Byzantine Silk in the World

Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-64189-400-5
Verlag: ARC Humanities Press

Buch, Englisch, 286 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

This is an art historical study of Byzantine silk from the sixth through to the eleventh century when the production of silk emerged as an imperial industry and became central to Byzantine courtly life and imperial diplomacy. Focusing on four focal pieces that are well known in scholarship, we lay out broader issues of manufacture, acquisition, circulation, and venerable practices of collecting Byzantine silk outside the territorial sway of the empire in church treasuries across Europe. Our focal silks serve as touchstones for understanding Byzantine silks as varied types of objects that were deliberately and meticulously designed for three-dimensional viewing. Perhaps more important, these focal pieces allow us to address issues of Byzantine, especially imperial, identity—from perspectives within the empire and without.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ball, Jennifer

Thomas, Thelma K.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Woodfin, Warren T.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Byzantinisch
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Völkerwanderung und Mittelalter
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Vor- und Frühgeschichte, prähistorische Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations

Preface

Note to the Reader

Introduction. “Byzantine Silk: Precious Pieces of History” by Jennifer Ball and Thelma K. Thomas

Chapter 1. “The Herakleios Silk” by Thelma K. Thomas

Chapter 2. “The Charioteer Silk” by Thelma K. Thomas

Chapter 3. “The Elephant Silk” by Jennifer Ball

Chapter 4. “The Bamberg Tapestry” by Jennifer Ball

Afterword by Warren T. Woodfin

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Thomas, Thelma K.
Thelma K. Thomas is Associate Professor at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. Her publications treat Late Antique and Byzantine art and material culture, especially textiles and dress, as well as luxury art and cross-cultural exchange.

Ball, Jennifer
Jennifer Ball is Professor of Byzantine art history at The City University of New York. Her publications focus primarily on textiles and dress.

Woodfin, Warren T.
Warren T. Woodfin is Kallinikeion Associate Professor of Byzantine Studies at Queens College and Art History and Medieval Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.