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Papers by Stefanie Seeberg
Textile Gifts in the Middle Ages, 2022
Cambridge History of Medieval Western Monasticism, (Series: Cambridge New History), Alison Beach, Isabelle Cochelin (ed.), 2020
In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and recipients of textile art. This art... more In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and
recipients of textile art. This article analyses a small but
representative group of seventh- to thirteenth-century embroideries
in order to examine the motivation for their creation and to
investigate the ways in which women could mark their own
presence through textile art. It discusses written sources alongside
the material evidence; these sources include documentary,
hagiographical and literary texts, which provide information about
cultural norms and the expectations of society. Set within the
context of these sources, the evidence suggests that society both
channelled women’s creativity into textile art and idealised it. At
the same time, as artists and patrons of ornamented textiles,
noblewomen had creative control over the medium; embroidery
became a field in which their works were noted and celebrated.
In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and recipients of textile art. This art... more In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and recipients of textile art. This article analyses a small but representative group of seventh- to thirteenth-century embroideries in order to examine the motivation for their creation and to investigate the ways in which women could mark their own presence through textile art. It discusses written sources alongside the material evidence; these sources include documentary, hagiographical and literary texts, which provide information about cultural norms and the expectations of society. Set within the context of these sources, the evidence suggests that society both channelled women's creativity into textile art and idealised it. At the same time, as artists and patrons of ornamented textiles, noblewomen had creative control over the medium; embroidery became a field in which their works were noted and celebrated.
Textile Bildwerke im Kirchenraum addresses the rich and multi-faceted question of church furnishi... more Textile Bildwerke im Kirchenraum addresses the rich and multi-faceted question of church furnishings in the Middle Ages. In contrast to previous studies, here textiles are the starting point as a temporary (removable) medium of images located within the female monastery of Altenberg/Lahn near Marburg. The still existing church and conventual buildings were constructed under magistra Gertrud (d. 1297), daughter of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia. Her influence is clearly visible in both the architecture and the church decoration. Six large embroideries with high quality drawings, elaborate images, and detailed inscriptions survive from this monastery. These embroideries—a wall hanging with scenes from the life of St. Elisabeth, a catafalque cover for a temporary tomb with figures of standing sovereigns, and altarcloths for the high altar—were once a key part of three ensembles from subsequent periods of decoration, including also altarpieces, wall- and glass paintings, sculptures, relics, and metalwork. A study of the church furnishing as a whole—and in a context with well preserved written sources complete within the original architectural setting—leads to new conclusions concerning making and patronage as well as the functions and materiality of church decoration. As such, written and visual sources provide a clear view of women’s influence on the art and architecture of a female monastery. The results are striking: this material provides evidence of influence and exchange across the boundaries of enclosure as well as the sophisticated use of visual medias and images for devotional, pastoral, and political purposes both within and outside the monastic enclosure.
