The color of ivory : polychromy on Byzantine ivories
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The color of ivory : polychromy on Byzantine ivories
Princeton University Press, 1998
Available at 5 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-123) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Carolyn Connor shows here that Byzantine ivory carvings - often assumed to have been monochromatic - were originally brightly colored. Most ivories today show no obvious traces of paint or stain, and many scholars believe that the Byzantines preferred the aesthetic of ivory's natural, creamy color. However, Connor's close examination of one hundred Late Antique and Byzantine ivories reveals that artists frequently colored ivories in bright hues of red, blue, green, and gold. Intrigued by barely visible traces of paint or stain, Connor subjected such ivory objects as boxes, plaques, and book covers to scientific analysis. Under the microscope, she saw that their surfaces were once ablaze with color, while tests identified the actual pigments. Her findings, presented here, demonstrate that the ivories were colored and that the paint or stain - which does not adhere well to the surface of ivory - either wore off or was cleaned away. She draws on the work of archaeologists, classicists, historians, and art historians to show that this color was almost certainly original and not, as many scholars have assumed, a medieval or later addition.
The author also locates Byzantine ivories within a long tradition of colored ivory going back, for example, to a painted chest found in the tomb of the Egyptian boy-king Tutankhamen. Connor's close study and contextualizing of a significant group of ivories will reshape our thinking about color, culture, and art.
Table of Contents
<TABLE><TR><TD> <TD>List of Illustrations <TR><TD>Ch. 1 <TD>Color on Byzantine Ivories <TR><TD>Ch. 2 <TD>Colors, Pigments, and Pigment Analysis <TR><TD>Ch. 3 <TD>The Ancient Tradition of Polychrome Ivories <TR><TD>Ch. 4 <TD>The Testimony of Ancient and Medieval Texts <TR><TD>Ch. 5 <TD>Color on Ivory and the Byzantine Aesthetic <TR><TD> <TD>Conclusion: Shifting the Paradigm <TR><TD>Appendix A <TD>Ivories Project Database <TR><TD>Appendix B <TD>Diagrams of Joshua Ivories <TR><TD> <TD>Notes <TR><TD> <TD>Bibliography <TR><TD> <TD>Index
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