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50 Pages·1992·11.91 MB·English
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0 A 0 0 eili cal rch aeogst Perspectiveosn the AncienWt orldfr omM esopotamtioa the Mediterranean Vol.5 5 No. 1 March1 992 . . \ ? ? - jN 'li _ / 0 0 0 C . o0 ,?o0 0000 o oooo o\~q~1!I G (cid:127)I 4' ,,'// 0 0 AO? II 1XV i t/I AMERICAN SCHOOLS Biblical Archaeologist OF ORIENTALR ESEARCH Perspectiveso n the Ancient World ADMINISTRATIVOEF FICE from Mesopotamiat o the Mediterranean ASOR,3 301 NORTHC HARLESS TREET BALTIMOREM, D 21218 P.O . BOXH .M., DUKES TATION DURHAM,N C 27706 (919)6 84-3075 (410)5 16-3498 Biblical Archaeologist( ISSN0 006-0895)i s publishedq uarterly oo VOF 0,94/+ , (March,J une,S eptember,D ecember)b y ScholarsP ress,8 19 0 vk Houston Mill RoadN E, Atlanta,G A 30329, for the American lJ a 4 Schools of Oriental Research( ASOR). Subscriptions:A nnual subscriptionr ates are $35 for individuals and $45 for institutions. There is a special annual rateo f $28 for retirees.S ingle issues are $9 for individualsa nd $12 for institu- tions. In foreignc ountries, add $5 for annual subscriptionsa nd EricM . Meyers,P resident $2 for single issues. Orderss hould be sent to ASORM embership/ lames W.F lanaganF, irst Vice Presidentf or Publications SubscriberS ervices,P .O.B ox 15399,A tlanta,G A 30333-0399 WalterE . Rast, Second Vice Presidentf or ArchaeologicalP olicy Charles U. Harris,C hairmano f the Boardo f Tlustees (telephone:4 04-636-4757;B itnet SCHOLARS@ EMORYU1). RobertH . Johnston,V ice Chairmano f the Boatd of Trustees Postmaster:S end addressc hanges to Biblical Archaeologist, Paul F Jacobs,V ice Presidentf or the Corporation ASORM embership/SubscribeSre rvices,P .OB. ox 15399,A tlanta, LydieS hufro,V ice Presidentf or Development GA 30333-0399.S econd-classp ostagep aid at Atlanta,G A and GeorgeM . Landes,S ecretary additionalo ffices. RogerS . Boraas,A ssistant Secretary HKoaltdeG eno Gulidb,b Ass,T sihsteaansut rTeIre asurer Copyright? 1992b y the AmericanS chools of Oriental Research. RudolphH . Dornemann,A dministrativeD irector All rights reserved.N o portiono f this journalm ay be reproduced PamT hrnerA, dministrativeA ssistant by any processo r technique without the formalc onsent of the AmericanS chools of Oriental Researcha nd ScholarsP ress. ASORN ewsletter;V ictorH . Matthews,E ditor Authorizationt o photocopyi tems for personalo r internalu se is BiblicalA rchaeologist;E ricM . Meyers,E ditor grantedf or librariesa nd other users registeredw ith the Copy- Bulletin of the AmericanS chools of Oriental Research; right ClearanceC enter (CCC)T ransactionalR eportingS ervice, JamesW .F lanaganE, ditor providedt hat the copier pay the base fee of $1.00 per copy plus Journalo f CuneiformS tudies;W illiam L. Moran,E ditor $. 10 per paged irectly to CCC, 27 CongressS treet, Salem, MA 01970. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, W.F .A lbrightI nstitute of ArchaeologicalR esearch( AIAR) such as copyingf or generald istribution,f or advertisingo r P.O . Box 19096,9 1 190 JerusalemI, srael. promotionalp urposes,f or creatingn ew collective works,o r for SeymourG itin, Director resale.0 006-8095/$87$ 1.00 + .10 JoeD . Seger,P resident Carol Meyers,F irst Vice President Editor-in-Chief EricM . Meyers JoyU ngerleider-MayersonS,e cond Vice President; Associate Editor DavidC . Hopkins Acting BoardC hair Book ReviewE ditor lames C. Moyer SeniorE ditor ToddM cGee JohnS pencer,S ecretary-Theasurer Designer LauraH ughes BaghdadC ommittee for the BaghdadS chool EditorialC ommittee JerroldS . Cooper,C hairman WalterE . Aufrecht JoA nn Hackett JackS asson Near EasternS tudies EdwardF Campbell A. T. Kraabel Neil A. Silberman The JohnsH opkins University Douglas L. Esse Thomas E. Levy MarkS . Smith Baltimore,M D 21218 VolkmarF ritz P.K yleM cCarter StuartS winy LawrenceT . Geraty David W McCreery L. Michael White AmericanC enter of OrientalR esearch( ACOR) SeymourG itin Carol L. Meyers P.O. Box 2470, JebelA mman, Amman, Jordan. StephenG oranson S. Thomas Parker PierreB ikai,D irector JamesS auer,P resident Advertising:C orrespondences hould be addressedt o Dennis LawrenceT . Geraty,V ice President Fordo r SarahF oster,S cholarsP ress,P .O.B ox 15399,A tlanta, RogerS . Boraas,S ecretary GA 30333-0399( telephone:4 04-636-4757;f ax:4 04-636-8301). RandolphB .O ld, Theasurer