Conference by Stefanie Seeberg
Call for Papers, Deadline: 24.3.2016 Seitdem die Kunstgeschichte sich stärker der Gesamtheit mate... more Call for Papers, Deadline: 24.3.2016 Seitdem die Kunstgeschichte sich stärker der Gesamtheit materieller Kultur und ihren sozialen Kontexten widmet, geraten die angewandten Künste neu in den Blickpunkt des Fachdiskurses. Kulturwissenschaftliche Ansätze wie die material culture studies fragen nach dem Gegenstandscharakter von Artefakten und ihrer Wirkmacht. Daneben werden Objekte als Medien symbolischer Kommunikation untersucht, indem sie als Teil komplexer und performativer Handlungsvollzüge und Rituale beschrieben und gedeutet werden. Textilschenkungen des Mittelalters bieten sich als ein Themenfeld an, um die neuen Fragestellungen und Herangehensweisen für die Kunstgeschichte exemplarisch zu erproben und auszuloten. Textil-und Kleiderschenkungen sind in der europäischen Vormoderne in unterschiedlichsten Kontexten zu beobachten und erfüllten vielfältige Funktionen. Sie konnten im Zuge von Initiationsriten und Schwellensituationen erfolgen, z.B. bei Investituren und Amtseinsetzungen, Hochzeiten und beim Klostereintritt. Eine karitative Funktion hatten Kleiderschenkungen an Arme, was u.a. in zahlreichen mittelalterlichen Heiligenviten thematisiert wird. Darüber hinaus gelangten kostbare Textilien als herrschaftliche Stiftungen und Geschenke an geistliche Institutionen. Luxuriöse Textilien – wie gemusterte Seidengewebe aus Byzanz – kursierten außerdem im diplomatischen Geschenkverkehr. Kleidergaben wurden aber auch hofintern als (Natural-) Besoldung eingesetzt und dienten der Strukturierung und Hierarchisierung der höfischen Gesellschaft. Textilgeschenke konnten den Schenkenden repräsentieren. Insbesondere bei Kleidern, die der Schenkende bereits getragen hatte, scheint seine körperliche Präsenz gleichsam in die Materialität und Form der verschenkten Gewänder eingeschrieben gewesen zu sein. Ziel der interdisziplinär ausgerichteten Tagung ist es, die Vielfältigkeit und Polysemie dieser Akte symbolischer Kommunikation innerhalb des übergreifenden Kontextes des mittelalterlichen Gabenwesens zu verorten. Marcel Mauss zeigte bereits in den zwanziger Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts, dass das Schenken in gesellschaftlichen Kollektiven soziale Beziehungen stiftet und aus den drei verpflichtenden Elementen Geben, Nehmen und Erwidern besteht (Prinzip der Reziprozität). Dabei geht es wesentlich um die Konstruktion von Macht und sozialen Hierarchien. Obgleich der Ansatz von Mauss schon lange auch in der Mediävistik verwendet wird, wurde kürzlich moniert, dass die besondere, aus ihrer materiellen und visuellen
Other by Stefanie Seeberg
Call for Papers, Deadline: 24 March 2016
Conferences by Stefanie Seeberg
International Conference (organized by Christiane Elster, Stephanie Luther, Stefanie Seeberg und ... more International Conference
(organized by Christiane Elster, Stephanie Luther, Stefanie Seeberg und Tanja Michalsky).
Rome, November, 3rd-5th, 2016.
Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte.
Gifts of textiles and clothing appeared in diverse contexts and fulfilled various functions in pre-modern Europe. They could be offered in the course of an initiation rite and or an act of social transition, including upon investiture, marriage, or entry into a monastery. Gifts of clothing to the poor, meanwhile, were among the works of charity thematized in the vitae of numerous medieval saints. Sumptuous textiles were sent as resplendent gifts to religious institutions or, like patterned silk textiles from Byzantium, circulated through diplomatic gift exchanges. Gifts of clothing were also distributed within the court as compensation in kind, which supported the structuralization and hierarchization of courtly society. Textile gifts could represent the donor. Especially in the case of clothing previously worn by its donor, the physical presence of the giver might have been woven into the materiality and form of the gifted garment.
The goal of this interdisciplinary conference is to situate the diversity and polysemy of such acts of symbolic communication into the broader context of medieval gift culture. The integration of anthropological and sociological models (Marcel Mauss, Bruno Latour) into an art historical approach allows for gifted artifacts to be taken seriously as independent entities within the giving process as a socially generative form of communication. The conference therefore investigates the relationship between human actors and the “agency” of gifts themselves, exploring how the dynamics of reciprocity and its attendant obligations were charged both visually and materially.
