London, April 20, 2013

Beyond the Western Mediterranean:
Materials, Techniques and Artistic Production, 650-1500
Symposium

10.00 - 18.00, Saturday 20 April 2013 (with registration from 09.30)
Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset
House, Strand, London WC2

http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/researchforum/events/2013/
apr20_BeyondtheWesternMediterranean.shtml


The notion of a shared Mediterranean culture has become a central tenet
in the study of medieval art history. Growing out of the Roman mare
nostrum, the Mediterranean as a conduit of communication, dissemination,
and transmission throughout the Middle Ages is shaping the scope of our
discipline. Yet the investigation into the Mediterranean remains
unbalanced, and while the northern and eastern edges of the basin are
well investigated, historiographical and political considerations have
limited the study of the sea's southern shores, not to mention the
exchanges across that other sea - the sea of sand - that lies beyond
those territories' southern borders.

This one-day workshop at The Courtauld Institute of Art takes as its
topic the broader sphere of influence of the Western Mediterranean.
Focusing primarily on interconnections in the Western Mediterranean
basin, from the Maghreb to Italy, from Ifriqiya to Iberia, we will also
investigate how this north-south axis extended well beyond the littoral
regions to encompass sub-Saharan kingdoms. The day's proceedings are
primarily intended to implicate art historians in this discussion about
a global middle ages, and we will draw from interdisciplinary
discoveries in recent years, especially the wealth of archaeological
work accomplished by London-based colleagues. The material culture of
these regions, including such luxurious materials as ivory, gold,
ceramics, pigments and textiles, augments the limited offerings of
historical texts in delineating the complex interactions across
geographical boundaries. In this way we hope to probe the foundations of
a world artistic culture not only through shared materials and
techniques, but also through the yearnings and desires such interactions
engendered.

Ticket/entry details: £16 (£11 students, Courtauld staff/students and
concessions: over 60)

BOOK ONLINE:
http://courtauld-institute.digitalmuseum.co.uk<http://courtauld-
institute.digitalmuseum.co.uk/> Or send a cheque made payable to
'Courtauld Institute of Art' to: Research Forum Events Co-ordinator,
Research Forum, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand,
London WC2R 0RN, stating 'Mediterranean'. For further information, email
[log in to unmask]<mailto:ResearchForumEvents@courtauld
.ac.uk>

Organised by: Sarah Guérin (The Courtauld Institute of Art) and Mariam
Rosser Owen (Victoria and Albert Museum)


PROGRAMME

09.30 - 10.00
Registration (Front Hall)

10.00 - 10.15
Welcome and Introduction: Mariam Rosser-Owen and Sarah M. Guérin

10.15 - 11.00
Keynote Lecture: Michael Brett (SOAS, University of London)

11.00 - 11.30
COFFEE/TEA BREAK (Tea/coffee provided in Seminar room 1)


11.00 - 13.00
SESSION 1: Archaeology of Sand and Sea: Uncovering Interregional
Connections
Chair: Elizabeth Fentress (International Association for Classical
Archaeology)

Sam Nixon (University College London)
Across the sand sea: archaeological investigations of medieval trade and
exchange between North and West Africa

Kathleen Bickford Berzock (Art Institute Chicago)
The Horse and Rider in the Medieval Sudan: an Image with Local Roots and
Cross-Regional Influences

Ronald A. Messier (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee) and Chloé Capel
(Université de la Sorbonne, Paris)
Urban Morphology North and South of the Sahara: Separate Development or
Mutual Influences? A Comparative Study of Sijilmasa (Morocco), Tegdaoust
and Kumbi Saleh (Mauritania)

Matthew Harpster (Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A&M
University)
Eliminating the Periphery: Conduits of a Networked Mediterranean Sea

13.00 - 14.00
LUNCH (not provided except for the speakers and chairs)


14.00 - 15.10
SESSION 2: Mediating Materials
Chair: Antony Eastmond (The Courtauld Institute of Art)

Silvia Armando (Università di Urbino 'Carlo Bo')
Separated at Birth or Distant Relations? The Al-Mu'izz and Mantua
Caskets Between Decoration and Construction

Anna McSweeney (SOAS, University of London)
Tin Glazing in Sicilian Ceramics: the Transfer of a Technique in the
Early Medieval Mediterranean

Elise Morero and Jeremy Johns (Khalili Research Centre, University of
Oxford)
The Diffusion of Rock Crystal Carving Techniques in the Fatimid
Mediterranean

Emma Rogers (The Courtauld Institute of Art)
North African Silks in Italy: Imported luxury and Ecclesiastical
Decoration

Tom Nickson (The Courtauld Institute of Art)
Brothers Joyfully Facing Each Other': Technology and Epigraphy Between
Morocco and al-Andalus

15.10 - 15.40
COFFEE/TEA BREAK (Tea/coffee provided in Seminar room 1)


15.40 - 17.10
SESSION 3: Spanning the Straits: North Africa and Europe
Chair: Tom Nickson (The Courtauld Institute of Art)

Rose Walker (The Courtauld Institute of Art)
Spanning the Pillars of Hercules: Trade and Migration Between North
Africa and Iberia c.600-c.800

Jonathan Bloom (Boston College)
Towers in the Central Mediterranean

Jessica Streit (Cornell University)
Almohad Mosques and Twelfth-Century Religious Architecture in the
Mediterranean

Marta Caroscio (Harvard University, Villa I Tatti): Portuguese Outposts
in Northern Africa: Material Culture and Identity


17.10 - 18.10
Round Table Discussion led by Peregrine Horden (Royal Holloway) and
concluding remarks

18.10
RECEPTION (Front Hall)

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