Skip to main content

The Medieval World

 The Medieval World

Karen Kramer HAA198G


The Medieval World was connected through networks of trade and exchange that criss-crossed the African continent and extended across Europe and through Asia; Mesoamerican civilizations had active long-distance exchange networks and huge markets across Mexico and as far south as Panama. These merchants carried goods, ideas, and people in boats, by foot, and on animals. Religions spread, such as Buddhism from India to China, as seen in this Standing Boddhisattva figure, and proliferated, as evidenced in this exquisitely carved Virgin and Child which demonstrated access to wealth and the divine. 


Luxury items like jade were highly sought after by Mayan rulers, as it symbolized, in part, precious falling rain, new life, and rejuvenation. Feathers, cacao, and honey were prestige items traded across Mesoamerica. Likewise, some of the most finely made objects used in the liturgical service of the church in the Medieval period in Europe used elephant ivory procured from Africa. The famed Silk Road in the Middle East and Asia was reopened during the Middle Ages, and traders also sailed across the Indian Ocean. Trade across the Mediterranean also occurred, connecting ports in Europe to Arab World, for spices, perfumes, leather goods, animal skins, jewels, and silk.



Tower Shaped Casket Box, 12th century

Italian

Ivory plaques mounted on oak, with gilt bronze fittings

28 x 22.5 x 22.5 cm (11 x 8 7/8 x 8 7/8 in.)

height with handle: 29.5 cm (11 5/8 in.)

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Alpheus Hyatt Purchasing Fund, 1931 [Cat. No. 1931.52]


Box with lid ajar; detail of box



The Virgin and Child, about 1325-1350

Ile-de-France, France

French artist

Ivory

10 1/4 x 3 5/16 x 13/16 inches

Ernesta (Mrs. Louis) Stern. [Arnold Seligmann, Rey & Co., Inc.], sold; to the 

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Francis H. Burr Memorial Fund [1931.33]


Standing Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin Pusa) with Circular Halo, 581 - 618 A.D., Sui dynasty

China

Limestone with traces of gilding and polychrome pigment

62 3/16 x 13 1/2 x 13 inches

Weight: 530 pounds

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop [1943.53.43]



Deity Figure, 3th-6th Century

Mayan artist, Copan, Honduras

Jade

 4 1/4 x 2 1/2 x 15/16 inches

Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 [1979.206.1069]


Late Medieval Land & Maritime Trade Routes

Classic period trade routes, Mayan civilization

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

17th-19th centuries

17th-19th centuries Karen Kramer HAA198G Thomas Lawrence, English (Bristol, England 1769 - 1830 London, England) Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan (1776–1845), 1810 35 x 27 1/4 inches frame: 46 1/8 x 38 1/4 x 4 inches Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of William M. Chadbourne, 1964 [1964.100] This is a portrait of Mirza Abu’l Hasan Khan (1776–1845), the ‘Envoy Extraordinary’ who was dispatched by Fath Ali Shah of Persia to the Court of King George III. He arrived in London in 1809 and stayed about 18 months, becoming one of London’s most prominent celebrities. There as ambassador and official diplomat from the Qajar court, he had several goals, including generating British interest in the Persian silk trade, which had declined internationally since the 1720s. Ḥasan’s mission was also to secure the help of England in making Russia return the occupied Iran territories in the Caucasus.  He was witty and amiable by all accounts, but it was his exotic foreignness that so fascinated people ...
Post a Comment
Read more
Repatriation, Repositioning, Reengagement Karen Kramer Stewardship of objects entrusted to a museum’s care requires careful, sound, and responsible management. Collection management requires legal compliance in the United States through the federal 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, as well as concomitant social and ethical obligations for objects that fall outside of legal bounds, within the United States and across the globe. Some museums are contending with the legacies of colonialism through careful and considered self-reflection, recognizing that the repatriation of objects isn’t solely about returning culturally sensitive and/or illegally obtained objects. It’s also about knowledge repatriation, building relationships and the opportunities for collaborative projects, and how to maintain these ongoing relationships.   The 2018 Overview of Repatriation Report by Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy, commissioned by the French President Emmanuel Macron, ce...
Post a Comment
Read more