The Waiting-Servant Motif in a Late Antique Textile in Chicago
Iconography, Visuality, and Materiality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21974844 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katharine A Raff (Art Institute of Chicago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 64 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-14 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Arts (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2076-0752 • E-ISSN: 2076-0752 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/arts11030064 |
| OpenAlex | W4282943356 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
This article explores the use and adaptation of the iconographic motif of the waiting servant, known primarily from late Roman wall paintings, mosaics, and other media, within the sphere of Late Antique furnishing textiles. Taking as a case study a fifth- to sixth-century CE hanging in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, the first section argues that the addition of elaborate, multihued architectural settings and floral motifs in this hanging and several comparable examples built upon the existing waiting-servant iconography offer an enhanced message of “the good life” within the household. Such compositional elements were rooted in earlier Greek and Roman artistic traditions, namely architectural polychromy and the visual interplay between artifice and reality. However, they also exemplify the Late Antique “jeweled style”, an aesthetic characterized by dazzling visual and polychromatic effects and an interest in artistic mimicry of other media. Striking visual parallels between the waiting-servant hangings and contemporary painted interiors suggest that textiles were considered on par with permanent media and operated in a system of cross-media artistic exchange. The article concludes with a consideration of the materiality of the Chicago hanging and its potential functions within a Late Antique residence, exploring how its portability as a woven object encouraged its flexible use within the home and allowed it to convey and even amplify particular messages through its juxtaposition with other objects, architecture, or people
Aesthetics · Antique · Archaeology · Art · Clothing · Iconography · Literature · Painting · Parallels · Servant · Visual arts · Visual culture · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Architecture
Objects in Context, Objects in Use
Dining in a Classical Context
Late Antique Art
The gardens of Pompeii, Herculaneum and the villas destroyed by Vesuvius
The Luscious Locks of Lust
Silk
Optical Games and Spiritual Frames. A Reassessment of Imitation-Marble Mosaics in Late Antique North Africa
The Material Life of Roman Slaves
Roman Slavery and Roman Material Culture
Gallo-Roman Bronzes and the Process of Romanization
Convivial spaces
Tetrarchische Wandmalereien in Ephesos
Draping, Wrapping, Hanging
Reflection, Ritual, and Memory in the Late Roman Painted Hypogea at Sardis
The Waiting Servant in Later Roman Art
Transfigurations of Hellenism
Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum
The Esquiline Treasure
| Highly cited | No |
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