Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods
<p>This thesis is the first major piece of research in the last 30 years to focus specifically on gilded wreaths. It is the result of close study of some 170 wreaths in Greece and Southern Italy, dating to the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. This allowed the wreaths to be classified...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2019
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| _version_ | 1797108967419150336 |
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| author | Jeffreys, RA |
| author2 | Stamatopoulou, M |
| author_facet | Stamatopoulou, M Jeffreys, RA |
| author_sort | Jeffreys, RA |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>This thesis is the first major piece of research in the last 30 years to focus specifically on gilded wreaths. It is the result of close study of some 170 wreaths in Greece and Southern Italy, dating to the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. This allowed the wreaths to be classified into seven main types, the earliest of which were found in Macedonia in Northern Greece. Wreaths of a different design, making more use of clay and less of copper, are also presented, which are mainly from central and southern Greece. The wreaths from Southern Italy make a useful contrast, similar in many ways to the material in Greece, but with some resemblance to earlier items from Italy such as wreath-diadems. The materials used to make the wreaths have been analysed with hand-held XRF and, in some instances, a Scanning Electron Microscope; the results are presented here for the first time. Very little analytical work has been done before on gilded wreaths, which made use of a range of materials including copper, gold and clay. Most of the wreaths are in fragments and not on view in the museums, and so are described in some detail, with illustrations, in the catalogue. The wreaths raise intriguing questions as to why they were buried in graves but appear not to have been used in sanctuaries. They are found with males and females, young and old - did they have some sort of apotropaic function, or did they mark the status of the individual? Could they have marked various stages in life (rites de passage), such as adolescence, marriage, giving birth and death? Gilded wreaths are found often in multiples in Macedonia, sometimes with solid gold wreaths, raising further questions as to why the deceased and their families felt it necessary for them to be buried with more than one wreath. Did the wreaths have a religious significance, or were the relatives simply seeking to show their wealth in consigning this valuable material to the grave? Is it possible to tell whether their use was solely funerary, or could they have been worn also by the living? Some answers to these many questions are put forward. </p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:35:23Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:be6394a9-518b-43a4-a836-f1e84e50bf87 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:35:23Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:be6394a9-518b-43a4-a836-f1e84e50bf872023-03-02T08:32:51ZGilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periodsThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:be6394a9-518b-43a4-a836-f1e84e50bf87Classical Greek archaeologyGilded wreathsEnglishHyrax Deposit2019Jeffreys, RAStamatopoulou, MDoherty, CMannack, TIgnatiadou, D<p>This thesis is the first major piece of research in the last 30 years to focus specifically on gilded wreaths. It is the result of close study of some 170 wreaths in Greece and Southern Italy, dating to the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. This allowed the wreaths to be classified into seven main types, the earliest of which were found in Macedonia in Northern Greece. Wreaths of a different design, making more use of clay and less of copper, are also presented, which are mainly from central and southern Greece. The wreaths from Southern Italy make a useful contrast, similar in many ways to the material in Greece, but with some resemblance to earlier items from Italy such as wreath-diadems. The materials used to make the wreaths have been analysed with hand-held XRF and, in some instances, a Scanning Electron Microscope; the results are presented here for the first time. Very little analytical work has been done before on gilded wreaths, which made use of a range of materials including copper, gold and clay. Most of the wreaths are in fragments and not on view in the museums, and so are described in some detail, with illustrations, in the catalogue. The wreaths raise intriguing questions as to why they were buried in graves but appear not to have been used in sanctuaries. They are found with males and females, young and old - did they have some sort of apotropaic function, or did they mark the status of the individual? Could they have marked various stages in life (rites de passage), such as adolescence, marriage, giving birth and death? Gilded wreaths are found often in multiples in Macedonia, sometimes with solid gold wreaths, raising further questions as to why the deceased and their families felt it necessary for them to be buried with more than one wreath. Did the wreaths have a religious significance, or were the relatives simply seeking to show their wealth in consigning this valuable material to the grave? Is it possible to tell whether their use was solely funerary, or could they have been worn also by the living? Some answers to these many questions are put forward. </p> |
| spellingShingle | Classical Greek archaeology Gilded wreaths Jeffreys, RA Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods |
| title | Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods |
| title_full | Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods |
| title_fullStr | Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods |
| title_short | Gilded wreaths of the late Classical and Hellenistic periods |
| title_sort | gilded wreaths of the late classical and hellenistic periods |
| topic | Classical Greek archaeology Gilded wreaths |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeffreysra gildedwreathsofthelateclassicalandhellenisticperiods |