Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content
My thesis explores the complex relationship of texts and images on the fourth century silver plate, the so called Seuso Hunting Plate with the close reading of both its inscriptions and visual images. The texts on the plate consist of a... more
My thesis explores the complex relationship of texts and images on the fourth century silver plate, the so called Seuso Hunting Plate with the close reading of both its inscriptions and visual images. The texts on the plate consist of a verse inscription in Latin and two name labels (Innocentius, Pelso) while the images represent various scenes of the daily life of a villa estate.
The plate was probably found in Hungary in the 1970s as a part of a larger hoard. The introduction presents the topic in its modern context (the modern-day history of the object), since without the understanding the issues of its provenance it cannot be understood why it is much safer (in terms of archaeological research) to deal with plate alone and not with the treasure in general.
From the data currently available, we can distinguish at least four key phases or social contexts in which the Seuso Hunting Plate participated. These are the contexts of the patron, the maker, the owner, and the viewer. Although it is impossible to identify the exact patron of the object examined, the textual and visual sources are sufficient to provide at least a profile of the probable patron of the Seuso Hunting Plate, the person who commissioned the object, using two traditional methods: epigraphy and iconological analysis.
This Late Roman silver plate conveys the patron’s messages, which are incorporated into the object through conscious and unconscious choices. My thesis aims to unpack these messages by using different strategies of examination.
After the analysis the texts (chapter 1) I contextualize the imagery (chapter 2) of the plate: the outdoor banquet, the hunting scenes, and the rural landscape. My starting point is that the composition of the plate is abstract and referential rather than illustrative, so the focus falls on the images and the meanings represented by them, which convey certain symbolic values.
The analysis of the visual language of the plate shows that the iconography is not an ad-hoc depiction of a real picnic, hunt and villa estate but a carefully constructed iconography referring to good life and a locus amoenus, and they fit very closely into the domestic décor of
the age.
I aimed to demonstrate the importance of looking closely at objects and the potential of an integrated and contextual approach in the study of Late Roman silver and art in general, since the relationship between visual representations and written sources are highly complex and
one should not choose to analyse only one of them since both are fundamental in research, especially if we do not have the archaeological context in which the object was found.
Research Interests:
The study of Classical antiquity put researchers of the Eastern Bloc in a special cultural position after WW2. Due to the international nature of the classics, working in this field of study was not without dangers as researchers speaking... more
The study of Classical antiquity put researchers of the Eastern Bloc in a special cultural position after WW2. Due to the international nature of the classics, working in this field of study was not without dangers as researchers speaking unknown living and dead languages came under suspicion of the state administration that wanted to control the entirety of culture.
What does the Classical tradition mean in the time of state socialism? How did a county museum lead by an archaeology professor with a bow tie and his wife, also a renowned archaeologist, maintain and display this tradition? How did the Gorsium Archaeological Park become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hungary under the communist era? In my presentations, I am looking for an answer to these questions by investigating the archaeological exhibitions (Roman, Celtic, Classical) of King Stephen Museum in Székesfehérvár between 1949-1989. I am proposing questions concerning archaeology and the politics of remembrance, popular science and exhibition policy, antiquity and propaganda, socialism and aesthetics. When discussing these exhibitions, I will take the following aspects into consideration:
1. reconstructing the genesis of the exhibition
2. evaluating the archaeological aspects of the exhibition
3. analysing the methodology of the exhibition
4. reviewing the press of the exhibition
The main questions I identified are the following:
1. How did the museum become an internationally renowned archaeological centre that organised the Limes Conference in 1976, or the exhibition and conference titled Eastern Celts in 1974?
2. What effects did the Sovietisation of Hungarian archaeology have on the archaeological research of Roman Pannonia and how did the whole process work in everyday practice? Did Marx,
Engels, and Stalin have any real impact on the study of Roman archaeology after WW2 in Hungary?
Uncovering the details of this story, which is unique and general at the same time, is representative of the four decades of Roman archaeology in Hungary after 1945.
Pallag Zoltán, Interjú Nagy Mihály római koros régésszel Múzeum:Café 52, 10, 2016:2, pp. 228-241; 262 Mihály Nagy speaks not only about what it was like to be a Roman era archaeologist in the country’s largest museum, the Hungarian... more
Pallag Zoltán, Interjú Nagy Mihály római koros régésszel
Múzeum:Café 52, 10, 2016:2, pp. 228-241; 262
Mihály Nagy speaks not only about what it was like to be a Roman era archaeologist in the country’s largest museum, the Hungarian National Museum, but also about how he took part in authentication of the Sevso treasure.
