Antiquarianism

Abstract
In the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece, is a heretofore unknown large-format volume that contains many extra illustrations, original drawings, and proofs of plates for The Arabian Antiquities of Spain by James Cavanah Murphy (1760–1814). Based on research conducted between 1802 and 1809, The Arabian Antiquities of Spain features engravings of major monuments of Hispano-Islamic architecture, including the Alhambra, the Great Mosque at Cordoba, and the Generalife at Granada; the work was published posthumously in 1816. Since the Gennadius volume also includes sketches of Islamic monuments from Malaga, Seville, and Xeres, it appears that Murphy originally intended to publish a complete survey of Hispano-Islamic monuments in southern Spain. In the Gennadius volume, grangerized drawings are placed opposite published engravings for comparative purposes; the drawings include notes written by Murphy to the engravers, and several are hand-tinted, which reveal Murphy’s interest in polychromy. This article presents the newly discovered drawings in the Gennadius volume, which adds to our understanding of the monuments depicted in the published plates of Arabian Antiquities, and serves to position Murphy’s pioneering efforts in the context of architectural scholarship, chromolithography, and the book trade in the early nineteenth century.

ABSTRACT: This book chapter considers the interest in Etruscan engraved gems and jewellery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, from the scholarly and collecting activities of Philipp von Stosch, Anton Francesco Gori and others in Florence in the heyday of the Etruscan Revival, to the complete re-systematization of the Etruscan glyptic material by Adolf Furtwängler at the turn of the century 1900. It also discusses the interesting cultural phenomenon of the dactyliothecae (gem cast cabinets), amateur and commercial serial-production of gem impressions and gem casts in various materials, and the re-use and imitation of Etruscan gems and goldwork in the so-called “archaeological jewellery” produced by the Castellani and other workshops.

Abstract - Roma Triumphans by Biondo Flavio represents the first treatise offering a systematic investigation of the religious, civic and political institutions of ancient Rome, evaluating data from a historical-comparative viewpoint. Observations on the religious structures of ancient Rome show Biondo’s original aptitude for noticing some specific aspects of Roman Paganism, civic meaning of some of its rituals and values, their evolution and influence on Christian ceremonies. reflecting nonetheless a critical position on Paganism and his profoundly Christian perspective influenced by Eusebius of Caesarea and Augustin. Key words: Biondo Flavio, Pagan Rome, religious institutions, critical position on Paganism, Eusebius of Caesarea
Key words: Biondo Flavio, Pagan Rome, religious institutions, critical position on Paganism, Eusebius of Caesarea - Augustin. ---

Sintesi - La Roma Triumphans di Biondo Flavio costituisce il primo trattato che offre una ricognizione sistematica delle istituzioni religiose, civili e politiche dell’antica Roma, valutando i dati dal punto di vista storico-comparativo. Le osservazioni sulle strutture religiose dell’antica Roma mostrano l’inclinazione originale di Biondo nel rilevare alcuni aspetti specifici del Paganesimo romano pur riflettendo una posizione critica nei riguardi del Paganesimo e la sua prospettiva strettamente cristiana, influenzata da Eusebio di Cesarea e Agostino.
Biondo Flavio, Roma pagana, istituzioni religiose, posizione critica nei riguardi del paganesimo, Eusebio di Cesarea - Agostino

The paper focuses on the interpretation of Roman Italy and its geographical borders in the Early Modern period, with particular attention to its rebirth in Biondo Flavio’s work - Key words: Italia romana, historical borders, regiones, Augustus, Pliny the Younger, Decretum Rubiconis, Alpine districts, Augusta Praetoria,  tropaeum Alpium, La Turbie, Aquileia, Histria, river Formio,  Tridentum.

No full title for the historical-linguistic compendium of Sextus Pompeius Festus can be found in his manuscript tradition, because the first half of the Codex Farnesianus, the only organic witness of this work, has been missing since it was discovered in 1457. Festus’ text was an abridged version of De verborum significatu, the extensive treatise of Verrius Flaccus, and was subsequently abridged during the early Middle Ages by Paul the Deacon in an epitome known as De verborum significatione. These two titles and the lack of a reliable formulation for Festus’ work brought about variations in the head titles used throughout its entire editorial history. This phenomenon began to emerge during the Renaissance, when some scholars appear not only to have perceived semantic differences between Paul’s epitome and the Codex Farnesianus, but also attempted to represent these in the title. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons behind the different Renaissance titles for Festus, which could offer an interesting overview on how this author was perceived in the history of Classical tradition.

Popular writers on London's past, rather more than archaeologists, have been reluctant to dismiss the idea of a pre-Roman town. It is a vision that has haunted London's historians from the beginning. To 19th-century archaeologists it was a 'lake-village': writers in the Middle Ages envisaged instead the fine palaces and lofty towers of 'New
Troy'.