Biblical Archaeologisti s not responsiblef or errorsi n copy pre- CyprusA mericanA rchaeologicalR esearchI nstitute (CAARI) paredb y the advertiserT. he editor reservest he right to refuse 11A ndreasD himitriou Street,N icosia 136,C yprus. any ad. Ads for the sale of antiquities will not be accepted. StuartS winy,D irector GiraudF oster,P resident EditorialC orrespondenceA: rticle proposals,m anuscriptsa nd LydieS hufro,V ice President editorialc orrespondences hould be sent to Biblical Archae- Ellen Herscher,S ecretary ologist, PO. BoxH .M., Duke Station, Durham,N C 27706. AndrewO liver,J r.,T easurer aUdndsroeliscsietded,s t mamanpuesdce rnivpetslom pues.F t boer eaicgcnoc monptarinbiuedtbo rys as h soelufl-d furnish internationalr eplyc oupons. ASORA ncient ManuscriptsC ommittee JamesC . VanderKamC, hairman Manuscriptsm ust conformt o the formatu sed in Biblical Departmento f Theology Archaeologist,w ith full bibliographicr eferencesa nda minimum Universityo f Notre Dame of endnotes. See recent issues fore xamples of the propers tyle. Notre Dame, IN 46556 Manuscriptsm ust also include appropriateil lustrationsa nd legends.A uthorsa re responsiblef or obtainingp ermissiont o DamascusC ommittee use illustrations. Michael J.F uller,C hairman AnthropologyD epartment Composition by LiberatedT ypes,L td.,D urham, NC. St. LouisC ommunity College Printedb y PBMG raphics,I nc., Raleigh,N C. 3400 PershallR oad St. Louis,M O 63135 Publisher:S cholarsP ress BiblicalA Perspectives on the Ancient Worldf rom Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Volume 55 Number 1 A Publication of the American Schools of Oriental Research March 1992 Perspectives on Phoenician Art 6 Shelby Brown .. Ancient literary and inscriptional records of Israel, Egypt,A ssyria and Greece document that Phoenician craftsmen were renownedf or their skill in working ivory,m etal, stone and wood as well as weaving and dyeing fine fabrics. However,m odem critics have frequently scorned Phoenician artistry,o r accordedi t, at best, only backhandedc ompli- ments, largelyb ecause the Phoenicians borroweds o many (in some cases most) of their motifs from a variety of foreign sources. Phoenician art can tell us a great deal about not only Phoenician artistic techniques and aesthetic tastes, but also about Phoenician religious beliefs and rituals, international trade and travel in the ancient Mediterranean, and the exchange of ideas and techniques among cultures. / i Phoeniciansi n Spain 28 POW Brigette Treumann-Watkins \! Greek and Roman historians and geographerst old of men in ships who came to the southern shores of the IberianP eninsula long before our era. , They were said to have passedt hrought he Pillarso f Heraklesa nd founded a fortified town, Gadir, at the site of modem Cadiz, a province in south- ?; west Spain,w here they built a temple to the Tyrianc ity god Melqart,o r Herakles, his Greek epiphany.N o traces of the temple have ever been i found, but excavations in the early 1960s uncovereda cemetery above Almunecar,a seaside resort,w hich led to furthere xcavationso n a mound abovet he river Velez. As at the Almunecar cemetery, the bulk of the pottery that came to light at Velez revealeds trong affinities to ceramics of the Iron Age Near East and raised several significant questions. Were these traces of the elusive Phoenicians? bo QumranU pdate 37 What Can Happen in a Year? James A. Sanders In the last year,d rasticc hanges haveo ccurredi n the administrationo f the r Dead Sea Scrolls and the ongoing saga of the remaining unpublished material from Cave 4 at Qumran.T he dismissal in December 1990 of 1 John Strugnell as head of the international team editing the fragments , set in motion a chain of events that culminated with a shocking an- i'r nouncement by the Huntington Libraryt hat it would open access to its copies of the material housed at the RockefellerM useum in Jerusalem. As the realization of the traumatic events of the past year settle in, the scholarly community needs to look to the futurea nd establish guidelines to deal better with the next majord iscovery,s o that all humankind will benefit, not just a select few. Fromt he Associate Editor'sD esk 4 Introducingt he Authors 5 Letter to the Readers 2 Book Reviews 43 On the cover: Terracottam asks and protomes form a rare categoryo f Phoenician art that spans the Late BronzeA ge throught he first millennium B.C.Ea.n d is representedi n both the east and west. The masks are mostly of males, while the protomes, busts or heads with necks, are mostly of females. These terracottam asks and protomes are almost all from tombs, although some are from tophets (at Carthagea nd Motya)a nd sanctuaries. Page6 Form ore information on these specific masks and protomes, see page 19. Letter to the Readers be a scoundrel and freedom to make a fool of yourself just as equally as it provides the freedom of open and fair scholarly access and the pursuit of serious research. In the early days of open access, this was very obvi- ous. Veryq uestionable reconstructions and explanations of texts were providedt o the media, and so-called unpub- lished documents appearedi n the press, which turned out to have been published texts. Those of us who had moderatelyy et vocally advocatedf ree access begant o fear "' that we had been wrong. Wef ound that the responsibility . of scholarship replaced the euphoria of freedom, and there began to be a soberingf eeling as we realized the im- mense difficulty of dealing with the disorganizedm orass l of fragmentarym aterial. Indeed, two emotions came to the fore with the pub- lication of the facsimile edition: a sense of the tremen- ,,-. dous egotism of those who believed that eight scholars could publish the material, and a sense of awe at the task which awaited us. The same senses of responsibility and awe motivated the new editorial team as it began to reorganizet he edi- torial project.E manuelT ov,t he new editor-in-chief,a long with the other editors, Eugene Ulrich and Emile Puech, set about expanding the team of editors, regularizing procedures,b ringingu p the level of computerization and extracting real and realistic commitments for the com- pletion of the work. Now we would have to show that the job could be done, and that with the fuss behind us, re- search could go on. he fieldo f Qumranst udiesh asb eenr adically I, for one, was proud of all my friends who stood on changedb y a series of developments in the last the stage at the ASOR/AAR/SBLa nnual meeting on No- year or so. We have seen the restructuring of vember 25, 1991. Despite all kinds of past differences the editorial team, the appointment of a new and even remaining disagreements, they sounded two editor-in-chief,t he publication of bootleg texts of various common notes: that the scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls forms, and finally, the formal and complete opening of would work together to further research in the field, and access and accessibility to the scrolls for all scholars and that the new openness was one that could become the students, and, for that matter, the general public. basis of a new flowering of the field. At the same time, a vigorous debate has rageda mong But with the opening of the scrolls, we entered a scholars within the field and outside of it. While most period of great new responsibility. For several years, the called for greater and more open access, a few arguedf or media had filled the public with the notion that the the status quo, admitting a mixture of self interest and scrolls somehow held the key to questions of greati mpor- the need to guaranteet he quality of the publications. Yet tance. Wew ere constantly askedw hether they provedt he it was clear from the start that the old system, regardless Bible, if Jesusa nd Johnt he Baptistw ere mentioned in the of its theoretical advantages,h ad failed, and that it could texts, if they related to Jewish-Christianr elations, and not withstand the pressures mounting against it. how they altered our picture of the history of Judaism and Now that the dust has settled, we are truly in a new Christianity. It will now be up to the academic commu- era. The old system had all the usual advantages of a nity to guide the public toward a much more nuanced totalitarian regime: tight control, an oligarchical rule, appreciation of the kinds of questions the scrolls can help and, some have even claimed, mind control. The new to answer and those which they cannot. We can only hope system, like all free environments, brings the blessings of that this task will be made easier- not more difficult-by true freedom. Yeta t the same time, it providesf reedom to the tremendous interest of the media in our work. 2 Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992 I am confident that our field is going to rise to new Within the next month or so, the final installments and greater heights. Already, some important develop- of the inventory and catalog of all scroll materials under- ments are taking place that will help greatly in future taken by Stephen A. Reed of the Ancient Biblical Manu- progress. So much bad news appears in the press that I script Center in Claremont, California,w ill be complete. want to stress the good news here. This catalog, built on the earlier catalog of Elisha Qimron A new foundation, called the Dead Sea Scrolls Foun- of Ben Gurion University, will enable scholars to navi- dation, has been organized. It has been incorporated in gate the various photographic series and to use the ma- the state of Indiana as an independent organization, terial profitably even before publication. Without this with boardm embers consisting of members of the inter- inventory,t he editors could neverh ave succeeded in iden- national team of editors, other Qumran scholars, non- tifying all the fragments and assigning the entire collec- Qumran scholars, two scholars representing the Israel tion to scholars for editing. Antiquities Authority, and a few laypeople. This foun- All these developments will heighten the potential dation will undertake to raise money for support of the for progress next year when the Annenberg Research publication of the scrolls, their conservation, and re- Institute in Philadelphia will host a group of scholars search. Although the foundation is just getting started, it devoting themselves full-time to Qumran research. is already clear that it will make progress possible in a Under the leadership of Eric M. Meyers, director of the number of significant areas, among them the use of Annenberg and president of ASOR, the institute has modern computer technology. gatheredt ogether editors and interpretive scholars of the Some investigation of the possibilities of using scrolls. This will be the first time such a group has had CD-ROMt echnology is being carried out by the founda- access to all scrolls materials. Besides the usual weekly tion. It is hoped that the necessary support can be found seminars, the group will have special workshops in to enable scholars to undertaket his project,w hich would various techniques of scrolls research. The Annenberg make photographs, transcriptions and concordances to Research Institute's extensive computer facilities are the scrolls available on computer. Those who have ex- excellent for scrolls research and publication, and it is perimented with this new kind of interactive research expected that experiments in the use of computers for the tool are awareo f its tremendous potential. In our case, it reconstruction of scrolls will be conducted over the has a further advantage. It is possible with this tech- course of the year. nology to manipulate fragments and to test for possible The pace-ofe vents surroundingt he Dead Sea Scrolls joins of unassembled pieces. this year has been quick and continues apace. The devel- This foundation has many more plans, and as it opments we have mentioned spell the beginning of a new begins to reach out for support, both academic and era in which researchw ill proceed quickly, we hope. Yet financial, those of us concerned about scrolls research some patience is in order.W hile much was accomplished should get solidly behind it. Clearly, only with the in the early years of scrolls research (from 1947 through necessary financial resources can the immense problems the early 1960s),w e must now make up for some 25 years the editors have inherited be solved and researchp roceed of only very slow progress. rapidly. With the full release of the documents, we will have One sorely needed step was the hiring of a qualified to put aside the all-encompassing politics that have conservatorw ho has been recently engagedb y the Israel rackedt he field for some six years now. Those of us who Antiquities Authority to deal with the preservation of have been waiting decades for this material can now go the scrolls and the many brittle fragments for future back to our real work: understanding the history of generations. It is expected that a second conservatorw ill Judaism and the background of Christianity, what they soon be hired. While in the past there have been