Research Interests:
The practice of late Roman convivium represented in mosaics, paintings and on silver plates served as a vehicle for aristocrats to display their wealth, power, and status. In my paper I examine this way of élite self-representation taking... more
The practice of late Roman convivium represented in mosaics, paintings and on silver plates served as a vehicle for aristocrats to display their wealth, power, and status. In my paper I examine this way of élite self-representation taking a close look at a distinct form of communal dining, the open-air banquet imagery, which is often referred to as ‘hunting party scenes’ or ‘picnic scenes’.
In the Late Antiquity the role of communal feasts increased in parallel with the growing importance of Roman provincial aristocrats due to the decline of central government. The greater political power of the upper class needed to be displayed in the decor of the reception rooms, the audience chambers, and the dining halls. Villa architecture became a part of identity representation with these specialised rooms and installations for open-air dining, such as the semicircular couch known as stibadium or sigma.
Hunting party scenes appearing on silver plates (Cesena plate, Sevso Hunting Plate) and mosaics (e.g. Piazza Armerina, Tellaro) follow an easily recognizable iconography with a stibadium, a hanging canopy, as well as trees, servants, and beasts. Feeding and entertaining guests and clients offers an opportunity for the dominus to express his luxurious lifestyle not only with lavish and exotic food and drink, but with the richly decorated mosaic pediments or the quality of the vessels, too. This expression of luxury is rooted in the autocratic nature of late antique society. Through archaeological and art historical analysis, the paper explores the social context of the outdoor dining in the fourth century AD.
1938-ban Giovanni Becatti egy mészkő reliefet talált az ostiai Hercules-templom keleti frontjának térségében. A reliefet az ásató a Kr.e. 1. század első harmadára keltezte, két felirat olvasható rajta: „C·FULVIUS·SALVIS·HARUSPEXS·D·D” és... more
1938-ban Giovanni Becatti egy mészkő reliefet talált az ostiai Hercules-templom keleti frontjának térségében. A reliefet az ásató a Kr.e. 1. század első harmadára keltezte, két felirat olvasható rajta: „C·FULVIUS·SALVIS·HARUSPEXS·D·D” és „ORT·H”. Széles körben elfogadott, hogy a kő három narratív zónára osztható és jobbról balra olvasható. Az első jelenet hat halászt ábrázol, amint egy életnagyságúnál nagyobb bronzszobrot emelnek ki a tengerből. A kutatás a legutóbbi időkig elfogadta Becatti megállapítását, miszerint a szobor egy késő archaikus Héraklés szobor, amelynek vízbe kerülése talán Sulla, esetleg Marcus, vagy Pompeius ostiai tevékenységéhez köthető. 2010-ben D.R. Boin az American Journal of Archaeologyban közölt tanulmányában megkérdőjelezte az ostiai Hercules-kultusz létezését, ezáltal H. Bloch 1945-ben közölt elméletét a „pogány újjászületésről” is, amely szerint Rómában a 4. század utolsó éveiben még egyszer utoljára népszerű lett az antik istenek kultusza a kereszténységgel szemben. Ahhoz hogy elméletét bizonyítani tudja, C. Fulvius Salvis reliefjét is újra kellett értelmeznie. Boin szerint a kövön látható szoborábrázolás nem Herculesszel, hanem Vulcanusszal azonos.
Dolgozatomban e képmotívum korai történetét próbálom meg felfejteni. Összegyűjtöm, és egyenként megvizsgálom a szobortípus darabjait. Célom, hogy – amennyire ez egyáltalán lehetséges – meghatározzam a típus időrendjét és földrajzi elterjedését, remélve, hogy választ kapok legfőbb kérdésemre: milyen szobrot ábrázol valójában az ostiai relief? Egy késő archaikus Héraklést? Vulcanust? Esetleg egy archaizáló késő hellenisztikus szobrot?
Akár archaikus, akár archaizáló szoborról van szó, az ostiai relief ábrázolása az adott típus egyetlen nagyszobrászati bizonyítéka.
