleis, the financial volume of architectural commissions will be considered. In the past, Classical Archaeology has often judged this change in patronage as leading to a downfall of Greek art. In a more balanced and less ideologically tainted view the 4th-century art can be understood as being rich in new media like theatre, tomb, and palace decoration as well as in new subjects like the royal lion hunt, the royal family group, or the royal banquet. In this framework the 4th century BC can be regarded as a creative and innovative period in the history of art, leading the way to the centuries to come.
Zwischen Hunger und Überfluss. Antike Diskurse über die Ernährung, 2020
New Directions and Paradigms for the Study of Greek Architecture. Interdisciplinary Dialogues in the Field, 2020
In Greek architecture wall surfaces and ornaments have often been left in roughed-out state. The ... more In Greek architecture wall surfaces and ornaments have often been left in roughed-out state. The neoclassicist approach of the 18th and 19th century simply glossed over such traits. Even until the 1960s most scholars denied the possibility that they represent a deliberate choice. Finally, in the past decades some attempts have been made to understand roughed-out ornamentation as a style or fancy of a certain period. However, a more nuanced approach is needed. Out of the many answers to the question why a raw finish was desired, one aspect is elucidated here in more detail by discussing Hellenistic architecture in Delos, Miletus, Priene, and Nea Paphos on Cyprus. Drawing on this evidence from the Eastern Mediterranean, it is argued that a rough finish was a method to define marginal spaces and to mark out more important parts within a building. As a result, the contrasting surfaces threw the main vista into sharp relief and made it more noticeable than the surrounding. The principle at work may be related to the concept of asperitas, mentioned by Vitruvius but more at home in Hellenistic rhetorics, whose qualities describe a “rough” and inarticulate language used to heighten the effect.
in: M. Papini (Hrsg.), Opus imperfectum. Monumenti e testi incompiuti del mondo greco e romano, Scienze dell'Antichità 25, 2019, 27–41
Ubi servi erant? Die Ikonographie von Sklaven und Freigelassenen in der römischen Kunst, Ergebnisse des Workshops an der Université du Luxembourg (Esch-Belval, 29.–30. Januar 2016), 2019
Throughout this contribution, I have used images on Roman discus lamps as evidence to elucidate a... more Throughout this contribution, I have used images on Roman discus lamps as evidence to elucidate attitudes toward slaves, the construction of stereotypical slave characters, and possible discourse among slaves. I examined the kinds of self-representations slaves might have been proud of, which images they might have liked and laughed about, and what may have made them snigger to themselves. I have shown that Roman lamps are a medium that is most relevant to the discussion of slave iconography since the relationship between the lamp and the slave is so multi-faceted, and I am fully convinced that there is still a lot to discover in these miniature images.
We have seen that lamps often exhibit the slaveholder’s tastes, and, not surprisingly, this is more often the case with expensive bronze lamps than their cheap clay counterparts. The images testify to mechanisms of sanitization or to the downplaying of slave realities through ‘cute’ depictions of faithful slave children. The images are also used to display the slaveholder’s wealth through the depiction of beautiful slaves. And, in other cases, they serve to distance slaves from the owner by emphasizing the assumed ‘otherness’ of stupid, fearful, and disabled slaves.
Whereas images that conform to slaveholders’ attitudes are relatively well known, I have embarked on new lines of investigation by interpreting less deprecating images of slaves that were produced as self-representations. Only in rare instances, like in some of the occupational portraits with identifying inscriptions, can it be solidly proven that the figures represent slaves. Otherwise we have to proceed on unstable and slippery grounds. But if we do so carefully enough, then I am convinced that what we gain is more than rewarding. It is a fascinating and rare glimpse into the slave’s visual world, and it is a path that we can hardly afford not to continue exploring.
The blocked-out capital is usually regarded as one of the characteristic elements of proper Nabat... more The blocked-out capital is usually regarded as one of the characteristic elements of proper Nabataean architecture. But the question of how and why this style came into being is rarely addressed. This article argues that its ›invention‹ was dictated by the properties of the soft local stone, and that its use was by no means restricted to the Nabataean realm. Instead it occured at many sites within a similar geological setting. Using capitals in their roughed-out state soon developed into a regional fashion and typologically the capitals appeared more and more removed from the finished Corinthian shape.
Where different qualities of stone were locally available, blocked-out capitals have often been used in one and the same building in combination with elaborate Corinthian capitals. Several reasons may have dictated the choice. One of them was the demand for more durable shapes on facades than a fragile ornamentation could provide.
When marble became the predominant building material in Augustan Rome, Corinthian capitals made o... more When marble became the predominant building material in Augustan Rome, Corinthian capitals made of travertine were no longer decorated, but were rather used in their roughed out state. They became part of the usual appearance of travertine architecture. Blocked out capitals made of marble, on the other hand, are rarely seen before Flavian times, and are of rather heterogeneous appearance. From Flavian times onward, they come to form a larger and more uniform sample than before, being found in three types. This article argues that capitals were provided by the quarries at Luna in their blocked out state and finished at their respective sites of use. It is difficult to explain why they occasionally did not receive a final treatment due to our lack of precisely known architectural contexts. One can only surmise that the intentional use of blocked out capitals was dictated by the building type and the intended atmospheric value. They seem to blend in with the colourful marble veneering of the walls and are appreciated more for their sheer material value than for their ornamentation.
Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2022
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2022/2022.06.10/
L'Antiquité Classique, 2020
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 2023
Tagung „Flüchtige Bilder: Affekt // Repräsentation“, Hamburg, 1-3. Dezember 2016
Material is the substance of the world of things. In the case of man-made objects and architectur... more Material is the substance of the world of things. In the case of man-made objects and architecture, materiality is an inherent aspect of their function, aesthetics, and semantics. Consequently, the choice of specific materials can be considered an important feature of design. From an ancient perspective, the choice of appropriate materials was of primary importance. Ancient sources reflect a general recognition of materiality as an aesthetically perceived, semantically loaded and functionally bonded category. To date, this complex comprehension of the material world has not been adequately represented in archaeological research. The ambition of the colloquium Materiality as Decor is to focus on the decorative use of material in relation to the qualities of aesthetics, semantics and function.