If you know me well, you've probably heard my rant at least once about how much I resent the pejorative connotations of the term "Byzantine." Don't people know? Byzantium was awesome. So of course I couldn't stay away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's current exhibit, "Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition," especially after this intriguing review.
My academic interest in Byzantium runs more towards the early side of the Empire, closer to what could be called "Late Antiquity," so I was excited to see a stronger representation of objects from the 6th c. AD. And there were some really amazing artifacts from parts of the world that I may never visit: delicate silks, precious chalices, and my personal favorite, purple-dyed parchment written on with gold ink! I even spotted a few papyri from the University of Michigan collection, which made me feel right at home. =)
But beyond offering the eye candy, the show provided a lot of food for thought about Christian subcultures. Think of how many Christian subcultures exist today in the United States – e.g., liberal WASPs, black Pentecostals, prosperous white evangelicals, rural and poor white evangelicals, Irish/Italian Catholics, Korean Presbyterians, Latino Catholics, etc. etc. And this is just in the development of one "culture" over the past three hundred years! Now imagine that you have seven hundred years to work with, and a geographic spread that encompasses North Africa and Egypt, Greece, Turkey, AND the Near East. The proliferation of Christian identities in that period was so fascinating – important doctrinal issues were still being hammered out in various councils, and the cultural contact with Judaism and Islam was intense. Even though most Christians in America have inherited church traditions based more fully in the West, it's pretty exciting to think about how broad and diverse the Church has always been.
My academic interest in Byzantium runs more towards the early side of the Empire, closer to what could be called "Late Antiquity," so I was excited to see a stronger representation of objects from the 6th c. AD. And there were some really amazing artifacts from parts of the world that I may never visit: delicate silks, precious chalices, and my personal favorite, purple-dyed parchment written on with gold ink! I even spotted a few papyri from the University of Michigan collection, which made me feel right at home. =)
But beyond offering the eye candy, the show provided a lot of food for thought about Christian subcultures. Think of how many Christian subcultures exist today in the United States – e.g., liberal WASPs, black Pentecostals, prosperous white evangelicals, rural and poor white evangelicals, Irish/Italian Catholics, Korean Presbyterians, Latino Catholics, etc. etc. And this is just in the development of one "culture" over the past three hundred years! Now imagine that you have seven hundred years to work with, and a geographic spread that encompasses North Africa and Egypt, Greece, Turkey, AND the Near East. The proliferation of Christian identities in that period was so fascinating – important doctrinal issues were still being hammered out in various councils, and the cultural contact with Judaism and Islam was intense. Even though most Christians in America have inherited church traditions based more fully in the West, it's pretty exciting to think about how broad and diverse the Church has always been.
Why is your favorite the purple parchment? Is it the gold? ;)
ReplyDeleteHm, what a positive view on Cheistian subcultures.
love this -- isn't it interesting that some museum collections can represent something "well" and others fall flat? what do you think made this collection especially thought provoking? is it just a matter of having the right objects appropriately placed? or was the description in some way illuminating/thought provoking as well?
ReplyDeleteone positive trend that i've noticed in the exhibition of artifacts related to the ancient world is a greater attention to the full spectrum of daily life. so there will be a room about the elite, showcasing luxury items, but also rooms about trade (where i saw some Michigan papyri!) or architecture or coins or textiles, etc. etc. and i find that trying to imagine how the intersections between these various spheres worked is most thought-provoking!
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