Loading ...Workshop in the History of Material Texts
Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/24/2025
12:00 am
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https://pennmaterialtexts.org/
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On February 24, 2025 at 5:15 PM, Georgios Boudalis (Museum of Byzantine Culture, Greece) will present: “Books in Late Antiquity: Their Making, Depiction, and Interpretation.”
This presentation will explore the codex book formats used in late antiquity, focusing primarily on wax tablet codices and multi-quire codices, as well as their depiction in the art of the time. Through the analysis of iconographic and archaeological evidence, we will examine the distinct characteristics of these codices and consider how wax tablet codices may have influenced the development of multi-quire codices. Lastly, I will argue that the way books are depicted and how we interpret these representations are influenced by our knowledge of books—both contemporary and historical. A limited understanding of how books were made and used can result in misinterpretations or overinterpretations of these artistic depictions.