Search results for ""Author Alexandra Bounia""
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Nature of Classical Collecting: Collectors and Collections, 100 BCE – 100 CE
The phenomenon of collecting as a systematic activity undertaken for symbolic rather than actual needs, is traditionally taken to originate in the middle of the fifteenth century, when the first cabinets of curiosities appear in Italy. Yet it is clear that the practice of collecting started long before that, indeed its origins can be traced back thousands of years to European prehistoric communities. Whilst this early genesis is, due to lack of written records, still shrouded in much mystery, The Nature of Classical Collecting argues that the collecting practices of classical Greece and Rome offer a rich tapestry of experiences which can be reconstructed to illuminate a pivotal period in the long and ever developing phenomenon of collecting. Utilizing a wide variety of examples of classical collections - including grave goods, the accumulations of Greek temples and open-air shrines, the royal collections of Hellenistic kings, Roman art and curiosity collections, and relics - The Nature of Classical Collecting focuses on the field of the 'pre-history' of collecting, a neglected yet critical phase that helped crystallize the western concept of collecting. Drawing primarily on Latin writings from the period 100 BCE to 100 CE it shows how collecting underwent a transition from a religious and political activity, to an intellectual practice in which connoisseurship could impart social status. It also demonstrates how the appreciation of objects and artists changed as new qualities were attributed to material culture, resulting in the establishment of art markets, patronage and an interest in the history of art. By exploring these early developments, The Nature of Classical Collecting not only provides a fascinating insight into the culture of late Hellenistic/early Imperial Roman collecting, but also offers a much fuller grounding for understanding the influences and inspirations of those Renaissance collectors who themselves were to have such a profound influence on the course of European art, architecture and culture.
£130.00
Indiana University Press Contested Antiquity: Archaeological Heritage and Social Conflict in Modern Greece and Cyprus
While the archaeological legacies of Greece and Cyprus are often considered to represent some of the highest values of Western civilization—democracy, progress, aesthetic harmony, and rationalism—this much adored and heavily touristed heritage can quickly become the stage for clashes over identity and memory. In Contested Antiquity, Esther Solomon curates explorations of how those who safeguard cultural heritage are confronted with the best ways to represent this heritage responsibly. How should visitors be introduced to an ancient Byzantine fortification that still holds the grim reminders of the cruel prison it was used as until the 1980s? How can foreign archaeological institutes engage with another nation's heritage in a meaningful way? What role do locals have in determining what is sacred, and can this sense of the sacred extend beyond buildings to the surrounding land? Together, the essays featured in Contested Antiquity offer fresh insights into the ways ancient heritage is negotiated for modern times.
£38.70
Indiana University Press Contested Antiquity: Archaeological Heritage and Social Conflict in Modern Greece and Cyprus
While the archaeological legacies of Greece and Cyprus are often considered to represent some of the highest values of Western civilization—democracy, progress, aesthetic harmony, and rationalism—this much adored and heavily touristed heritage can quickly become the stage for clashes over identity and memory. In Contested Antiquity, Esther Solomon curates explorations of how those who safeguard cultural heritage are confronted with the best ways to represent this heritage responsibly. How should visitors be introduced to an ancient Byzantine fortification that still holds the grim reminders of the cruel prison it was used as until the 1980s? How can foreign archaeological institutes engage with another nation's heritage in a meaningful way? What role do locals have in determining what is sacred, and can this sense of the sacred extend beyond buildings to the surrounding land? Together, the essays featured in Contested Antiquity offer fresh insights into the ways ancient heritage is negotiated for modern times.
£84.60