Az ókori kultúrák kutatása sajátos kulturális pozíciót jelentett művelői számára a kelet-középeurópai régióban a második világháború után. Azt hogy a téma (Classics and Communism) túlmutat a tudománytörténet keretein, az utóbbi években... more
Az ókori kultúrák kutatása sajátos kulturális pozíciót jelentett művelői számára a kelet-középeurópai régióban a második világháború után. Azt hogy a téma (Classics and Communism) túlmutat a tudománytörténet keretein, az utóbbi években megélénkülni látszó nemzetközi érdeklődés is jelzi: workshopok, konferenciák és könyvek dolgozzák fel az ókortudomány vasfüggöny mögötti történetét. Mit jelentett a klasszikus hagyomány Magyarországon az államszocializmus idején? Hogyan ápolta és mutatta be ezt a hagyományt egy vidéki múzeumban egy csokornyakkendős régészprofesszor és a felesége? Többek között ezekre a kérdésekre keresek választ a székesfehérvári Szent István Király Múzeum 1949–1989 közötti régészeti,¬ azon belül is főleg az ókori (római kori, kelta, antik, kora-népvándorlás kori) ¬kiállításait vizsgálva. A téma gerincét a múzeumot a tárgyalt időszakban vezető Fitz Jenő és F. Petres Éva ókortörténész-régész házaspár - az 1947-ben az országot elhagyó Alföldi András utolsó tanítványai - irányítása alatt megvalósult régészeti kiállítások több szempontú vizsgálata adja. Számomra a fő kérdés az, hogy milyen lehetőségei, nehézségei, feladatai voltak az államszocializmusban a római kor kutatásának (tágabb értelemben az ókortudománynak és a régészetnek) egy vidéki múzeumban. Hogyan vált nemzetközi jelentőségű tudományos-kulturális központtá ez az intézmény? Miképpen tudott élni a lehetőségeivel, miképpen volt képes megteremteni ezeket? Szükségesek voltak-e, és ha igen, miféle alkuk e tudományterület, vagyis a római kori provinciális régészet műveléséhez Rákosi, Kádár és Grósz Károly országában? Hogyan fogadta a múzeum törekvéseit a nagyközönség és a szakma. Röviden: hogyan tette virágzó központtá a múzeumot Fitz Jenő és F. Petres Éva?
The study of Classical antiquity put researchers of the Eastern Bloc in a special cultural position after WW2. Due to the international nature of the classics, working in this field of study was not without dangers as researchers speaking... more
The study of Classical antiquity put researchers of the Eastern Bloc in a special cultural position after WW2. Due to the international nature of the classics, working in this field of study was not without dangers as researchers speaking unknown living and dead languages came under suspicion of the state administration that wanted to control the entirety of culture.
What does the Classical tradition mean in the time of state socialism? How did a county museum lead by an archaeology professor with a bow tie and his wife, also a renowned archaeologist, maintain and display this tradition? How did the Gorsium Archaeological Park become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hungary under the communist era? In my presentations, I am looking for an answer to these questions by investigating the archaeological exhibitions (Roman, Celtic, Classical) of King Stephen Museum in Székesfehérvár between 1949-1989. I am proposing questions concerning archaeology and the politics of remembrance, popular science and exhibition policy, antiquity and propaganda, socialism and aesthetics. When discussing these exhibitions, I will take the following aspects into consideration:
1. reconstructing the genesis of the exhibition
2. evaluating the archaeological aspects of the exhibition
3. analysing the methodology of the exhibition
4. reviewing the press of the exhibition
The main questions I identified are the following:
1. How did the museum become an internationally renowned archaeological centre that organised the Limes Conference in 1976, or the exhibition and conference titled Eastern Celts in 1974?
2. What effects did the Sovietisation of Hungarian archaeology have on the archaeological research of Roman Pannonia and how did the whole process work in everyday practice? Did Marx,
Engels, and Stalin have any real impact on the study of Roman archaeology after WW2 in Hungary?
Uncovering the details of this story, which is unique and general at the same time, is representative of the four decades of Roman archaeology in Hungary after 1945.
