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Carving Light and Body
Studies in Alabaster Meaning(s)
Series: - Studies in Art & Materiality, Volume: 9
Author:
Translator:
Carving Light and Body investigates the mechanisms by which artistic materials generate meaning. Following alabaster across cultures and epochs, Aleksandra LipiÅska traces its journey from the quarry to the artistâs workshop, and examines its roles and functions in the realms of art, natural philosophy, theology, poetry, and diplomacy. By exploring alabasterâs qualities and the associations these have invited, she reveals its materiality as an agent that shapes the creation, perception, and significance of artworks. At the same time, she demonstrates that many of the notions traditionally connected with alabaster have been cultural projections, often created independently of its physical properties or natural characteristics.
Aleksandra LipiÅska, PhD (2003), Habilitation (2021), University of Cologne, is Deputy Professor of Early Modern Art History. She has published monographs, edited volumes, and numerous articles on early modern European sculpture, the materiality of art, and Central and Eastern European art history.
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
Introduction
â1âMaterial as Taxonomic Criterion
â2âFear of Materiality
â3âThe Heyday of Alabaster
â4âTowards an Integrative Approach
1 Calcium Sulphate and Calcium Carbonate: Alabaster as Mineral
â1âGypsum Alabaster
â2âCalcite Alabaster
2 Unfinished Marble and Friendship Maker: Alabaster as Object of Study of Natural Historians and Early Encyclopaedists
â1âName
â2âWhat Came First: City, Vessel, or Stone?
â3âStone of the Goddess Bastet
â4âWhite Stone
â5âStone of Victory
â6âThe Place of Alabaster in Stone Classifications
â7âChristian Appropriation
â8âEarly Modern Revision
â9âThe Return of the Question of Nomenclature: Alabaster versus Marble
â10âLocation of Deposits and Their Characteristics
â11âMedicine and Magic
3 Matter in Transformation: Alabaster as Art Material
â1âStudies on Alabaster Carving Techniques
â2âWorking in Calcite Alabaster
â3âWorsking in Gypsum Alabaster
â4âAlabaster as Painting Support
4 Broken Vessel and Sanctified Body: Alabaster as Sacred Stone
â1âA Glowing Core under a Rough Shell
â2âA Vessel Filled with Meanings
â3âThe Alabaster Bodies of Saints
â4âAlabaster Bodies of Artefacts
â5âFaux-albâtre?
â6âThe Body of Sculpture
â7âPietra incarnata
5 Chaste Bodies and Tempting Flesh: Alabaster as the Female Body
â1âChaste Bodies
â2âIdeal Poetic Bodies
â3âWhitewashing with Alabaster
â4âTempting Flesh
â5âRevisiting Alabaster Bodies
6 Glowing Stones and Light Chambers: Alabaster as Space Maker
â1âOriental mirabilia
â2âAlabaster Windows
â3âLoci amoeni
â4âRevisiting Glowing Windows and Alabaster Chambers
7 Gift of God: Alabaster as a Source of Income and Prestige
â1âJulius of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, the âEconomicâ Duke
â2âAlabaster in Central and Eastern Europe in the Later Sixteenth Century
â3âExploitation of the Natural Resources in the Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
â4âMaterial as a Medium of Inter-court Communication: Business and Auto-promotion
â5âA Silesian Excursus
â6âBetween Court and City: Business and Religious Denominations
Conclusion: the Rhetoric of Alabaster
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
Introduction
â1âMaterial as Taxonomic Criterion
â2âFear of Materiality
â3âThe Heyday of Alabaster
â4âTowards an Integrative Approach
1 Calcium Sulphate and Calcium Carbonate: Alabaster as Mineral
â1âGypsum Alabaster
â2âCalcite Alabaster
2 Unfinished Marble and Friendship Maker: Alabaster as Object of Study of Natural Historians and Early Encyclopaedists
â1âName
â2âWhat Came First: City, Vessel, or Stone?
â3âStone of the Goddess Bastet
â4âWhite Stone
â5âStone of Victory
â6âThe Place of Alabaster in Stone Classifications
â7âChristian Appropriation
â8âEarly Modern Revision
â9âThe Return of the Question of Nomenclature: Alabaster versus Marble
â10âLocation of Deposits and Their Characteristics
â11âMedicine and Magic
3 Matter in Transformation: Alabaster as Art Material
â1âStudies on Alabaster Carving Techniques
â2âWorking in Calcite Alabaster
â3âWorsking in Gypsum Alabaster
â4âAlabaster as Painting Support
4 Broken Vessel and Sanctified Body: Alabaster as Sacred Stone
â1âA Glowing Core under a Rough Shell
â2âA Vessel Filled with Meanings
â3âThe Alabaster Bodies of Saints
â4âAlabaster Bodies of Artefacts
â5âFaux-albâtre?
â6âThe Body of Sculpture
â7âPietra incarnata
5 Chaste Bodies and Tempting Flesh: Alabaster as the Female Body
â1âChaste Bodies
â2âIdeal Poetic Bodies
â3âWhitewashing with Alabaster
â4âTempting Flesh
â5âRevisiting Alabaster Bodies
6 Glowing Stones and Light Chambers: Alabaster as Space Maker
â1âOriental mirabilia
â2âAlabaster Windows
â3âLoci amoeni
â4âRevisiting Glowing Windows and Alabaster Chambers
7 Gift of God: Alabaster as a Source of Income and Prestige
â1âJulius of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, the âEconomicâ Duke
â2âAlabaster in Central and Eastern Europe in the Later Sixteenth Century
â3âExploitation of the Natural Resources in the Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
â4âMaterial as a Medium of Inter-court Communication: Business and Auto-promotion
â5âA Silesian Excursus
â6âBetween Court and City: Business and Religious Denominations
Conclusion: the Rhetoric of Alabaster
Bibliography
Index
Potential readers are academic institutes, libraries of art history, technical art history, literary studies, theology, history of science, including graduate and post-graduate students interested in artistic materials, object studies, gender studies. Keywords: Gypsum alabaster, calcite alabaster, alabaster, marble, sculpture, material culture, material meaning, materiality, gender studies, material agency, theological meaning, religious art, art diplomacy, sculpting techniques, painting techniques, history of science, theology, literary studies, alabaster statuettes, alabaster windows, alabaster sculpture, painting on stone, whitewashing, art genderisation, art genderization, representation through art.