The problem of totality
Collecting Greek art, wonders and luxury in Pliny the Elder's Natural History
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9397640 |
|---|---|
| Authors | S Warren Carey (corresponding author), S Carey |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-13 |
| Publication date | 2000-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the History of Collections (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0954-6650 • E-ISSN: 1477-8564 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jhc/12.1.1 |
| OpenAlex | W2126976201 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
This article explores the theme of collecting in Pliny the Elder's Natural . It suggests that within Pliny's own written collection, the collections of Greek art and foreign wonders which dominate book 36, embody not only Roman greatness but also, paradoxically, the luxury which the author blames for a Roman moral decline. Further, the collections encapsulate precisely the problem that overshadows Pliny's work as a whole - that the very creation of an inventory of Roman greatness, inevitably includes the cause of Rome's decline - luxuria . Part one examines the close link that Pliny sets up between the collections of Greek statues and foreign wonders in Rome, and Roman conquest. Part two focuses on the presence of luxuria in this catalogue of Roman possessions. The final section investigates how collecting, as it is presented in book 36, functions as a metonym for Pliny's wider encyclopaedic enterprise, mirroring the paradox that governs his work as a whole
Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · CONQUEST · Greatness · Literature · Mirroring · Natural (archaeology · Section (typography · Sociology · Theme (computing · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Computer Science · Historical and Literary Studies · History · Organic Chemistry Synthesis Methods
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.38 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2025 (21) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |