| Popis: |
Despite art historians’ inclination to expand the narrative of the Near East into the Graeco-Roman period, there is no published survey of the art and archaeology of the classical Near East. Likewise, handbooks of classical and general art history underrepresent the Levant. This chapter explores that lacuna through three canonical examples from the Levant, which are typically represented in these handbooks, and one canon-worthy example that is not. It addresses contributing factors to this lacuna: the dynamic politics of the Graeco-Roman Levant, disciplinary and historiographic biases, and the nature of the evidence. Finally, it exhorts specialists to publish a classical Near East survey representing the full range of sites, architecture, monuments, media, and styles from 330 BCE to 636 CE. Without such a handbook, material culture from the region is rarely interpreted within its historical, political, and artistic contexts and is more often (mis)represented in the broader narrative of world art history. |
