An iconographic exploration of the “rattlesnake” gorgets of eastern Tennessee

ABSTRACT

Compared to other gorget styles and themes made during the Mississippian period, the so-called rattlesnake gorgets of eastern Tennessee have been found in fairly large numbers. Stylistically, Muller assigned these gorgets to the temporally related Lick Creek and Citico styles, while Crawford’s recent work has argued for substyles within. While their style has been studied extensively, the idea that these gorgets depict rattlesnakes generally has been accepted without further consideration. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic iconographic study of rattlesnake gorgets. Ultimately, we conclude that the image’s original referent is not just a snake but instead is intended to be a model of the cosmos at night.     

榆林25窟一佛八菩萨图研究

在吐蕃统治敦煌时期所开凿的洞窟中,榆林25窟是相对较特殊的一个,窟内南北两壁的观无量寿经变与弥勒经变延续了盛唐洞窟中经变画的构图、风格,而正壁残存的一佛八菩萨图在造像样式上与窟内其他图像则有一定的差别。从正壁残存的主尊、菩萨名号题记中可以发现,唐代不空译《八大菩萨曼荼罗经》能够与之相对应,但是该经对八大菩萨身形的描述与榆林25窟的图像有一定差别。此图像与藏经洞中的部分绢画具有类似的风格特征,其中一部分有藏文题记,表明它们与居住在敦煌的吐蕃信众有密切的关系,而藏经洞中发现的藏文抄写的《八大菩萨曼拏罗经》可以证明此地的吐蕃信众确实信奉这一经典。一佛八菩萨的图像在吐蕃本土拉萨及青海地区屡有发现,其中西藏昌都与青海玉树的两处摩崖石刻由高僧益西央开凿,年代均在九世纪初,这些遗迹说明一佛八菩萨图像在吐蕃本土的流传情况。在这几处图像与榆林25窟的一佛八菩萨的比较中可以发现,吐蕃流行的八大菩萨图样并不十分固定,但其构图和风格是基本接近的,而榆林25窟所采用的图像可能来源于吐蕃地区。     

Distinguishing different types of early 17th-century Dutch Jacht and Ship through multivariate morphometric analysis of contemporary maritime art

In research to reconstruct the design of a small Dutch vessel of c . 1600, morphometric analysis of ship iconography proved very useful. Both uni-variate and multi-variate modes of statistical analysis, as used in this research, are described and discussed. Four classifications of three-masted, square-rigged Dutch sailing vessels—ships, jachts, large jachts and small jachts—were shown to be clearly distinguished types in the multi-variate data space.     

Une collection de statuettes de prisonniers au musée national de San'â'

This paper deals with a collection of nineteen bronze statuettes that take the shape of a small plate from which only legs, arms and head protrude in relief. The main interest of this corpus lies in the fact that these pieces of work, of a kind generally used to portray dedicants, present a new iconographic theme. Indeed, eighteen of them show shackled figures, probably prisoners. A comparative study suggests that this corpus may be interpreted as a set of small statuettes offered in thanksgiving, dating from the end of the first millennium BC and the beginning of the Christian era.     

Re-Inventing Mississippian Tradition at Etowah,Georgia

Frequent population movement and political re-organization spurred a pattern of repeated abandonment at the Mississippian mound center of Etowah in the southeastern United States. These processes also characterized the larger surrounding region in north Georgia and southeast Tennessee. The Etowah abandonments provided inflection points where interest groups were able to distance themselves from previous conventions of structure and reformulate new forms of sociopolitical organization. Re-invented traditions were embedded in changing definitions of genealogical and mythical time, and mediated through the built environment and iconography.     

Anthropomorphic Wooden Figures from the Trans-urals

Anthropomorphic wooden figures found in peat-bogs east of the Urals are described. Their archaeological context, chronology, and stylistics are analyzed. The Uralian specimens are compared with those from Western and Eastern Europe. The possible meaning of these representations is reconstructed on the basis of Ob Ugrian rituals and mythology.     

Seamen on Land? A Preliminary Analysis of Medieval Ship Graffiti on Cyprus

This article reports on the results of a research project entitled ‘KARAVOI. The Ship Graffiti on the Medieval Monuments of Cyprus: Mapping, Documentation and Digitisation’, during which 233 ship graffiti were recorded in 44 different monuments on the island, dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Innovative recording techniques have been used to mitigate the effects of the subjective or partial recording of graffiti lines on tracing paper. Apart from the study of ship graffiti as iconographic sources, particular emphasis has been given to their geographical and social context through a comprehensive analysis of the graffiti types and their spatial distribution in the monuments as well as the monuments location on the island.     

Connecting Things through the Visual Arts: Medieval Crescent Moon Pendants as Horse Ornaments

Medieval archaeology as a discipline is usually defined in relation to written sources and history, while other kinds of sources and scholarly traditions studying the same period are overlooked. With a small group of 14th-century crescent moon pendants of bronze from Finland as its focal point, the present article analyses the way in which archaeology connects with the visual arts and the discipline specialized in studying them, art history. Instead of some shared methodology, the inquiry proceeds along the tensions between the material and the visual. After the artefact and its technical qualities are examined in the framework of medieval material culture, the object is reduced, first, to an iconographical motif and, second, into a represented object. Third, the anthropomorphic features applied on the pendant are extracted and considered against the body of medieval grotesque art. This reveals how the visual is also an effective force in the sphere of material culture and human interaction. In the interdisciplinary work between archaeology and art history, the visual and the material emerge as travelling concepts destabilizing traditional approaches and inspiring new insights.     

Varied visions: an iconographic reevaluation of Ramey Incised production and distribution in the American Bottom,Illinois

ABSTRACT

Ramey Incised ceramics, characterized by incised symbolic motifs, are often viewed as a hallmark of Stirling-phase Cahokia and the surrounding American Bottom region. However, few comprehensive analyses of the regional Ramey motif assemblage have been conducted. Here I evaluate spatial and temporal variation in Ramey Incised motifs across 16 sites in the American Bottom to improve understandings of Ramey Incised production and distribution. Stirling-phase motif data indicate that the Ramey Incised manufacturing process likely was not as centralized as previously proposed. A qualitative analysis of the regional motif assemblage uncovers variation that may reflect stylistic experimentation. Additionally, motif frequency distributions reveal potential site-specific thematic preferences. Both findings support the existence of local production within the region. Diachronic data suggest the collapse of the Ramey Incised tradition in the Moorehead phase, perhaps in response to sociopolitical and religious transitions occurring at Cahokia. Overall, Ramey Incised ceramics may have served as vehicles through which American Bottom Mississippians variably expressed their interpretations of and relationships to the cosmos.     

A FRESH LOOK AT A LITTLE-KNOWN SOUTHEASTERN COPPER PLATE

Abstract

Chauga (38OC47) is a mound site now under Lake Hartwell at the head of the Savannah River in Oconee County, South Carolina. Excavations in 1958–1959 by the University of Georgia recovered a Mississippian copper plate. Upon comparison to others of its kind, it is clear that this lesser-known plate encompasses some interesting design features, most notably the presence of the only known depiction of a chunkey stone on copper. We have recently created a more accurate representation of its design. The plate appears to portray many similarities to depictions of Birdman dancers: kilted dancers and dancing elders within the “Stack” style. Birdman themes are common in Mississippian iconography. Given the importance that copper plates have for interpreting Mississippian art and belief systems, this updated examination provides useful new information for researchers studying Mississippian iconography.