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The materiality of magic / edited by Dietrich Boschung and Jan N. Bremmer.

Contributor(s): Boschung, Dietrich [editor.] | Bremmer, Jan N [editor.]Material type: TextTextSeries: Morphomata ; 20.Publisher: Paderborn : Wilhelm Fink, [2015]Description: 422 pages, 15 pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cmContent type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9783770557257; 3770557255Subject(s): Magic, Ancient -- Cross-cultural studies | Magic -- Cross-cultural studies | Amulets | TalismansDDC classification: 301 LOC classification: GN475.3 | .M38 2015
Contents:
The materiality of textual amulets in ancient Egypt / Jacco Dieleman -- Monstrous figurines from Mesopotamia : textuality, spatiality and materiality in rituals and incantations for the protection of houses in first-millennium As̆s̆ur / Laura Feldt -- From the magician's workshop : notes on the materiality of Greek curse tablets / Jaime Curbera -- A "voodoo doll" from Keos in Berlin's Antikensammlung / Jaime Curbera and Sergio Giannobile -- Appendix to A "voodoo doll" from Keos in Berlin's Antikensammlung / Jochen Vogl and Martin Rosner -- From substances to texts : three materialities of "magic" in the Roman Imperial Period / Richard L. Gordon -- Probaskania : amulets and magic in antiquity / Véronique Dasen -- Engineering ancient amulets : magical gems of the Roman imperial period / Árpád M. Nagy -- From books with magic to magical books in ancient Greece and Rome? / Jan N. Bremmer -- The interplay between image and text : on Greek amulets containing Christian elements from late antique Egypt / Jitse Dijkstra -- The curse inscriptions and the Materia magica of the Anna-Perenna-Nymphaeum at Rome / Jürgen Blänsdorf -- More lucky wearers : the magic of portable inscriptions / Annewies Van Den Hoek, Denis Feissel, John J. Herrmann, Jr. -- Magical material & material survivals : amulets, talismans, and mirrors in early modern Europe / Peter J. Forshaw -- The material culture of post-medieval domestic magic in Europe : evidence, comparisons, and interpretations / Owen Davies.
Summary: "In the last two decades we have had many books and proceedings of conferences on the history, formulas and incantations of magic in antiquity, both in East and West, but this is the first book of its kind that focuses on the material aspects of magic, such as gems, rings, drawings, grimoires, amulets and figurines. In recent years scholars have focused not only on the discourse and practices of magic in antiquity, but also on its practitioners, literary stereotypes and historical shifts. Much less attention, however, has been paid to the material that was used by the magicians for their curses and incantations. Yet there is no magic without materiality. The practice of magic required a specialist expertise that knew how to handle material such as lead, gold, stones, papyrus, figurines or voodoo dolls. That is why we present new insights on the materiality of magic by studying both the materials used for magic as well as the books in which the expertise was preserved"-- Publisher.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Books Books The BIAA David H. French Library
Shelf 37 - Main Room 		G1b BOSCH 31162 Not for loan BOOKS-000000026969

Includes bibliographical references.

The materiality of textual amulets in ancient Egypt / Jacco Dieleman -- Monstrous figurines from Mesopotamia : textuality, spatiality and materiality in rituals and incantations for the protection of houses in first-millennium As̆s̆ur / Laura Feldt -- From the magician's workshop : notes on the materiality of Greek curse tablets / Jaime Curbera -- A "voodoo doll" from Keos in Berlin's Antikensammlung / Jaime Curbera and Sergio Giannobile -- Appendix to A "voodoo doll" from Keos in Berlin's Antikensammlung / Jochen Vogl and Martin Rosner -- From substances to texts : three materialities of "magic" in the Roman Imperial Period / Richard L. Gordon -- Probaskania : amulets and magic in antiquity / Véronique Dasen -- Engineering ancient amulets : magical gems of the Roman imperial period / Árpád M. Nagy -- From books with magic to magical books in ancient Greece and Rome? / Jan N. Bremmer -- The interplay between image and text : on Greek amulets containing Christian elements from late antique Egypt / Jitse Dijkstra -- The curse inscriptions and the Materia magica of the Anna-Perenna-Nymphaeum at Rome / Jürgen Blänsdorf -- More lucky wearers : the magic of portable inscriptions / Annewies Van Den Hoek, Denis Feissel, John J. Herrmann, Jr. -- Magical material & material survivals : amulets, talismans, and mirrors in early modern Europe / Peter J. Forshaw -- The material culture of post-medieval domestic magic in Europe : evidence, comparisons, and interpretations / Owen Davies.

"In the last two decades we have had many books and proceedings of conferences on the history, formulas and incantations of magic in antiquity, both in East and West, but this is the first book of its kind that focuses on the material aspects of magic, such as gems, rings, drawings, grimoires, amulets and figurines. In recent years scholars have focused not only on the discourse and practices of magic in antiquity, but also on its practitioners, literary stereotypes and historical shifts. Much less attention, however, has been paid to the material that was used by the magicians for their curses and incantations. Yet there is no magic without materiality. The practice of magic required a specialist expertise that knew how to handle material such as lead, gold, stones, papyrus, figurines or voodoo dolls. That is why we present new insights on the materiality of magic by studying both the materials used for magic as well as the books in which the expertise was preserved"-- Publisher.