ICMA at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds 2021
Session 1301
Materials, Manufacture, Movement: Tracing Connections through Object Itineraries
Wednesday 7 July 2021, 16.30-18.00 BST
Therese Martin, “Glimpses of Gold: Material Evidence of Cross-Cultural Connections in Rock Crystal Chess Pieces and a Countess’s Seal (10th-11th c.),” Archivo Español de Arte (in press, 2021).
Organized by and Moderator:
Therese Martin, Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid.
Two pairs of interrelated papers feature the rich work-in-progress by members of the project 'The Medieval Iberian Treasury in Context: Collections, Connections, and Representations on the Peninsula and Beyond' (PI Therese Martin). Our research interrogates how and why medieval artifacts moved across borders, whether religious, political, or geographical; such objects and textiles materialize connections that are too often missing from official written histories. Likewise, team members analyze the presence of artifacts and materials preserved far from their places of manufacture to understand the works' socio-historical itineraries. These papers depend on the material evidence of artifacts - textiles, ebony and ivory caskets, metalworks, and manuscripts - to understand the interconnections among diverse climates, cultures, and technologies. Our object-oriented approaches shed light on networks of trade, plunder, marriage, and diplomacy, through which prized possessions arrived at destinations including Egypt, Iberia, Germanic lands, and the easterly reaches of Europe.
Linen, Wool, and Silk: Climate Conditions and Textile Production from Egypt to Iberia, Ana Cabrera-Lafuente, Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España, Madrid
Exquisite yet Handy: On Ivory / Ebony Caskets and the Egypt / Iberia Debate, Silvia Armando, Department of Art History & Studio Art, John Cabot University, Roma
Treasuries as Windows to the Medieval World: San Isidoro de León and St Blaise at Braunschweig, Jitske Jasperse, Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Women's Influence, Modern Perceptions, and the Transmission of 'Culture' in Medieval Central and Eastern Europe, Christian Raffensperger, Department of History, Wittenberg University, Ohio