The Long Life of Magical Objects
A Study in the Solomonic Tradition
Seiten
2021
Pennsylvania State University Press (Verlag)
978-0-271-08367-4 (ISBN)
Pennsylvania State University Press (Verlag)
978-0-271-08367-4 (ISBN)
Examines a series of powerful artifacts traditionally associated with King Solomon, largely via extra-canonical textual sources--Solomon’s ring, bottles to contain evil forces, the so-called Solomon’s knot, a shamir, and a flying carpet--and traces their varying cultural resonances.
This book explores a series of powerful artifacts associated with King Solomon via legendary or extracanonical textual sources. Tracing their cultural resonance throughout history, art historian Allegra Iafrate delivers exciting insights into these objects and interrogates the ways in which magic manifests itself at a material level.
Each chapter focuses on a different Solomonic object: a ring used to control demons; a mysterious set of bottles that constrain evil forces; an endless knot or seal with similar properties; the shamir, known for its supernatural ability to cut through stone; and a flying carpet that can bring the sitter anywhere he desires. Taken together, these chapters constitute a study on the reception of the figure of Solomon, but they are also cultural biographies of these magical objects and their inherent aesthetic, morphological, and technical qualities.
Thought-provoking and engaging, Iafrate’s study shows how ancient magic artifacts live on in our imagination, in items such as Sauron’s ring of power, Aladdin’s lamp, and the magic carpet. It will appeal to historians of art, religion, folklore, and literature.
This book explores a series of powerful artifacts associated with King Solomon via legendary or extracanonical textual sources. Tracing their cultural resonance throughout history, art historian Allegra Iafrate delivers exciting insights into these objects and interrogates the ways in which magic manifests itself at a material level.
Each chapter focuses on a different Solomonic object: a ring used to control demons; a mysterious set of bottles that constrain evil forces; an endless knot or seal with similar properties; the shamir, known for its supernatural ability to cut through stone; and a flying carpet that can bring the sitter anywhere he desires. Taken together, these chapters constitute a study on the reception of the figure of Solomon, but they are also cultural biographies of these magical objects and their inherent aesthetic, morphological, and technical qualities.
Thought-provoking and engaging, Iafrate’s study shows how ancient magic artifacts live on in our imagination, in items such as Sauron’s ring of power, Aladdin’s lamp, and the magic carpet. It will appeal to historians of art, religion, folklore, and literature.
Allegra Iafrate is the author of The Wandering Throne of Solomon: Objects and Tales of Kingship in the Medieval Mediterranean.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Solomon’s Cabinet of Curiosities: Objects from an Uncanonical Collection
1. Magical Objects and Where to Find Them
2. The Signet Ring
3. Bottles for the Demons
4. Much Ado About Knotting
5. The Metamorphic Shamir
6. Carpets and Other Flying Devices
Conclusion: “Of the Cosmopolitan Destiny of Magical Objects”
Notes
Bibliography
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 10.05.2021 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Magic in History |
| Zusatzinfo | 19 Halftones, black and white |
| Verlagsort | University Park |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 156 x 235 mm |
| Gewicht | 454 g |
| Themenwelt | Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Kunstgeschichte / Kunststile |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Weitere Religionen | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-271-08367-0 / 0271083670 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-271-08367-4 / 9780271083674 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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