New Publication: ‘Typical Venice? The Art of Commodities, 13th-16th Centuries’, edited by Ella Beaucamp and Philippe Cordez

What is the art of commodities, and how does it contribute to shaping a city? The case of Venice, which perhaps more than any other late medieval or early modern city depended on trade, offers some widely applicable considerations in response to these questions.

Commodities exist as such only when they can be bought and sold. Select materials, techniques and tools, motifs, and working processes are entailed in the conception and realization of commodities, with the aim of producing and selling in numbers. The art of commodities is an art of anticipation and organization, as complex as the material, social, and symbolic situations it results from, deals with, and contributes to shaping. In turn, an analysis of commodities allows for profound insights in these situations. The art of commodities ultimately presents specific challenges, solutions, and styles; it is an art of objects, as well as an art of cities and societies.

In Venice, commodities did much more than circulate throughout the Lagoon: the city was made of them. The studies in this book consider the Serenissima’s diverse commodities, merchants, and routes from multiple perspectives.

Ella Beaucamp is a doctoral candidate at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, where she developed her dissertation topic within the research group ‘Premodern Objects. An Archaeology of Experience’, led by Philippe Cordez. She studies the high medieval stone reliefs of Venetian house facades, relating them to the larger context of Mediterranean trade and artistic production. The Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani, the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, and the Max Weber Foundation – German Humanities Institutes Abroad have supported her work. For her master’s thesis she was the recipient of the Heinrich Wölfflin Prize from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Philippe Cordez is Deputy Director of the German Center for Art History in Paris. His research and teaching deal with medieval art history and more generally with object studies in art history. This work has been supported by the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, the Universität Hamburg, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the Université de Montréal, and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. His book ‘Treasure, Memory, Nature: Church Objects in the Middle Ages’, translated from French and awarded the Prize of the German Medievalists’ Society (Mediävistenverband e.V.), is available at Harvey Miller Publishers.

Find out more information here.

Table of Contents

ELLA BEAUCAMP AND PHILIPPE CORDEZ
Glass Vessels, Camel Imagery, House Façades: The Venetian Art of Commodities (13th–14th Centuries)

MANLIO LEO MEZZACASA
Sacred Objects by Venetian Goldsmiths (Late 13th–15th Centuries): Economics, Seriality, Identity

NATHANIEL SILVER
‘magna ars de talibus tabulis et figuris’: Reframing Panel Painting as Venetian Commodity (14th–15th Centuries)

BENEDETTA CHIESI
Ivories of the 14th–15th Centuries: The Pride and Ill-Fortune of a ‘Venetian Commodity’

ELIZABETH RODINI
Imitation as a Mercantile Strategy: The Case of Damascene Ware

SUSANNE THÜRIGEN
The Commodification of Ornament: Jacob Marquart’s Table Clocks

DARIO MICHELE ZORZA
Crafting Venetian Quality: Printing Legislation and the Case of Gabriele Giolito’s ‘Orlando Furioso’ (1542)

MEGAN K. WILLIAMS
Paper in the Piazza: The Late Medieval and Early Modern Trade in Venetian Paper

CRISTIAN LUCA
The Export of Venetian Commodities to the Romanian Principalities in the 16th Century

LEAH R. CLARK
The Politics of Acquisition: Venetian Objects in Italian Courtly Collections, c. 1475–1525

ROMEDIO SCHMITZ-ESSER
An Untypical Case? Late Medieval and Early Modern Venetian Commodities and their Re-Evaluation

CFP: Islamic Legacy: Narratives East, West, South, North of the Mediterranean (1350-1750), deadline 1 April 2021

IS-LE and COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) invite papers for the workshop Islamic Legacy: Narratives East, West, South, North of the Mediterranean (1350-1750): a thesaurus under discussion. Studying the relations between Christianity and Islam in late medieval and early modern Europe and the Mediterranean means covering a vast geographical region, which is diverse in its languages and cultures. Against this background it is necessary to find a common ground that makes it possible to understand the exchange between these two cultures as one border-crossing phenomenon. To achieve this comprehensive understanding, it is necessary to identify overarching ideas and common terms that are widely used in this field of research. Some of these terms are used analogically or even equivalent in different languages, which emphasizes the fact that there were similar images circulating throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. Therefore, the aim of this project is to discuss each of the 5 below terms in the context of their historiographies and how they were shaped by then prevailing notions.

Topics (terms) to be addressed:

  1. Orient-Occident, Morgenland-Abendland, Doğu-Batı
  2. Coexistence, Convivencia
  3. Hybridity
  4. Border-Frontier, Center-Periphery, Holy Land 5. Reconquista, Rückeroberung, Fetih

The deadline for submissions is 1 April 2021. Each proposal for an article should discuss one term, respectively one set of terms. The variations of the terms are not limited to the languages used above and can be complemented by translations into other languages. Proposals should not exceed one page (12 pt.), please also submit a short bio (250 words). The selected proposals will be presented during a workshop organized by the COST Action in Bosnia Harzegovina (University of Sarajevo), September 7, 2021. Due to budgetary restrictions, the number of reimbursed participants will be limited. If the Covid-19 situation prevents the in-person celebration of the workshop, it would be conducted online. Following the workshop, the articles will be published in a special issue of a journal to be announced at a later moment. We explicitly encourage submissions of researchers at any stages of their career and any related field of research.

For more information, please visit the IS-LE and COST website.

Image credit: detail of the Catalan Atlas, c. 1375, Bibliothèque nationale de France

Online Lecture: ‘The ‘Tara’ brooch: the making of a medieval masterpiece’ by Dr Niamh Whitfield, 17 February 2021, 7.30pm (GMT)

Join the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society on Wednesday 17 February for Dr Niamh Whitfield’s presentation on: ‘The ‘Tara’ brooch: the making of a medieval masterpiece’.

Register here.

More information can be found here.

Online Event: Interview with Ephraim Shoham-Steiner on “Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe,” Fordham University, 17 February, 2021

Join Fordham University’s Center for Jewish Studies on Wednesday, 17 February at 1:00pm EST for an interview with Ephraim Shoham-Steiner on his recently published book Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe. Hosted by Fordham University and the New York Public Library,  Ephraim will be in conversation with Fordham history professors Nicholas Paul and Magda Teter. 

Shoham-Steiner is a professor of Medieval Jewish History in the Department of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er-Shevah Israel (BGU).

Beginning in the Middle Ages, Jews were often portrayed as criminals driven by greed. While these accusations were often unfounded, at times criminal accusations against Jews were not altogether baseless. Drawing on a variety of legal, liturgical, literary, and archival sources, Ephraim examines the reasons for Jewish involvement in crime, the social profile of Jews who performed crimes, and the mechanisms employed by the legal and communal body to deal with Jewish criminals and with crimes committed by Jews. A society’s attitude toward individuals identified as criminals—by others or themselves—can serve as a window into that society’s mores and provide insight into how transgressors understood themselves and society’s attitudes toward them. 

This event is a joint initiative of Fordham University’s Center for Jewish Studies and the New York Public Library and is a part of the Fordham-NYPL Joint Research Fellowship Program in Jewish Studies.

This event is predicted to be very popular, and advantage register is encouraged and required. Please register here.

CFP: Resilience, Resistance, and Renewal in the Medieval and Early Modern World (UCLA, 27 May 2021), deadline 1 March 2021

 The medieval and early modern world (broadly considered, c. 900-1750) underwent myriad profound changes, from devastating famines, plagues, and wars to an increased entanglement of the continents, economic transformations, and technological and scientific developments. These changes were often accompanied by calls for the reshaping of the institutions and structures – political, religious, intellectual, etc. – which undergirded societies’ approach to these challenges, encompassing such responses as resistance, resilience, and renewal. 

The Medieval and Early Modern Student Association (MEMSA) and Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) at UCLA invite submissions of individual paper presentations (15-20 minutes) for an online conference considering aspects of cultural, environmental, social, economic, and other change in the medieval and early modern world. We particularly encourage those whose work highlights moments of resilience, resistance, and renewal. Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, especially those that take on inter-disciplinary perspectives and methodologies. We hope to provide opportunities for graduate students to present their research on a variety of topics that takes into consideration what many are also thinking about from another perspective, informed by the experience of recent events. 

Please contact the officers of MEMSA (memsa.ucla@gmail.com) to submit an abstract of the proposed presentation (250-300 words) by March 1, 2021. 

Image credit: The Morgan Library, Book of Hours, France, Paris, ca. 1420-1425, MS M.1004 fol. 143v

Online Lecture: ‘Wound Man: Three Early Modern Afterlives of a Medieval Surgical Image’ with Jack Hartnell, Early Science and Medicine Seminar, University of Cambridge, 23 February 2021 17:00 – 18:30 (GMT)

Early Science and Medicine Seminar, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge

Dr Jack Hartnell (University of East Anglia) presents: ‘Wound Man: Three Early Modern Afterlives of a Medieval Surgical Image’

More information can be found here.

Please register here to receive the Zoom link for the session. Organised by Lauren Kassell. All welcome. The Zoom will be open for informal discussion from 4:45-5pm and 6:30-7pm.

Online Colloquium: ‘Dante & Medieval Conceptions of Space and Architecture’ part of the In via Dante colloquium series, 24 February 2021, 15:00-17:30pm (GMT)

The In via Dante Network at the University of Leeds are hosting three colloquia aimed at creating a platform for doctoral and early career researchers working on Dante across different institutions to come together to discuss their work. Our 2021 colloquia will focus on Dante’s relationship to three areas of enquiry: Latin literature (and its medieval reception); medieval religious culture; and medieval conceptions of space and architecture. 

