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Beyond Decoration: A Social Approach to Inclusion and Exclusion of Textile Motifs from LM IA LM IIIA1 Pottery

Tsikritea, Vasiliki
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1539080491763967

Abstract Details

2018, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Classics.
The use of visual media has always been central in the communication of messages of social, political, economic, and religious status. Inclusion and exclusion of certain forms from the vocabulary of certain media and from certain contexts can convey powerful messages to the viewers of these forms. This analysis focuses on aspects and choices of decoration in the Late Bronze Age Aegean, which indicate social status and convey political messages. More specifically, non-pictorial textile motifs occurring in the LM IA to the LM IIIA1 periods are examined, through preserved depictions on wall paintings, and the socially meaningful inclusion and exclusion of these textile motifs from contemporary pottery decoration of Akrotiri and Crete. This examination suggests that textile motifs are indicative of elite status, often religious. Elaborate textiles were luxurious goods, and as such they functioned as markers of participation in prestigious social, economic, and knowledge networks. It is shown that the textile motifs under examination are excluded from LM IA pottery, have a limited application on LM IB pottery, and are predominant in LM II and LM IIIA1 pottery. The exclusion of non-pictorial textile motifs from LM IA pottery is a meaningful choice and suggests that the elites do not consider pottery an effective medium to express their ideology. The limited inclusion of textile motifs on LM IB pottery of restricted circulation is equally meaningful. Pottery in this period is used to convey messages of elite ideology over a wide spatial distribution in Crete. The popularization of non-pictorial textile motifs by their extensive use on LM II and LM IIIA1 pottery signals a sharp break with the preexisting tradition. This shift constitutes part of a package of changes that are introduced in Crete in this period, in which the palace of Knossos plays a central role, and which are closely related to the new sociopolitical situation on the island of Crete. The popularization of certain textile motifs achieves the creation to non-elites of the impression of participation in elite culture, the feeling of a common Knossian identity among the population, and the elimination of the old elites, who used to consume these textile motifs exclusively. The examination of textile motifs shows that these motifs had an active role in social life and served as agents for the communication of social messages of inclusion and exclusion, and, thus, their function went beyond the decorative.
Eleni Hatzaki, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Jack Davis, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
210 p.
Archaeology
non-pictorial textile motifs; Minoan pottery decoration; inclusion exclusion popularization; Final Palatial elite; Aegean Late Bronze Age; wall paintings

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tsikritea, V. (2018). Beyond Decoration: A Social Approach to Inclusion and Exclusion of Textile Motifs from LM IA LM IIIA1 Pottery [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1539080491763967

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tsikritea, Vasiliki. Beyond Decoration: A Social Approach to Inclusion and Exclusion of Textile Motifs from LM IA LM IIIA1 Pottery. 2018. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1539080491763967.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tsikritea, Vasiliki. "Beyond Decoration: A Social Approach to Inclusion and Exclusion of Textile Motifs from LM IA LM IIIA1 Pottery." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1539080491763967

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1539080491763967
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.