a variety share andw here they diverge.A s we continue our work, it of views expressed on this subject by non-experts,w e can will be up to us to provet hat with the entire corpus now expect that the most up-to-date and sophisticated tech- before us we are capable of major strides in scholarship niques will be used to store the material. that will advance the study of Judaism and Christianity Tov has completed a timetable for the publication of in the early centuries of our era. the remaining volumes and has also compiled a complete list of all unpublished fragments and the scholars who will prepare them for publication. This list includes many reassignments made by the editors as part of the reorganization of the publication project. Lawrence H. Schiffman Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992 3 From the .. Associate Editor's Desk i bservant readersw ill alreadyh ave noticed that the front cover t ? ? ;'It , of Biblical Archaeologist sports, for the first time, a new sub- title, "Perspectives on the Ancient World from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean." The addition of this subtitle represents an attempt to communicate more adequately the diverse nature of work that ASOR scholars are doing and that BA has been consistently publishing for many years. The new subtitle directs BA's gaze broadly towards a past that is ancient, whether prehistoric or merely premodern. The magazine's focus embraces a diverse, even fragmented, yet fundamentally interwoven cultural SIiscover area. Today this geographical area includes cities hosting ASOR affiliated institutions (Amman, Jerusalem, Nicosia) or giving name to ASOR committees (Baghdad, Damascus). Siblical Wrestling with language appears sometimes to be the primary preoccu- pation of our generation of scholars, convinced, as we are, of the power of language to shape reality. The new subtitle resulted from the intellectual &4rchaeologist scrapping of an editorial board that is well aware of the potential for mis- Eachy earm anyn ew discoverieasr e interpretation. Literally understood, the boundaries of this title might madet hate nricho uru nderstandinogf be read as to exclude both the Persian cultural region that rises above the the rootso f Westerntr aditionS. incei t Mesopotamian valley, and Egypt, which can be considered a part of Africa as firstr eportedth e discoveryo f the Dead much, if not more, than the Mediterranean. Neither is intended or implied, SeaS crollsin 1947,B iblicaAl rchaeolo- of course. Nor does the subtitle imply a subordination of biblical literature gist has led the way with fascinating or culture, which are rooted in the heart of the area, Syria-Palestine, and reportso f the latestf ieldw ork.P ub- which historically and archaeologically constitute one of the most important lishedq uarterlyB,A is beginningit s foci of the region. For many, especially in the West, the Bible is the literature 55th yearo f timely,c hallenginagr ticles. of faith and continues to provide the entry way into archaeology from To placey ours ubscriptionc,o mplete Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean. It remains a primary area of interest. this forma nd returnit to Scholars Yet ASOR has stretched beyond the geographical, cultural and temporal PressP, .O.B ox 15399,A tlantaG, A boundaries of any biblically oriented research. As the chief means by which 30333-0399.I ndividuaolr dersm ust ASOR communicates the results of its research, and its significance, to be prepaidb y checko r money order ASOR members and to the general public, BA must present this same, fuller drawno n a UnitedS tatesb anko r by face to the world. "Perspectives on the Ancient World from Mesopotamia to VISAo r MasterCardF.o rf asters ervice the Mediterranean" offers a label for this orientation and goal. with MasterCarodr VISA,c all( 404) 636-4757F oreignsu bscriberasd d$ 5 forp ostageF. ora samplei ssue,s end $3 to EO.B ox H.M., Duke Station, Durham,N C 27706. David C. Hopkins O $35 individuals L $45 institutions Associate Editor L Checko r money-ordeenr closed LOM asterCard O Visa Carndu mber Expiratiodna te Name Address Country 4 Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992 Introducing the Authors ShelbyB rownh olds a Mellon Fellowshipa nd Lectureship Brigette TIeumann-Watkinsd id her graduate studies in in Classics at the University of