Ivories in Roman and Islamic Contexts
Roman Ivory – A Brief (Trans)Cultural Biography of a Luxurious Material
From the victories of Republican generals over Hellenistic kings in the East until the loss of Roman possessions in the Levant and North Africa during Late Antiquity, the rarity, creamy gleam and unparalleled usefulness for intricate carvings of ivory made it one of the foremost categories of imported luxuries in Roman society. This talk will briefly outline the status, use and supply of ivory in Rome over the centuries, but with a special focus on the sources of ivory at the time of its peak consumption during the High Empire, as well as some of the transcultural exchanges with South- and Central Asian polities and producers caused by this long-distance trade between East and West.
Kasper Grønlund Evers holds a PhD in Ancient History from Copenhagen University (2016) on the organization of long-distance trade between the Roman Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean in Antiquity, and has since continued to publish and research on various aspects of the topic.
From Trans-Saharan to Trans-Iberian: Early Islamic Ivory and Ivories
Objects carved in ivory, almost certainly acquired from West Africa, were a distinctive aspect of the Caliphal culture of tenth-century al-Andalus. Courtly and translucent, these objects were for the most part containers, which led Robert Hillenbrand to ask if they were “expensive wrapping paper”. Inscriptions often record the recipient, nearly always a member of the Caliphal family or inner circle. The functions of these pyxides and chests remain a matter of debate, but they may often have held aromatic substances within other containers, perhaps also wrapped in silk. Around the year 1000, the Amirid examples indicate a trend towards larger chests that continued in the taifa kingdom of Toledo. The flexibility of these ivories made them suitable for re-purposing in Christian contexts, especially for housing relics or holding incense. Their journeys between the courtly and ecclesiastical spheres are not documented and may be more complex than staightforward triumphal appropriation. Some Christian versions of the ivory chests were carved in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, along with other forms, including crosses and oliphants.
Dr. Rose Walker is an Honorary Research Fellow at The Courtauld Institute of Art, and from 2018 to 2022 held a Leverhulme Trust Emeritus Research Fellowship. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. She has published two books: Views of Transition. Liturgy and Illumination in Medieval Spain (British Library/Toronto, 1998) and Art in Spain and Portugal from the Romans to the Early Middle Ages: Routes and Myths (Amsterdam University Press, 2016), as well as a range of articles on manuscripts, sculpture, wall-paintings and the sumptuary arts. Her current project focuses on Romanesque art in Iberia c. 1110 to c. 1170.
