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Beyond "Volute Capitals" : Materials, Meaning, and Adaptations of a Phoenician Motif

Faegersten, Fanni LU orcid and López-Ruiz, Carolina (2023) In Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 11(2-3). p.229-255
Abstract
The stylized volute motif is attested throughout the Levant and in areas of Phoenician settlement or cultural influence. Much of the debate of this motif has focused on the volute’s appearance in Israelite monumental architecture (the so-called Proto-Aeolic capital). This article provides a fresh discussion of the motif’s depiction within Phoenician art and iconography through various media, including ivory and sculpture. The architectural versions in stone derive from a much larger repertoire in portable media and in wood, which included inlaying techniques and color patterns not easily transferable into stone. This essay stresses the symbolic meaning of the volute motif and its adaptability by other Mediterranean cultures, from Israel... (More)
The stylized volute motif is attested throughout the Levant and in areas of Phoenician settlement or cultural influence. Much of the debate of this motif has focused on the volute’s appearance in Israelite monumental architecture (the so-called Proto-Aeolic capital). This article provides a fresh discussion of the motif’s depiction within Phoenician art and iconography through various media, including ivory and sculpture. The architectural versions in stone derive from a much larger repertoire in portable media and in wood, which included inlaying techniques and color patterns not easily transferable into stone. This essay stresses the symbolic meaning of the volute motif and its adaptability by other Mediterranean cultures, from Israel and Cyprus to Iberia. The volute, moreover, has the quality of an otherworldly hybrid entity, strongly associated with hybrid creatures and other stylized vegetal motifs invoking eternal regeneration, which explains the use of the motif in funerary and sacred contexts. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies
volume
11
issue
2-3
pages
27 pages
publisher
Penn State University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85175143529
ISSN
2166-3548
DOI
10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0229
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b2b022b9-ac58-4391-b7d1-c5a900e576b1
alternative location
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/2/article/909073
date added to LUP
2023-10-18 20:41:52
date last changed
2023-12-14 11:22:09
@article{b2b022b9-ac58-4391-b7d1-c5a900e576b1,
  abstract     = {{The stylized volute motif is attested throughout the Levant and in areas of Phoenician settlement or cultural influence. Much of the debate of this motif has focused on the volute’s appearance in Israelite monumental architecture (the so-called Proto-Aeolic capital). This article provides a fresh discussion of the motif’s depiction within Phoenician art and iconography through various media, including ivory and sculpture. The architectural versions in stone derive from a much larger repertoire in portable media and in wood, which included inlaying techniques and color patterns not easily transferable into stone. This essay stresses the symbolic meaning of the volute motif and its adaptability by other Mediterranean cultures, from Israel and Cyprus to Iberia. The volute, moreover, has the quality of an otherworldly hybrid entity, strongly associated with hybrid creatures and other stylized vegetal motifs invoking eternal regeneration, which explains the use of the motif in funerary and sacred contexts.}},
  author       = {{Faegersten, Fanni and López-Ruiz, Carolina}},
  issn         = {{2166-3548}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{2-3}},
  pages        = {{229--255}},
  publisher    = {{Penn State University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies}},
  title        = {{Beyond "Volute Capitals" : Materials, Meaning, and Adaptations of a Phoenician Motif}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/162307282/Beyond_Volute_Capitals.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.11.2-3.0229}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}