The Pastiche Past. Medieval Venice’s Displays of Cultural Heritage and the Myth of Victory Trophies

This article is a cultural and intellectual history of the display of reused artefacts in medieval Venice. It studies the phenomenon of creating visual arrangements infused with history and heritage through the juxtaposition of old (or seemingly old) artefacts in a new context, a pastiche of distinct parts. I argue that while scholarship has long viewed Venetian spolia through the lens of victory, triumph and loot, evidence that connects single artefacts to military victories—particularly the conquest of Constantinople in 1204—is scant. Instead of a triumphalist reading, I suggest that many Venetian spolia displays visually communicated Venice’s Roman / Byzantine heritage and the visual presence of that heritage in the city. I do this through singling out objects that show a notable interest in incorporating fragments of the past in an otherwise newly created environment. These pastiches demonstrate the desire to render the past palpable. The article focuses on three case studies: reused column capitals, the shrine in the crypt of San Marco and the Traditio legis relief. All of these combine old and new elements in creative ways, thereby engaging with the past through material culture

Byzantine architecture · CONQUEST · Cultural heritage · Mythology · Scholarship · Victory · Visual culture · Byzantine Studies and History · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · Renaissance and Early Modern Studies

• Sacred Plunder

  Open Access•Michael Angold•Renaissance Quarterly•2016

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