J.T. Irvine was clerk of works at Peterborough Cathedral during the restoration work of the 1880's. He was also an antiquarian and his attention to detail was outstanding illustrated by his collection of archaeological and architectural notes and drawings which have provided the opportunity for the re-interpretation of important archaeological remains. His work has shown that 19th century antiquarians not only add great value to the archaeological world but can also be an inspiration. Irvine was a forward thinker, a man before his time and his legacy can be seen in the wealth of accurate information that has been left behind for future generations

This thesis aims to restore Wood-Martin to his place in the story of the
development of archaeology in Ireland. Not for his contributions alone, but as an individual whose story intersects with events and movements taking place in Europe in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born amidst the ravages of the Great Famine, and educated in a post-Enlightenment Europe, Wood-Martin is representative of other landed men of his time. Situated within the story of Irish nationalism and the formation of twentieth-century Irish identity, he is part of the story of the formation of the Irish Republic. Integrated into a network of scientists and scholars engaged with understanding the origins of man and the formation of the world as they knew it, grappling with ideas of faith and man’s place in the universe, Wood-Martin exemplifies the individuals who worked to formalize and professionalize the sciences as independent disciplines.

Abstract

Many medieval manuscripts suffered from antiquarian zeal during the eighteenth-century revival of interest in medieval art: enthusiasts often augmented their own albums and private collections by removing attractive illuminations from manuscript pages, leaving wounded books in their wake. Less familiar is the restorative work of their contemporaries, a small number of facsimilists who repaired such damage by providing replacement paintings and text to compensate the manuscripts for their loss. A rediscovered manuscript in the British Library (Additional MS. 6894) contains some of the earliest known evidence of  manuscript restoration, carried out c. 1792 by Eliza Dennis Denyer. A reconstruction of her biography and work as a restorer reveals a considerable portfolio, focused predominantly on the early printed books that made up the majority of her father’s collection. Attention to two of her most extensive campaigns along with accompanying documentation sheds new light on contemporary attitudes to medieval and early modern objects and suggests that there is a history of conservation practices extending back to the eighteenth century which remains to be written.

Tom Duggett’s Gothic Romanticism is a compellingly ambitious study of the pursuit of a purer and better gothic in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century England. Focusing on Wordsworth and the Lake Poets’ attempt to refine a coarser, more sensational gothic as set forth in the novels of Radcliffe and Scott and in antiquarian curiosities, Duggett weaves sustained analysis of their poetry with thoughtful commentary on medieval architectural imagery and history, the turn to conservative politics, and educational reform. This multileveled investigation demonstrates in engaging prose the centrality of a cultivated rhetoric of a gothic aesthetic in this period while provocatively suggesting its relevance to a post-9/11 era where architecture “has assumed an importance that seemed without precedent.” Gothic Romanticism goes far in detailing such a poetic, cultural, and historical precedent. - MLA

La présente contribution s’intéresse à un aspect mineur du Montfaucon antiquaire : Montfaucon numismate. Pour Nous disposons pour ce faire de trois ensembles documentaires, d’ampleur et d’intérêt variés. Il y a d’abord les observations publiées dans le Diarium italicum. Somme toute peu nombreuses, celles-ci jettent un éclairage souvent précis sur les intérêts numismatiques du jeune Montfaucon. Il y a ensuite bien sûr tout ce que l’on trouve dans L’antiquité expliquée elle-même. Enfin – et c’est sans doute le plus intéressant – il y a tout ce qui figure dans ses correspondances, par exemple celle entretenue avec le Liégeois Guillaume-Paschal de Crassier (1661-1751).
La diffusion sans pareille de L’Antiquité expliquée a profondément formaté les esprits des collectionneurs dans un sens alternatif aux médailles. Et cela d’autant plus que, comme l’a bien montré Krzysztof Pomian, c’est toute la sociologie des collectionneurs qui évolue au même moment. Pour le dire selon son heureuse formule : « L’Antiquité érudite est remplacée par l’Antiquité artistique » .
En réalité, l’action de Montfaucon aura été doublement préjudiciable au succès des monnaies antiques, car – avec ses Monuments de la monarchie française – il se fait le relais puissant d’un mouvement en marche : la fin du discrédit d’abord, l’engouement ensuite pour les antiquités nationales. Avec Montfaucon et à son exemple, on va se passionner pour les séries médiévales, reléguant à l’état de vieilleries les conjectures sur les monnaies grecques et romaines.
Le bon et doux Bernard de Montfaucon aura de la sorte – sans saillie ou querelle – profondément altéré le regard porté sur la médaille antique qui cesse de captiver l’esprit des grands. L’image de Louis XIV ne manquant pas de se faire expliquer tous les jours les médailles qu’il conservait auprès de sa chambre à coucher a vécu.