Books by Stefanie Seeberg
Textile Gifts in the Middle Ages. Objects, Actors, and Representations, 2022
History in Fashion, 1500 Years of Embroidery in Fashion, 2019
Introduction to the Exhibition Catalogue, Exhibition 21.11.2019 -29.03.2020, GRASSI Museum of App... more Introduction to the Exhibition Catalogue, Exhibition 21.11.2019 -29.03.2020, GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts, Leipzig
www.sandstein.de/history-in-fashion
Textile Gifts in the Middle Ages, 2022
Cambridge History of Medieval Western Monasticism, (Series: Cambridge New History), Alison Beach, Isabelle Cochelin (ed.), 2020
In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and recipients of textile art. This art... more In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and
recipients of textile art. This article analyses a small but
representative group of seventh- to thirteenth-century embroideries
in order to examine the motivation for their creation and to
investigate the ways in which women could mark their own
presence through textile art. It discusses written sources alongside
the material evidence; these sources include documentary,
hagiographical and literary texts, which provide information about
cultural norms and the expectations of society. Set within the
context of these sources, the evidence suggests that society both
channelled women’s creativity into textile art and idealised it. At
the same time, as artists and patrons of ornamented textiles,
noblewomen had creative control over the medium; embroidery
became a field in which their works were noted and celebrated.
In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and recipients of textile art. This art... more In the Middle Ages, elite women acted as creators, donors and recipients of textile art. This article analyses a small but representative group of seventh- to thirteenth-century embroideries in order to examine the motivation for their creation and to investigate the ways in which women could mark their own presence through textile art. It discusses written sources alongside the material evidence; these sources include documentary, hagiographical and literary texts, which provide information about cultural norms and the expectations of society. Set within the context of these sources, the evidence suggests that society both channelled women's creativity into textile art and idealised it. At the same time, as artists and patrons of ornamented textiles, noblewomen had creative control over the medium; embroidery became a field in which their works were noted and celebrated.
Textile Bildwerke im Kirchenraum addresses the rich and multi-faceted question of church furnishi... more Textile Bildwerke im Kirchenraum addresses the rich and multi-faceted question of church furnishings in the Middle Ages. In contrast to previous studies, here textiles are the starting point as a temporary (removable) medium of images located within the female monastery of Altenberg/Lahn near Marburg. The still existing church and conventual buildings were constructed under magistra Gertrud (d. 1297), daughter of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia. Her influence is clearly visible in both the architecture and the church decoration. Six large embroideries with high quality drawings, elaborate images, and detailed inscriptions survive from this monastery. These embroideries—a wall hanging with scenes from the life of St. Elisabeth, a catafalque cover for a temporary tomb with figures of standing sovereigns, and altarcloths for the high altar—were once a key part of three ensembles from subsequent periods of decoration, including also altarpieces, wall- and glass paintings, sculptures, relics, and metalwork. A study of the church furnishing as a whole—and in a context with well preserved written sources complete within the original architectural setting—leads to new conclusions concerning making and patronage as well as the functions and materiality of church decoration. As such, written and visual sources provide a clear view of women’s influence on the art and architecture of a female monastery. The results are striking: this material provides evidence of influence and exchange across the boundaries of enclosure as well as the sophisticated use of visual medias and images for devotional, pastoral, and political purposes both within and outside the monastic enclosure.
