The Aegean and the East : an investigation into the exchange of artistic motifs between the Aegean, Egypt, and the Near East in the Bronze Age
Creators: name: Crowley, Janice L
Publisher: name: University Of Tasmania
Year: 2023

description: The aim of this thesis is to investigate the artistic phenomenon that, in the Bronze Age, many motifs were used in common by the arts of the Aegean, Egypt, and the Near East, in order to come to a conclusion as to whether this common usage can be attributed to indigenous creation in each separate area or whether it is due to crossfertilisation of the artistic traditions. The thesis is presented in two volumes, VOLUME I TEXT and VOLUME II PLATES. The text volume contains a list of abbreviations, the text arranged in four sections, Introduction, Part I The Motifs, Pant II The Artistic Issues, and Conclusion, a bibliography and chronological table. The plate volume contains the plates and plate list, a concordance of sites and plates, a concordance of motifs in Aegean glyptic, and a set of maps. The plate volume is considered integral to the thesis as being the true record of the primary source material. In VOLUME I TEXT the Intnoduction states the aim of the thesis, outlines the chronological stand taken, defines the principal artistic terms used, and defends the methodology of iconographical analysis. Part I The Motifs discusses over fifty motifs covering a wide variety of subjects, heraldic and religious symbols, floral and linear designs, the human figure, and general themes like war and the hunt. With the help of a precise terminology these motifs are studied individually having regard to their early traditions, their subsequent modifications, and to the variations acceptable in different areas. Part II The Artistic Issues opens with a discussion of the problems that arise from the above detailed survey of motifs, the most important one being the question of possible transference of motifs from one artistic tradition to another. On the basis of the correspondence of iconographical detail it is argued that twelve motifs transfer from the eastern traditions to Aegean art and that two motifs transfer from the Aegean to the East. The iconography also suggests the likelihood of the transference of smaller motifs and artistic details out of large scale compositions. The result of these transferences is the establishment in the Late Bronze Age of an International Repertoire of motifs drawn upon by the artists of many lands, Aegean and eastern. Part II goes on to assess the extent to which the foreign motif is assimilated into the indigenous tradition. Two levels of penetration are distinguished, an initial level, the Intrusive Element, and a deeper level, the Incorporated Element, where the exotic motif is assimilated into the local style. Part II further argues that some pieces fall into a special category for which the recently coined phrase International Style is accepted, and after classifying some special examples, it examines the means by which the motif transferences may have been effected. Part II concludes with a discussion on the acceptance or rejection of particular motifs by Minoan and Mycenaean art. The Conclusion provides a summary of the results of this investigation of artistic motifs, and assesses the contribution of this thesis to scholarship in the fields of ancient art and art history.