This thesis presents an investigation into how geopolitical change and religious control are reflected in the composition of copper-alloy costume artefacts, recovered from Roman and early medieval... Show moreThis thesis presents an investigation into how geopolitical change and religious control are reflected in the composition of copper-alloy costume artefacts, recovered from Roman and early medieval contexts. It engages with the challenging topic of portable X-ray Florescence Spectrometry use in archaeology, especially as applied to corroded copper-alloy artefacts. The relevance is twofold. Firstly it helps us better understand the globalising effects of the Roman Empire on distant cultures and the emergence of the western economy after the end of antiquity. This is investigated by detecting changes in craft production, considered a proxy for understanding changes in past economies and societies. Secondly it advances a methodology for the study of copper-alloy objects. Subsequently the composition of Roman brooches from Germania Inferior, suggested a strong link between brass and Roman military production. This connection was also seen in other parts of the Roman world, suggesting a degree of centralisation or control. The earliest roman objects found in the Baltic States, far north of the Limes frontier, are also in this 'Roman' alloy. These objects had a lasting impact on the peoples of this region. They adopted and adapted them stylistically to suit their local preferences for centuries after they first appeared. Show less
The reader of books formed with handmade papers engages with a record that offers evidence of ecology, practice, maker, and craft. The persistence of handmade paper, and of books formed by handmade... Show moreThe reader of books formed with handmade papers engages with a record that offers evidence of ecology, practice, maker, and craft. The persistence of handmade paper, and of books formed by handmade papers, in an increasingly digital production environment is evidence of the continued valuation of these material narratives, and of paper itself as a text. This paper offers an artifactual discussion of handmade paper (within the context of functional books), placing emphasis on explicating its material narratives, evidential significance, and lastly, its function as a particular communicative form. An argument can be made that the continued presence of handmade paper, as craft, process, and object, is informed by an assignment of value to its material narratives, and the information and evidential elements that these express. Read archivally, these works are also valued for the material, craft, maker contexts that they can evoke. Show less
From the early days of tapestry weaving in Western Europe, production included tapestries of smaller dimension like cushions and bank covers. During the 14th and 15th centuries they often formed... Show moreFrom the early days of tapestry weaving in Western Europe, production included tapestries of smaller dimension like cushions and bank covers. During the 14th and 15th centuries they often formed part of a tapestry suite including bed- and wall-hangings. Seat furniture with tapestry coverings nailed to the frame appeared around 1550. In the 17th century furniture tapestries numbers increased further, especially in the Netherlands, comprising covers for cushions, beds, seat furniture, table carpets and chimney valances, and produced in the many local workshops. In France however, tapestries were then almost exclusively used as wall-hangings. Only circa 1700 did furniture tapestries become more popular there, and soon after 1750 French production knew its first hey-day, with important workshops situated in Paris, Beauvais and Aubusson. The economic crisis following the French revolution had severe repercussions for all tapestry manufactories. Shortly after Napoleon became Emperor, the former royal workshops of the Gobelins and Beauvais started weaving furniture tapestries for the imperial residences, which practice continued under subsequent regimes. Large scale production of furniture tapestries in the private looms of Aubusson flourished after 1860. Around the same time tapestry manufactories (re)opened in Belgium at Ingelmunster, Mechelen and Brussels. Throughout the centuries the popularity of furniture tapestry may have fluctuated, but its solidity and richness of materials, its iconography and aristocratic status were always appreciated Show less
