Seeking transparency : rock crystals across the Medieval Mediterranean / edited by Cynthia Hahn and Avinoam Shalem.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hahn, Cynthia J. (Cynthia Jean), editor.

Shalem, Avinoam, editor.

Alec Harris & Carollina Song Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Quartz.

Quartz art objects.

Mediterranean Region.

Quartz art objects--Mediterranean Region.

Quartz--Mediterranean Region.

Physical Description:

334 pages : illustrations (some color), charts, maps, music, portrait ; 28 cm

Other Title:

Rock crystals across the Medieval Mediterranean

Place of Publication:

Berlin : Gebr. Mann Verlag, [2020]

Summary:

"This collection of essays reveals the global and cross-cultural histories of rock-crystal production in and even beyond the lands of the Mediterranean Sea. It investigates many objects and varied aspects of rock crystal such as: the physical nature and legendary as well as actual origins of the material; its manufacturing techniques and affiliations to other luxurious objects, such as cut glass and carved precious stones; legends and traditions associated with its aesthetic qualities; as well as issues concerning its varied functions and historiography." -- publisher website. https://www.reimer-mann-verlag.de/controller.php?cmd=detail&titelnummer=302843&verlag=3

Contents:

State of study. The state of research on some rock crystal ewers and related vessels from Islamic lands / Jens Kröger. Availability, carving techniques, and character of rock crystal. Madagascar, the source of the Abbasid and Fatimid rock crystals : new evidence from archaeological investigations in east Africa / Stéphane Pradines

Relief carving on medieval Islamic glass and rock crystal vessels : a comparative approach to techniques of manufacture / Elise Morero, Jeremy Johns, Hara Procopiou, Roberto Vargiolu, Hassan Zahouani

Transparent, translucent, and opaque : Merovingian and Anglo-Saxon crystal amulets / Genevra Kornbluth. Literary texts : from workshops to meaning. Crystal desire in medieval texts and beyond / Marisa Galvez

Rock crystal in the medieval west : an essay on techniques and workshops / Stefania Gerevini

On medieval rock crystal sources and resources in the lands of Islam / Avinoam Shalem

Icy geometry : rock crystal in lapidary knowledge / Brigitte Buettner. Ancient and Roman crystals. Crystal words : the power of stones in the ancient Near East / Zainab Bahrani

At once beautiful and mysterious : updating the state of research on the rock crystal lionheads in the Musée de Cluny (Paris) / Isabelle Bardiès

Rock crystal and the nature of artifice in ancient Rome / Patrick R. Crowley. Medieval crystal across the Mediterranean. Man-made crystal : crystal glass in the Middle Ages / Ingeborg Krueger

Beyond Fatimid : the iconography of medieval Islamic rock crystal vessels and the question of dating / Marcus Pilz

The Bern Diptych : Venetian rock crystal between craft, trade, and aesthetics / Stefania Gerevini

Hinges as hints : heaven and earth in the Coconut Goblet at the Cathedral of Münster, part of a lost rock crystal ensemble / Beate Fricke

The "crystalline effect" : optical and sonic aura and the poetics of the resurrected body / Bissera V. Pentcheva

The sacred made visible : the use of rock crystals in medieval church treasuries / Gia Toussaint. Amulets and magnifying glasses. Through the lens of Islam : a note on Arabic sources on the use of rock crystals and other gems as vision aids / Farid Benfeghoul

Early seals and amulets made from rock crystal / Venetia Porter.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-319) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Alec Harris & Carollina Song Fund.

ISBN:

9783786128434

378612843X

OCLC:

1143469615