In recent years, a burgeoning interest in late antique and early Byzantine textiles has transformed both scholarship and museological approaches to these central artifacts of the period’s material and visual culture. In response to this major shift in the field, the two sessions of this Round Table showcase current trends in the study of late antique and early Byzantine textiles, with a focus on new questions and methods for approaching textiles with increased attention to the intersection of technical, material, and textual evidence. These approaches extend far beyond textile studies alone but are increasingly informing all areas of Byzantine art history and material culture as part of what many consider the material turn. The four papers of this proposed panel represent current approaches to understanding textiles from the perspective of cross-cultural exchanges, curatorial trends in collecting and display, the interrelation of media, more capacious iconographic readings, as well as aesthetic, economic, and historiographic dimensions. The papers also represent innovative methodologies of collaborative co-authorship and critical museology. Despite the different approaches of the papers, however, all are united in a movement away from a focus on the attribution of fabrics’ sources that has long governed the field of textile studies. Instead, they represent an appreciation for the distinct material significance of textiles and their portability across cultures and geographies, a topic essential to the Congress’ theme of “Byzantium beyond Byzantium.” Our proposed Round Table aims to capture the vibrancy of this scholarly moment by showcasing the work of emerging voices alongside established academics and museum professionals; and our roster of speakers represents multiple National Committees on both sides of the Atlantic (Canada and the US, the UK and France).
In Byzantine Egypt, as in other regions all around the Mediterranean, the iconographic model of the Theotokos holding the Child, between two archangels, is common. This image is widespread in monastic painting, but also appears on several media, such as textiles. One of the most famous items in this field is the 6th century hanging…
Mirrored curtain pairs appear to have been incredibly special and rare productions, based on both surviving physical examples and visual representations. In December 2022, the Art Institute of Chicago acquired a large fragment of an Early Byzantine curtain (acc. no. 2022.1833). Measuring 192.5 × 142.3 cm, the piece has a surviving selvedge on both the…
Our current book project explores the multiple meanings of Byzantine silks over their long lives from creation to modern reception. Because charting cultural responses to silks in their travels across the frontiers of the empire and beyond the temporal boundaries of the medieval era proved methodologically challenging, we developed several approaches in combination. We selected…
Between 1896 and 1913-1914, the French archaeologist Albert Gayet conducted campaigns of excavation within the necropolis of Antinoopolis (Antinoë). Most of these campaigns were done with the financial support of French Ministry of Fine Arts. The artefacts (textiles, ceramics, glasses, leather objects, etc.) discovered in Antinoë and sent to France were displayed after each campaign…
A discussion about the emerging themes and topics across the papers.