Nadine Schibille's Books

Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience

By: Nadine Schibille

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Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience

By: Nadine Schibille

Paramount in the shaping of early Byzantine identity was the construction of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (532-537 CE). This book examines the edifice from the perspective of aesthetics to define the concept of beauty and the meaning of art in early Byzantium. Byzantine aesthetic thought is re-evaluated against late antique Neoplatonism and the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius that offer fundamental paradigms for the late antique attitude towards art and beauty. These metaphysical concepts of aesthetics are ultimately grounded in experiences of sensation and perception, and reflect the ways in which the world and reality were perceived and grasped, signifying the cultural identity of early Byzantium. There are different types of aesthetic data, those present in the aesthetic object and those found in aesthetic responses to the object. This study looks at the aesthetic data embodied in the sixth-century architectural structure and interior decoration of Hagia Sophia as well as in literary responses (ekphrasis) to the building. The purpose of the Byzantine ekphrasis was to convey by verbal means the same effects that the artefact itself would have caused. A literary analysis of these rhetorical descriptions recaptures the Byzantine perception and expectations, and at the same time reveals the cognitive processes triggered by the Great Church. The central aesthetic feature that emerges from sixth-century ekphraseis of Hagia Sophia is that of light. Light is described as the decisive element in the experience of the sacred space and light is simultaneously associated with the notion of wisdom. It is argued that the concepts of light and wisdom are interwoven programmatic elements that underlie the unique architecture and non-figurative decoration of Hagia Sophia. A similar concern for the phenomenon of light and its epistemological dimension is reflected in other contemporary monuments, testifying to the pervasiveness of these aesthetic values in early Byzantium.

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Page Count

321

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1317124154

ISBN 13

9781317124153

Islamic Glass in the Making

Chronological and Geographical Dimensions

By: Nadine Schibille

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Islamic Glass in the Making

Chronological and Geographical Dimensions

By: Nadine Schibille

New insights into the history of Islamic glassmaking The ancient glass industry changed dramatically towards the end of the first millennium. The Roman glassmaking tradition of mineral soda glass was increasingly supplanted by the use of plant ash as the main fluxing agent at the turn of the ninth century CE. Defining primary production groups of plant ash glass has been a challenge due to the high variability of raw materials and the smaller scale of production. Islamic Glass in the Making advocates a large-scale archaeometric approach to the history of Islamic glassmaking to trace the developments in the production, trade and consumption of vitreous materials between the eighth and twelfth centuries and to separate the norm from the exception. It proposes compositional discriminants to distinguish regional production groups, and provides insights into the organisation of the glass industry and commerce during the early Islamic period. The interdisciplinary approach leads to a holistic understanding of the development of Islamic glass; assemblages from the early Islamic period in Mesopotamia, Central Asia, Egypt, Greater Syria and Iberia are evaluated, and placed in the larger geopolitical context. In doing so, this book fills a gap in the present literature and advances a large-scale approach to the history of Islamic glass.

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264

Publisher

Leuven University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

9462703191

ISBN 13

9789462703193

Islamic Glass in the Making

Chronological and Geographical Dimensions

By: Nadine Schibille

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Islamic Glass in the Making

Chronological and Geographical Dimensions

By: Nadine Schibille

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

264

Publisher

Leuven University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

9462703191

ISBN 13

9789462703193

Book's by Nadine Schibille

Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience

Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience

Islamic Glass in the Making

Islamic Glass in the Making

Islamic Glass in the Making

Islamic Glass in the Making

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