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An influential view of ecphrasis-the literary description of art objects-chiefly treats it as a way for authors to write about their own texts without appearing to do so, and even insist upon the aesthetic dominance of the literary text over the visual image. However, when considering its use in ancient Roman literature, this interpretation proves insufficient. The Captor's Image argues for the need to see Roman ecphrasis, with its prevalent focus on Hellenic images, as a site of subtle, ongoing...

This publication focuses on (natural) scientific methods in studying and analyzing ancient pottery and discusses several case studies of the application on ancient vases stored in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Universalmuseum Joanneum Graz, and Collection of the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz. So called non-invasive methods (without sampling) are favored, e. g. using high-resolution computer tomography, X-ray fluorescence analysis.

The book is the first publication in English of the excavation of Byzantine Cherson (7th-14th cents.). It offers a comprehensive study of the topography of the city, its material culture, everyday life, architecture, craft production, and religious beliefs. It places Cherson within the overall history of the Byzantine Empire, its periphery and Black Sea-Mediterranean trade.

The fresco - a painting on fresh plaster - is a technique of wall painting used since antiquity. Frescoes serve a wide variety of purposes: In churches as a Bible in pictures and for the representation of the life of saints or the truths of faith; in town halls they depict the ideals of a city government, in castles and palaces the appreciation of art and the sovereign virtues of the sponsors. This volume is devoted to frescoes and other impressive wall and ceiling paintings from the Romanesque...

Alexander the Great led one of the most successful armies in history and conquered nearly the entirety of the known world while wearing armor made of cloth. How is that possible? In "Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor", Gregory S. Aldrete, Scott Bartell, and Alicia Aldrete provide the answer. An extensive multiyear project in experimental archaeology, this pioneering study presents a thorough investigation of the linothorax, linen armor worn by the Greeks, Macedonians, and other ancient Med...

The digital collective teamLab, founded in Tokyo in 2001 by Toshiyuki Inoko, breaks established boundaries between the gallery and art world. This group-comprised of more than four hundred people including programmers, designers, and animators-creates immersive digital experiences outside of the realm of the traditional art world, navigating the confluence of art, technology, design, and the natural world. In many cases, it roots its imagery in historical Japanese art but uses the visual langua...

Neck rings are among the most magnificent genres among archeological finds. They are made of bronze, silver, or gold, elaborately produced, and richly ornamented. In prehistoric times, they were worn by selected men, women, and children, represented the status and dignity of the wearer, and distinguished the individual within his or her society. In Central Europe, there are neck rings starting from the beginning of the Bronze Age around 2200 BCE. They are found up to the Migration Period arou...

Throughout the Middle Ages, John the Evangelist, identified as the author of both the Book of Revelation and the most profound and theologically informed of the four Gospels, provided monks and nuns with a figure of inspiration and an exemplar of vision and virginity. Rather than the historical apostle, this book's protagonist is a persona of the Evangelist established in theology, the liturgy, and devotional practice: the model mystic, who, by virtue of his penetrating insight, was seen as havi...

The first comprehensive attempt to reconstruct from archaeological, liturgical, and historical sources the ceremonial use of Early Byzantine architecture. The archaeological remains of a dozen pre-Iconoclastic churches in Constantinople are examined, and the characteristic patterns of planning revealed are interpreted in the light of the Early Byzantine liturgy. A new approach to Byzantine architecture, which is studied here in the critical first phase of its development.

The private antiquities collection of Vincent and Olga Diniacopoulos included a wide range of Egyptian antiquities spanning the prehistoric period through the Old and New Kingdoms, to early Christianity. This volume is the second on the Diniacopoulos collection (a selection of Greek and Roman antiquities was published in 2004). Twelve essays, seven in English and five in French, focus on objects of daily life, ritual activities, and funerary practices.

The Roman Baths at Bath is the best-preserved ancient baths and temple complex in northern Europe. It is here, at the heart of the World Heritage Site of Bath, that the only thermal springs in the UK emerge from deep underground, bringing health and vitality to this beautiful city. In the first century AD, the Romans chose this site to build the most dramatic suite of public buildings of Roman Britain. At the Roman Baths, visitors can see in-situ remains and ornate architectural fragments of the...

When Olga and Vincent Diniacopoulos arrived in Montreal from Post-War Europe, they brought with them more than two thousand antiquities. Yet Canada's largest private collection, held since the 1960s at Universite de Laval and now in the Musee national des beaux-arts du Quebec, remained largely unknown and unstudied. In 2004, Concordia University - in conjunction with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - arranged for an exhibition, an international conference, and a publication devoted to th...