"Michael Shanks expands the perception of archaeology to include its penetrating role in modern society. In doing so he also proposes to expand its theoretical repretoire to deal with this new “imagined territory” by taking us back to the historical origins of archaeological thinking. It is a fascinating intellectual journey that will not leave you untouched." - Kristian Kristiansen, University of Gothenburg.

"Michael Shanks, with all his wit, charm and smarts, shows us how the world of contemporary object studies – art history, archaeology and anthropology – is the living heir to the long thought dead antiquarian tradition. With this Copernican Revolution many old warhorse categories fall away and new ways of thinking materiality come into clear focus." - Peter N. Miller, Dean, Bard Graduate Center:
Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture.

"This important book provides a much-needed critical perspective revealing the intellectual, historical and practical depths of archaeology’s embedded role within cultural production. Presenting archaeology as creative practice, Shanks frees the archaeological sensibility from its dependence on positivistic science to enjoy the riches of transdisciplinary creativity which it never should be denied. The Archaeological Imagination is a long overdue and potent source of inspiration for practitioners across the humanities, sciences and visual and material arts, reminding us that the past as narrative and image is a precious resource, but one that is renewable through well-intentioned, reflexive acts of creative mediation." - Ian Alden Russell, Curator, David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center, Brown University.

J. C. Buckler, Tackley's Inn and Three Mediaeval Houses in Oxford, J. Munby, published in Oxoniensia Vol. XLIII (1978), 123.
The demolition in 1872-3 of Nos. 108-12 High Street, Oxford revealed several important medieval features which were recorded by J. C. Buckler (1793-1894). They included the detached kitchen of Tackley's Inn, the hall and timber-framed front of the Swan Inn, which was built by Oriel College in 1469-72, and a 13th-century stone hall with blank arcading. These are described and illustrated from Buckler's material - and discussed with the aid of other topographical sources. The background to Buckler’s antiquarian interests is outlined.

The German scholar Barthold Nihusius, a famous convert om Lutheranism to Catholicism, wrote forty letters om Amsterdam, where he worked in Blaeu's printing office, to Athanasius Kircher in Rome. These reveal how Dutch collections of antiquities and related publications contributed substantially to Kircher's interest in Egypt. The view that the hieroglyphs expressed the original language in which God had spoken to Adam attracted him in particular. In addition, the exchange resulted in detailed images of Egyptian antiquities. The transfer of knowledge from the Middle East through the Low Countries to the Eternal City appears as an essential route in the rise of Egyptian studies as a new discipline.

Published in German as: McSweeney, Anna (2018) 'Monumente zum Mitnehmen: Lottin de Lavals Verfahren ambulanter Bauwerkskopien'. In: Bilderfahrzeuge: Aby Warburgs Vermächtnis und die Zukunft der Ikonologie. Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin, pp. 41-53. ISBN 9783803136756 . For the German version see: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/78541/

What makes a group photograph intelligible? Conceptualising an alternative to the Rieglian analyses of the correlation between power and composition in group portraiture, this article proposes a ritualistic approach to understanding the group photograph and its commemorative purpose. The proposal is raised through a case study of the photograph of Tohoro Duanfang (1861–1911) and an assembly of scholarly officials with the altar bronzes in his collection. Despite the uncertainty about its date and location, the photograph has been widely published in books on Chinese ancient bronzes and the culture of collecting. This article dates, decodes and contextualises this image within the imperial tradition of reinstating ancient bronzes in Confucius worship. It also discusses photography’s primacy in the late Qing antiquarian praxis of studying, cataloguing and displaying bronzes. This study demonstrates that the process of taking a group photograph consists of a composite ritualistic event in which a ‘pro- photographic’ event is imbricated with a ‘photographic event’. This imbricated flow of event and ritual may shed light on understandings of group photographs with an intelligibility that is not only visual, but also temporal.

The prehistoric monuments of southern Anglesey have been interpreted in various ways over the past three centuries, as an examination of the work of antiquarians, artists, landscape designers, and other contemporary commentators reveals. During the post-medieval period, the meanings of these monuments shifted, as perceptions of the pre-Roman era changed. As embodiments of the past, megalithic monuments were embraced by Welsh historians, antiquarians and artists, in the movement to formulate a Welsh national identity. Moreover, their incorporation into landscape gardens was indicative of the extent to which they captured the contemporary imagination. Local communities, meanwhile, reacted in differing ways to the megaliths, influenced concurrently by superstition and agrarian pragmatism.