Call for Papers, Deadline: 24.3.2016 Seitdem die Kunstgeschichte sich stärker der Gesamtheit mate... more Call for Papers, Deadline: 24.3.2016 Seitdem die Kunstgeschichte sich stärker der Gesamtheit materieller Kultur und ihren sozialen Kontexten widmet, geraten die angewandten Künste neu in den Blickpunkt des Fachdiskurses. Kulturwissenschaftliche Ansätze wie die material culture studies fragen nach dem Gegenstandscharakter von Artefakten und ihrer Wirkmacht. Daneben werden Objekte als Medien symbolischer Kommunikation untersucht, indem sie als Teil komplexer und performativer Handlungsvollzüge und Rituale beschrieben und gedeutet werden. Textilschenkungen des Mittelalters bieten sich als ein Themenfeld an, um die neuen Fragestellungen und Herangehensweisen für die Kunstgeschichte exemplarisch zu erproben und auszuloten. Textil-und Kleiderschenkungen sind in der europäischen Vormoderne in unterschiedlichsten Kontexten zu beobachten und erfüllten vielfältige Funktionen. Sie konnten im Zuge von Initiationsriten und Schwellensituationen erfolgen, z.B. bei Investituren und Amtseinsetzungen, Hochzeiten und beim Klostereintritt. Eine karitative Funktion hatten Kleiderschenkungen an Arme, was u.a. in zahlreichen mittelalterlichen Heiligenviten thematisiert wird. Darüber hinaus gelangten kostbare Textilien als herrschaftliche Stiftungen und Geschenke an geistliche Institutionen. Luxuriöse Textilien – wie gemusterte Seidengewebe aus Byzanz – kursierten außerdem im diplomatischen Geschenkverkehr. Kleidergaben wurden aber auch hofintern als (Natural-) Besoldung eingesetzt und dienten der Strukturierung und Hierarchisierung der höfischen Gesellschaft. Textilgeschenke konnten den Schenkenden repräsentieren. Insbesondere bei Kleidern, die der Schenkende bereits getragen hatte, scheint seine körperliche Präsenz gleichsam in die Materialität und Form der verschenkten Gewänder eingeschrieben gewesen zu sein. Ziel der interdisziplinär ausgerichteten Tagung ist es, die Vielfältigkeit und Polysemie dieser Akte symbolischer Kommunikation innerhalb des übergreifenden Kontextes des mittelalterlichen Gabenwesens zu verorten. Marcel Mauss zeigte bereits in den zwanziger Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts, dass das Schenken in gesellschaftlichen Kollektiven soziale Beziehungen stiftet und aus den drei verpflichtenden Elementen Geben, Nehmen und Erwidern besteht (Prinzip der Reziprozität). Dabei geht es wesentlich um die Konstruktion von Macht und sozialen Hierarchien. Obgleich der Ansatz von Mauss schon lange auch in der Mediävistik verwendet wird, wurde kürzlich moniert, dass die besondere, aus ihrer materiellen und visuellen
Call for Papers, Deadline: 24 March 2016
International Conference (organized by Christiane Elster, Stephanie Luther, Stefanie Seeberg und ... more International Conference
(organized by Christiane Elster, Stephanie Luther, Stefanie Seeberg und Tanja Michalsky).
Rome, November, 3rd-5th, 2016.
Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte.
Gifts of textiles and clothing appeared in diverse contexts and fulfilled various functions in pre-modern Europe. They could be offered in the course of an initiation rite and or an act of social transition, including upon investiture, marriage, or entry into a monastery. Gifts of clothing to the poor, meanwhile, were among the works of charity thematized in the vitae of numerous medieval saints. Sumptuous textiles were sent as resplendent gifts to religious institutions or, like patterned silk textiles from Byzantium, circulated through diplomatic gift exchanges. Gifts of clothing were also distributed within the court as compensation in kind, which supported the structuralization and hierarchization of courtly society. Textile gifts could represent the donor. Especially in the case of clothing previously worn by its donor, the physical presence of the giver might have been woven into the materiality and form of the gifted garment.
The goal of this interdisciplinary conference is to situate the diversity and polysemy of such acts of symbolic communication into the broader context of medieval gift culture. The integration of anthropological and sociological models (Marcel Mauss, Bruno Latour) into an art historical approach allows for gifted artifacts to be taken seriously as independent entities within the giving process as a socially generative form of communication. The conference therefore investigates the relationship between human actors and the “agency” of gifts themselves, exploring how the dynamics of reciprocity and its attendant obligations were charged both visually and materially.
Textile Gifts in the Middle Ages. Objects, Actors, and Representations, 2022
History in Fashion, 1500 Years of Embroidery in Fashion, 2019
Introduction to the Exhibition Catalogue, Exhibition 21.11.2019 -29.03.2020, GRASSI Museum of App... more Introduction to the Exhibition Catalogue, Exhibition 21.11.2019 -29.03.2020, GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts, Leipzig
www.sandstein.de/history-in-fashion