• Pseudo-Arabic and the Material Culture of the First Crusade in Norman Italy: The Sanctuary Mosaic at San Nicola in Bari

    Author(s):
    Clare Vernon (see profile)
    Date:
    2018
    Group(s):
    Medieval Southern Italy
    Subject(s):
    Crusades, Islam, History, Middle Ages, Art, Medieval, Mediterranean Region, Area studies
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Bari, Mediterranean exchange, Norman Italy, Pseudo-Arabic, Islamic history, Medieval, Medieval art, Mediterranean studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6TX35586
    Abstract:
    Pseudo-Arabic is a form of ornament, derived from Arabic script, which appears in both Islamic and Christian contexts from the 10th century onwards. The city of Bari in south-east Italy, and its hinterland, boasts a number of examples of this motif. This article explores how pseudo-Arabic was employed in Bari and how the circulation of luxury objects in the medieval Mediterranean contributed to the dissemination of the motif. Bari’s most prominent church, the Basilica of San Nicola, contains a particularly inventive example of pseudo-Arabic in its apse mosaic, which can be dated to the decades following the First Crusade. This article explores the idea that booty from the crusade may have provided the inspiration for the pseudo-Arabic pavement.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    http://doi.org/10.16995/olh.252
    Publisher:
    Open Library of the Humanities
    Pub. Date:
    2018-6-25
    Journal:
    Open Library of Humanities
    Volume:
    4
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    1 - 43
    ISSN:
    2056-6700
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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