Ravenna and the traditions of late antique and early byzantine craftsmanship : : labour, culture, and the economy / / Salvatore Cosentino.

• TeilnehmendeR: Cosentino, Salvatore,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin, Germany ;, Boston, Massachusetts : : De Gruyter,, [2020]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Series: Millennium-Studien / Millennium Studies ; 85
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (IX, 331 p.)
• Notes: Includes index.

In the last twenty years scholarship on late antique and early medieval Ravenna has resulted in a certain number of publications mainly focused on the fields of architecture, mosaics and archaeology. On the contrary, much less attention has been paid on labour – both manual and intellectual – as well as the structure of production and objects derived from manufacturing activities, despite the fact that Ravenna is the place which preserves the highest number of historical evidence among all centres of the late Roman Mediterranean. Its cultural heritage is vast and composite, ranging from papyri to inscriptions, from ivories to marbles, as well as luxury objects, pottery, and coins. Starting from concrete typologies of hand-manufactured goods existing in the Ravennate milieu, the book aims at exploring the multifaceted traditions of late antique and early Byzantine handicraft from the fourth to the eighth century AD. Its perspective is to pay attention more on patronage, social taste, acculturation, workers and the economic industry of production which supported the demand, circulation and distribution of artefacts, than on the artistic evaluation of the objects themselves.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Contributors -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 The Changing Geography of Artefact Production in the Late Antique and Early Byzantine Mediterranean -- 2 Late Antique Making and Wonder -- 3 The Structural Features of Ravenna’s Socioeconomic History in Late Antiquity -- 4 The Toilsome Journey of Marbles and Stones -- 5 Ivory Production: Commerce, Culture and Power -- 6 Bricks for Ravenna: Materials and the Construction of a Late Antique Imperial Residence -- 7 The Social Sphere of Writing: Manuscripts, Inscriptions and Papyri -- 8 Grave Goods and Burial Typologies: Funerary Customs in Ravenna -- 9 Ravenna, Classe and its Surroundings: Pottery as a Mirror of Everyday Life -- 10 Notes on the Production and Circulation of the Byzantine Ravennate Coinage -- 11 Concluding Remarks. One -- 12 Concluding Remarks. Two -- Index