Università Roma Tre

GOLD AND IVORY: PRECIOUS ARTS IN BYZANTIUM AND THE WEST (4TH-13TH CENTURIES)

The arts referred to, with an obsolete term, as “minor” were an essential component of medieval aesthetics, in Europe as well as in the Byzantine world. This is evidenced not only by the variety of artifacts that still populate our museums, but also by the written sources that record their reception, meanings and modes of fruition.
The module aims to examine the production of precious objects in the Mediterranean area between the 4th and 13th centuries. Particular attention will be paid to enameled ornaments and ivory carvings, two artistic media that enjoyed great popularity both in Byzantium and in the West. They will be studied in their technical, stylistic and typological aspects, as well as in their relationship to monumental art. We will also investigate the channels of dissemination, reuse and recontextualization (often a true resemantization) in both medieval and modern times of objects whose appreciation over time can effectively be defined as “global”.
Lectures will take place mainly in the classroom but visits to collections and museums may be envisaged; as part of seminar-type activities, students will practice presentation skills on the topics covered in the module.

Exam bibliography will be specified at the beginning of the second semester.