Materiality and Making in Ancient Mediterranean Art

3.0 credits · Graduate

This course takes advantage of recent theoretical work in Archaeology, Anthropology, and Art History to focus on the significance of materials such as marble, bronze, clay, gold, ivory, and precious stones in ancient Mediterranean visual culture and their relationship to practices of making. We will examine the relationship between medium, technology, style and iconography across a range of contexts, such as the role by played by clay-molding and bronze-casting in the development of Greek naturalism; the influence of chryselephantine techniques on depictions of the gods; the relationship between colored marbles and the iconography of empire; the application of pigments to sculptural surfaces; and the use of gems as personal seals. Throughout, our emphasis will not only be on the relationship between medium, facture, and habits of consumption and display, but also on the affordances and phenomenological qualities of different materials and their influence on ancient modes of viewing and representation. As part of the Yale-Cornell Consortium for the Study of Ancient Art, this course will also bring students of both institutions together in a workshop to be held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Students will develop research papers based on objects in the MFA collections and have a chance to learn about curatorial approaches and careers from museum experts.