In 1938 Giovanni Becatti found a travertine relief in Ostia near the eastern front of the temple of Hercules. This is a votive relief dating from the first third of the 1st century BC with inscriptions reading... more
In 1938 Giovanni Becatti found a travertine relief in Ostia near the eastern front of the temple of Hercules. This is a votive relief dating from the first third of the 1st century BC with inscriptions reading „C·FULVIUS·SALVIS·HARUSPEXS·D·D” and „ORT·H”. It is widely accepted that the relief can be divided into three narrative scenes, the first one depicting a larger than life bronze statue netted from the sea by fishermen. The statue belongs to the 6th century BC iconographic type of „Herakles Promachos”. I try to determine – as much as it is possible – the chronology and the geographical occurrence of this picture motive in the hope of a better understanding of the art historical and maritime context of this unique artifact. It is unique because it can provide answers to a series of questions from the late Archaic Period to Late Antiquity, Late Archaic bronze sculpture workshops in Greece, the impact of Greek art on Roman art, the history of the cult of Hercules in Ostia, the iconography of Herakles Promachos, the question of the „Pagan Revival”, as well as the presence of Greek sculptures in Ostia etc. Recently D.R. Boin suggested that the statue pictured on the relief cannot be Hercules but the god Vulcan. He attempted to question not only the presence of the Hercules cult in Ostia but also the late fourth century „pagan revival” which was described by H. Bloch as early as in 1945. Does the archaeological evidence really support Boin’s suggestion? And how did the statue get to Ostia? I try to interpret the relief in a Mediterranean perspective.
Lencsés József a székesfehérvári múzeum munkatársa, lelke volt 1929-től haláláig, 1994-ig.
The study of classical antiquity put researchers of the Eastern Bloc in a special cultural position after WW2. Due to the international nature of the classics, working in this field of study was not without dangers as researchers speaking... more
The study of classical antiquity put researchers of the Eastern Bloc in a special cultural position after WW2. Due to the international nature of the classics, working in this field of study was not without dangers as researchers speaking unknown living and dead languages came under suspicion of the state administration that wanted to control the entirety of culture. What does the classical tradition mean in the time of state socialism? How did a county museum lead by an archaeology professor with a bow tie and his wife, also a renowned archaeologist, maintain and display this tradition? How did the Gorsium Archaeological Park become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hungary under the Communist era? In my presentations, I am looking for an answer to these questions by investigating the archaeological exhibitions (Roman, Celtic, Classical) of King Stephen Museum in Székesfehérvár between 1949-1989. Uncovering the details of this story, which is unique and general at the same time, is representative of the four decades of Roman archaeology in Hungary after 1945.
Az azonos című kiállítás (Székesfehérvár, 2015 június 6. - október 31.) katalógusa.
Árgus was a Hungarian periodical of literature, literary studies and cultural studies between 1990 and 2009. This volume contains thematic essays on ruins and the aesthetic of ruins.
Árgus was a Hungarian periodical of literature, literary studies and cultural studies between 1990 and 2009.
Árgus was a Hungarian periodical of literature, literary studies and cultural studies between 1990 and 2009. This volume contains thematic essays on topics of museology, collecting, postcolonialism and museum studies.
Árgus was a Hungarian periodical of literature, literary studies and cultural studies between 1990 and 2009.
Research Interests:
Szántó András: A múzeum jövője - 28 beszélgetés (recenzió)
Tamáska Máté - Szolnoki József (szerk.): Kockaház. A 20. század vidéki háztípusa (recenzió)
Visy Zsolt – Mráv Zsolt (szerk.): A Seuso-kincs és Pannonia / The Sevso Treasure and Pannonia.
Frazon Zsófia: Múzeum és kiállítás. Az újrarajzolás terei.
Ébli Gábor: Az antropologizált múzeum. Közgyűjtemények átalakulása az ezredfordulón.
A retrospective interview with István Vásáry in the journal of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
A retrospective interview with Peter B. Golden.
Survey on the study of the early Hungarian history. Questions and answers with Gábor Ágoston, János Bak, Gusztáv Bayerle, Ken Dark, Wladyslaw Duczko, Peter B. Golden, Peter Jackson, György Kara, Zoltán Kosztolnyik, Christian Lübke, Else... more
Survey on the study of the early Hungarian history. Questions and answers with Gábor Ágoston, János Bak, Gusztáv Bayerle, Ken Dark, Wladyslaw Duczko, Peter B. Golden, Peter Jackson, György Kara, Zoltán Kosztolnyik, Christian Lübke, Else Roesdahl, Antti Ruotsala, Uli Schamiloglu, Denis Sinor, Anne Stalsberg, Heiko Steuer.
A retrospective interview with Denis Sinor in the journal of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.