Covering the period from 2500 BCE to the Byzantine Era, this volume focuses on the social history of furniture found in houses, tombs and temples as narrated through the archaeological evidence. The earliest furniture can be seen as an attempt by humans to enhance their safety, comfort and social standing but it can also offer opportunities for understanding human behavior, values and thought: fine furniture was among the most valuable of possessions in the ancient world so it expressed power, wealth and status.
It was appreciated as art, used in diplomacy (both as a gift and as tribute) and recorded as booty. At the same time, its practical and ceremonial uses yield important clues about the domestic environment and daily life in antiquity, as well as revealing aspects of sacred belief and funerary practices.
Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume presents
essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period
on the themes of Design and Motifs; Makers, Making, and Materials; Types
and Uses; The
Domestic Setting; The Public Setting; Exhibition and
Display; Furniture
and Architecture; Visual Representations; and Verbal
Representations.
Edited by:
Dr Dimitra Andrianou
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 244mm,
Width: 169mm,
Weight: 1.000kg
ISBN: 9781472577764
ISBN 10: 1472577760
Series: The Cultural Histories Series
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 16 May 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface Introduction, Dimitra Andrianou 1. Design and Motifs, Elizabeth Simpson and Geoffrey Killen 2. Makers, Making, and Materials, Vassilis Petrakis and Maria Leontsini 3. Types and Uses, Geoffrey Killen, Elizabeth Simpson, and Stephan T. A. M. Mols 4. The Domestic Setting, Vassilis Petrakis, Barbara Tsakirgis, Dimitra Andrianou, and Platon Petridis 5. The Public Setting, Vassilis Petrakis and Platon Petridis 6. Exhibition and Display, Vassilis Petrakis, Jean Turfa, and Dimitra Andrianou 7. Furniture and Architecture, Stephan T.A.M. Mols 8. Visual Representations, Vassilis Petrakis, A. Chatzidimitriou, and S. Feuser 9. Verbal Representations, Vassilis Petrakis, Dimitra Andrianou, and Ilias Anagnostakis Notes Bibliography Index
Dimitra Andrianou is Researcher at the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Institute of Greek and Roman Antiquity, Greece.
