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book: Bronze Monsters and the Cultures of Wonder
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Bronze Monsters and the Cultures of Wonder

Griffin Cauldrons in the Preclassical Mediterranean
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2021

About this book

The eighth and seventh centuries BCE were a time of flourishing exchange between the Mediterranean and the Near East. One of the period’s key imports to the Hellenic and Italic worlds was the image of the griffin, a mythical monster that usually possesses the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. In particular, bronze cauldrons bore griffin protomes—figurative attachments showing the neck and head of the beast. Crafted in fine detail, the protomes were made to appear full of vigor, transfixing viewers.

Bronze Monsters and the Cultures of Wonder takes griffin cauldrons as case studies in the shifting material and visual universes of preclassical antiquity, arguing that they were perceived as lifelike monsters that introduced the illusion of verisimilitude to Mediterranean arts. The objects were placed in the tombs of the wealthy (Italy, Cyprus) and in sanctuaries (Greece), creating fantastical environments akin to later cabinets of curiosities. Yet griffin cauldrons were accessible only to elites, ensuring that the new experience of visuality they fostered was itself a symbol of status. Focusing on the sensory encounter of this new visuality, Nassos Papalexandrou shows how spaces made wondrous fostered novel subjectivities and social distinctions.

Author / Editor information

Nassos Papalexandrou is an associate professor of art history at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Visual Poetics of Power: Warriors, Youths, and Tripods in Early Greece.

Reviews

Papalexandrou presents a riveting body of material, griffin cauldrons, which have never received sustained discussion as a Mediterranean-wide phenomenon of the seventh century BCE. His treatment is comprehensive, with archaeological contexts discussed in detail. In addition, he astutely looks at the depiction of cauldrons in other media and contextualizes them in terms of literary references to artwork. This is a bold and creative book, rich in its interpretations and readings.

 
— Nathan T. Arrington, author of Ashes, Images, and Memories: The Presence of the War Dead in Fifth-Century Athens

Papalexandrou has assembled a magisterial study of bronze griffin cauldrons from the early Iron Age. Approaching the cauldrons as wondrous marvels, he recreates the ancient sensory experience of encountering these magnificent bronze creations. While the griffin cauldrons have been well studied with respect to typology and dating, this book offers a sweeping set of interpretations that enriches our understanding of this period.
— Marian Feldman, author of Communities of Style: Portable Luxury Arts, Identity and Collective Memory in the Iron Age Levant

Due to the extensive survey of the material, the sensible evaluation of the data, and the often-unusual ways [Papalexandrou] chooses, the approach is precise, understandable, and novel while always convincing . . . This book is recommended for advanced students and scholars of archaeology, ancient art history, and ancient history, as well as for young students and schol-ars interested in cultural and visual studies . . . For both audiences Papalexandrou’s book is a great read.
— American Journal of Archaeology

[This book] is a thought-provoking and valuable contribution...offering  a  unique  blend  of archaeological rigor and theoretical imagination. This book is essential reading for scholars of archaeology and art history, as well as those interested in the broader cultural dynamics of the Mediterranean.
— CLARA Classical Art and Archaeology

[This is a] theoretically and methodologically excellent book, which clearly encourages us to try new approaches to tackle worthy old questions.
— The Classical Review

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    vii
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    Illustrations

    ix
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    Preface

    xiii
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    Acknowledgments

    xv
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    Introduction

    1
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  • Part I Griffin Cauldrons in Contexts of Life and Death
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    Chapter One. The Eastern Mediterranean, Ionia, and the Aegean

    17
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    Chapter Two: Mainland Greece

    55
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    Chapter Three: Italy and France

    96
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    Chapter Four: Kolaios’s Monster Cauldron at the Heraion of Samos

    143
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    Chapter Five. Monsters in Images Pictorial Representations of Griffin Cauldrons

    160
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  • Part III Responses to the Uncanny
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    Chapter Six: Vision of Wonders

    189
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    Conclusion

    224
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    Notes

    234
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    References

    260
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    Index

    277
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
January 19, 2022
eBook ISBN:
9781477323625
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.7560/323618
eBook ISBN: 9781477323625
Keywords for this book
Greek Art; illusionism; preclassical antiquity; clasical antiquity; bronze sculpture; ancient mediterranean; hellenic; griffin; art history
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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