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Description

The material legacy of medieval Byzantium is one of intricate luxury objects made of precious materials. As was evident in many cultures and periods, including the Byzantine, high-quality luxury materials were used to promote the status of individuals and institutions. The Attarouthi Treasure out of the Church of St. Stephen in Syria presents an excellent case study of luxury liturgical objects used to promote the social status of the church, as well as imbed the church in a series of complex social networks that both enhanced and retracted from the church’s social role. These objects were also physically dynamic as they moved through the space of the church, and symbolically dynamic as they took on different meanings and functions as their owners changed – a concept of agency applicable to virtually all material objects historically and today.

Keywords

Byzantine Empire, Byzantium, liturgy, art

Disciplines

Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

Utility, Liturgy, and Luxury

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