The format for each colloquium will be as follows: three PGRS or early-career researchers will present their work to a panel of three established scholars from a range of disciplines who will act as respondents and guide subsequent discussions (20 mins/paper followed by 20 mins of discussion of each paper). 

The first colloquium will focus on ‘Dante & Medieval Conceptions of Space and Architecture’ and will be held online on 24 February from 3:00-5:30 GMT.

In all three realms of the afterlife, Dante describes the architecture and spaces he encounters as meaningful. These representations provide clues to how one moves through and experiences space as an individual and/or community in activities like prayer, processions, meditation, and other religious practices. This colloquium seeks to explore how Dante’s Commedia is shaped and informed by medieval conceptions of space and architecture.

Presenters: Caroline Domor (Oxford), Emma Wall (Durham), and Elisabeth Trischler (Leeds) will each present a 20 minute paper.

Respondents: Christopher Kleinhenz (Wisconsin-Madison) and Theodore J. Cachey Jr. (Notre Dame)

Click here to register.

Job: Assistant Professor in Archaeology, University of Copenhagen (deadline 1 March 2021)

The Saxo Institute, Faculty of Humanities, Copenhagen University (UCPH), Denmark, invites applicants for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Archaeology to be filled by the 1st of September 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

We are looking for an outstanding junior researcher with an innovative mind-set and intellectual curiosity to strengthen and complement the research profile of Archaeology at the Saxo Institute. Our research group comprises the fields of Classical, Nordic, and contemporary archaeology, and its research focuses on visual culture, landscape, technology and production, archaeo-metallurgy, textile studies, and archaeological theory and epistemology in the humanities. Methodologically, fieldwork, excavations, surveys, experimental archaeology, and museum studies form an integral part of our research. We aim to attract an international top-talent to our ambitious and collaborative environment.

The Saxo Institute is dedicated to the study of human societies past and present, with degree programs ranging from History to Ethnology, Archeology, Classical Languages and Migration Studies. With some 1400 students and a staff of 100 employees, the Institute offers a variety of research and library facilities, servicing a vibrant community of tenured scholars, graduate students, visiting researchers and externally funded projects. The institute also hosts a range of leading research centres and externally funded research projects.

For more information on this job opening, please visit University of Copenhagen’s website.

Fellowship: Bard Graduate Center Visiting Fellowships, 2021-2022

Bard Graduate Center (BGC) invites scholars from university, museum, and independent backgrounds with a PhD or equivalent professional experience to apply for non-stipendiary visiting fellowships, to be held during the 2021–22 academic year. BGC Visiting Fellowships, which are intended for scholars who have already secured means of funding, provide scholars with workspace in the BGC Research Center and enable them to join our dynamic intellectual and scholarly community in New York City. Visiting Fellowships represent our commitment to conversation and scholarly communication. We are happy to welcome scholars who similarly seek a serious but informal intellectual environment in which to pursue their work in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Visiting Fellowships may be awarded for anywhere from one month to the full academic year.

Bard Graduate Center is a graduate research institute in New York City. Devoted to the study of the decorative arts, design history, and material culture, the research at the BGC draws on methodologies and approaches from art history, economic and cultural history, history of technology, philosophy, anthropology, and archaeology.

For more information, please go here. Applications must be submitted online, and are due March 1st. Please direct questions to the Fellowship Committee via email at fellowships@bgc.bard.edu.

New Publication: Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe by Ephraim Shoham-Steiner

Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe is a topic laced by prejudice on one hand and apologetics on the other. Beginning in the Middle Ages, Jews were often portrayed as criminals driven by greed. While these accusations were, for the most part, unfounded, in other cases criminal accusations against Jews were not altogether baseless. Drawing on a variety of legal, liturgical, literary, and archival sources, Ephraim Shoham-Steiner examines the reasons for the involvement in crime, the social profile of Jews who performed crimes, and the ways and mechanisms employed by the legal and communal body to deal with Jewish criminals and with crimes committed by Jews. A society’s attitude toward individuals identified as criminals—by others or themselves—can serve as a window into that society’s mores and provide insight into how transgressors understood themselves and society’s attitudes toward them.

Ephraim Shoham-Steiner is professor of medieval Jewish history at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’ersheva Israel, where he is the director of the Center for the Study of Conversion and Inter-Religious Encounters (CSOC). He is the author of On the Margins of a Minority: Leprosy, Madness, and Disability among the Jews of Medieval Europe (Wayne State University Press, 2014) and the editor of Intricate Interfaith Networks in the Middle Ages: Quotidian Jewish-Christian Contacts.

Jews and Crime in Medieval Europe can be purchased here.