GLAZE · The use of glazing traditions to examine the dynamics of interaction between cultures in contact: A case study of Cypriot glazed wares from the 11th to 17th centuries AD

The use of glazing traditions to examine the dynamics of interaction between cultures in contact: A case study of Cypriot glazed wares from the 11th to 17th centuries AD

Glazed ceramics are an integral component of material culture connecting the Mediterranean since the medieval times, with their production technology being considered as the hallmark of craftsmanship. A few studies have brought to light that glaze technology was susceptible to, and thus reflective of, the occurrence of cultural interactions, citing the spread of tin-opacified glaze through the Arab conquest as an example. However, these observations were built on the characterisations of technology of glazed ceramics of the highest quality, while overlooking the technology of glazed ceramics intended for local circulation and consumption, even though these are the ones that made up the vast majority of our archaeological record. Against this background, GLAZE sought to test the suitability of using glaze technology to highlight the transfer or exchange of technical knowledge, which served as a proxy to examine the dynamics of cultural interactions. We selected the case of the Cypriot glazed wares production during the 11th to 17th centuries CE to test this hypothesis. Very little is known about the local glaze technology in Cyprus, even though production took place continuously from the late medieval through to the modern times. Throughout this period, Cyprus was a melting pot of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, arising from constant shift of power and frequent competitions among the Byzantines, Latin powers and Ottomans. With this in mind, one may ask whether or not frequent episodes of cultural contacts stimulated changes in local technologies? If so, what were the processes that drove the technological change? GLAZE has two key research questions, which embody the following objectives: 1. What were the range of glaze technologies characteristic of different local productions in Cyprus during the 12th to 16th centuries CE? - Formulate a systematic and comparative framework to study glaze production - Characterise the recipes for ceramic body, slip/ paint, and glaze - Identify the method and order glaze application - Determine the sources of raw materials 2. To what extent did the interaction among different cultural and political entities stimulate technology transfer in glaze technology? - Establish the potential connections among different local technologies and between them and broader medieval and post-medieval glaze traditions - Delineate the mechanisms responsible for the exchange or transfer of technical knowledge - Infer to the socio-historical contexts under which such exchange occurred

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз