The Tiny and the Fragmented. Miniature, Broken, or Otherwise Incomplete Objects in the Ancient World

Martin, Simon; Langin-Hooper, Stephanie M.

doi:10.4000/acost.2129

Cited by 5 publications

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“…In recent years, the topic of miniaturization has been the focus of renewed interest. Between 2015 and 2018, two publications were devoted to this theme: the first issue of Volume 47 (2015) of World Archaeology was titled ‘Miniaturization’, and the very recent book The Tiny and the Fragmented: Miniature, Broken, or Otherwise Incomplete Objects in the Ancient World , edited by Rebecca Martin and Stephanie Langin‐Hooper. These volumes bring together research that tries to interpret the phenomenon of the miniaturization of objects according to different approaches, attempting to go beyond simply functionalist (e.g.…”

Section: The Meaning Of the Miniaturized Offeringsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sacred Representation of a Miniature World: Rituals With Figurines and Small and Miniaturized Pottery at the Phoenician Cult Place of Kharayeb

Oggiano

2022

Oxford J Archaeology

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The rituals performed in the Phoenician cult places have traditionally been reconstructed primarily on the basis of architectural remains and sculptural finds. However, even if the exact role ceramics or other objects played in the rituals is unknown, it was certainly not secondary. New work carried out at the cult place of Kharayeb by an Italian-Lebanese mission has produced unusually detailed documentation of such finds, and provides a richer context for the consideration the little data about pottery already published by M. Chéhab and I. Kaoukabani. In particular attention has focused on the use of small and miniaturized pottery (from figurines to miniature vessels) in rituals at the site. With reference to recent research on these issues and comparison with similar practices in the Near East, Greek, and western Phoenician worlds this article proposes new hypotheses on the meaning of ritual practices involving small objects. THE ELUSIVE RITUALS OF THE PHOENICIAN CULT PLACE OF THE FIRST MILLENNIUM BCReconstructing rituals practised in the Phoenician area in religious cultural contexts, whether public or domestic, is a rather complicated challenge (Fig. 1). Indeed, the few excavated Phoenician sanctuaries, temples and shrines are known only for their architectural and sculptural remains. Archaeologically documented activities related to the cult itself are very few in number, especially for the phases between the beginning of the first millennium and the Persian era (end of sixth century to 333 BC). Moreover, the possibility of reconstructing the rituals practised using pottery has been lost forever because of the methods of excavation adopted until very recently.In the publication of a cult place such as Amrit (Dunand and Saliby 1985), for example, the data relating to pottery were summarized in just a few pages and pictures (Fig. 2), leaving them at a distinct disadvantage compared to the documentation of the statuary (Lembke 2004). Some interesting elements can, even so, be deduced from the presence both of oil lamps (found in the favissa; Dunand and Saliby 1985, table 55) and of characteristic jugs whose mouths are closed by a perforated filter (Fig. 2b). This type of jug was found in large quantities, especially 'dans la quai nord du bassin, surtout en face du naos' (Dunand and Saliby 1985, 51) and must have been used in

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Section: The Meaning Of the Miniaturized Offeringsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sacred Representation of a Miniature World: Rituals With Figurines and Small and Miniaturized Pottery at the Phoenician Cult Place of Kharayeb

Oggiano

2022

Oxford J Archaeology

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“…His use of theories of miniaturization in particular continue to inspire much stimulating literature in archaeology that treats figurines from a wide variety of ancient cultures, including a 2015 World Archaeology special issue and a 2018 edited volume from Oxford University Press (e.g. Bailey 2014; 2017; Danielsson 2013; Foxhall 2015; Langin-Hooper 2015; Martin & Langin-Hooper 2018; Stevenson 2017). Yet the potential problem still remains that there is an exceedingly large temporal and cultural gap between the reaction of a modern-day viewer to handling a small, sculpted human body and the theorized response of the ancient audience.…”

Section: Introduction: Miniature Figurinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Materiality of Shabtis: Figurines over Four Millennia

Howley¹

2019

CAJ

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Miniature human figurines have inspired many theoretical advances in archaeological literature, centred around universal human reactions to the material affect of their form. However, confirmation that ancient audiences had such reactions to figurines can be difficult to access in the archaeological record. Egyptian shabtis, a type of funerary figurine, allow such reactions to be accessed by the archaeologist due to their widespread use throughout a long period of Egyptian history and their continuing popularity in other cultures since ancient times: evidence consists of a broad range of textual, artistic and archaeological data from many different cultures over a period of roughly 4000 years. This evidence confirms not only that ancient Egyptian craftsmen responded to and sought to maximize the material affect of the shabtis, but that a significant part of the human response to miniature human figurines is indeed conditioned by their material qualities, independent of the figurines’ original religious function and the cultural background of the viewer.

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“…Moorey 2004;Battini 2017a;Martin, Langin-Hooper 2018; Roβberger 2018;Langin-Hooper 2020. See alsoUcko 1962, Cazzella 1987and Lesure 2011, who, although focused on prehistoric figurines, have interesting insights.8.…”

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Terracottas in the Yale Babylonian Collection

Battini¹

2023

acost

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Since 2018 1 I have been studying for publication a little-known group of Mesopotamian terracottas held in the Yale Babylonian Collection of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, with the permission of the curator Agnete Wisti-Lassen. 2 A selection of these terracottas had already been published in 1930 by Elisabeth van Buren in a book that listed the Near Eastern terracottas of the most important European and American museums. 3 While the Yale collection was included, the encyclopedic nature of the book did not allow for in-depth analysis of its objects, nor did it allow for complete photographic documentation. Since then, other terracottas also have entered the collection that have never been published. But more importantly, a century of archaeological reflection and new methodological analyses require a rethinking for the publication of this material. This is the goal of my research program, which is funded by CNRS 4 for the most part and by my laboratory, funded by the Collège de France, the CNRS, and the École Pratique des Hautes Études. However, my goal is not simply to publish a catalogue with synthetic chapters. Rather, the aim is to renew coroplastic research for the ancient Near East. I intend to show how the study of the neglected areas of the terracotta object-the back and the sides-contributes to a better understanding of the object itself, how it was produced, and how it was handled. This catalogue is also a "manifesto." Indeed, research into Syro-Mesopotamian terracottas has not taken into account the 'revolution' that has occurred in coroplastic studies relative to the Greek world. 5 In the domain of the ancient Near East recent studies on terracottas are few and mostly are limited to publishing objects discovered in excavations. But this study also is an appeal in general for the publication of museum collections, in re-contextualizing material that arrived in museums without provenience and context, which is important for other similar materials. It also is necessary to understand how the objects arrived in museums. Reconstructing this recent history of the object is important because it is part of it. Terracottas in the Yale Babylonian Collection Les Carnets de l'ACoSt, 23 | 2023 ABSTRACTSThis article presents a publication project concerning the terracottas in the Yale Babylonian Collection that began in 2018, suspended by the pandemic, and resumed in 2022. After defining the difficulties and the methodology, it presents an overview of the study and concludes by describing the publication plan.

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The Tiny and the Fragmented. Miniature, Broken, or Otherwise Incomplete Objects in the Ancient World

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

The Sacred Representation of a Miniature World: Rituals With Figurines and Small and Miniaturized Pottery at the Phoenician Cult Place of Kharayeb

The Sacred Representation of a Miniature World: Rituals With Figurines and Small and Miniaturized Pottery at the Phoenician Cult Place of Kharayeb

The Materiality of Shabtis: Figurines over Four Millennia

Terracottas in the Yale Babylonian Collection

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