Southern California, the Department of Near EasternL anguagesa nd Civiliza- where she is writing a book on Greek and Roman art tions at the University of Chicago, where she devotedh er depicting events in the Roman arena. Although trained attention to early Phoenician settlement in southern primarily as a classical archaeologist, she has long been Spain and its connections with the ancient Near East. interested in the Near East and in the cross-culturalb or- She is now an independent scholar and pursues a very rowings between the ancient Near Easterna nd Classical Phoenician livelihood: searching for silver as Director worlds. She has participated in archaeological projects of Development for the National Law Center at George throughout the Mediterranean, including the ASOR WashingtonU niversity in Washington,D .C. Punic Project and the Canadian Team II Excavations at Carthage. Her book, Late Carthaginian Child Sacrifice hj and Sacrificial Monuments in their MediterraneanC on- texts is reviewed in this issue of BA. L4 - nn a JamesA . Sandersr eceived his Ph.D. from Hebrew Union a College. He is currently Professor of intertestamental and biblical studies at the School of Theology in Clare- a mont, as well as Professoro f religion at Claremont Grad- k. h uate School. A distinguished biblical scholar, Dr. Sanders also servesa s presidento f the Ancient BiblicalM anuscript Center for Preservation and Research. His past publica- tions include Discoveries in the Judaean Desert IV: The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11 (ClarendonP ress 1965) and The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (Cornell University Press 1967). C- do- 0: ..! ?: Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992 5 7_-Ch' 'w ??4 k iL v ~-. ??54 Ar~1`,', r? 441 ~ ': c kl? XO'oA II C ~j"~A ')77-'" r;, tju ??Ilk Silver bowl of the seventh century B.C.E.w ith ncient literary and inscrip- gold-platedf igural decoration, of unknown tional records of Israel, provenance.T his bowl illustrates the subtlety Egypt, Assyria and Greece and skill of the Phoenician craftsman at organizingh is design. The central medallion document that Phoenician depicts two women dancing, facing one Perspecticvraftsemens wer e renowned for their another, with a bird flying between them. In skill in working ivory, metal, stone the middle register,f ive ibex, separated by trees and each accompanied by two birds, and wood as well as weaving and on run clockwise; a lion attacks the flank of the dyeing fine fabrics. In contrast, until ibex located above the heads of the dancers fairly recently, modern critics fre- in the center. In the main register,w omen walk in a procession toward a basin on a Phoenician quently scorned Phoenician artistry stand. They are split vertically into two or accordedi t, at best, only back- groups and step bilaterally from a palm tree handed compliments. This is largely at the bottom of the design, below the central dancers, toward the basin at the top. The Art because the Phoenicians borrowed bilateral procession and other structurale le- so many (in some cases, most) of ments arec haracteristic of a particular class their motifs from a variety of foreign of Phoenician bowls (Markoe1 985: 13-33). The Phoenician artist influences the way an sources, often modifying them and observerv iews the design by manipulating byS helbyB rown sometimes "gettingt hem wrong" details, such as height of repousse, size and accordingt o the conventions of placement of motifs, orientation of figures, and direction of glances and movements. Al- their original contexts. though many modern authors have maligned Phoenician artists did frequently Phoenician artists, such carefully crafted care more about the general "look" bowls do not seem to be the work of bungling, inferior craftsmen. Photo courtesy of the of a motif than its exact adherence ClevelandM useum of Art, number 47.491. to an original, but even when they Purchasedf rom the J.H. WadeF und. copied motifs exactly, we often 6 Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992 simply do not understandt he signi- decorate objects and to communicate and the artists, too, were mobile. As ficance of the borroweds ymbols in ideas to their ancient audience. We a result, Phoenician goods found a Phoenician context. As a result, can appreciatea nd admiret he decora- their way, in the first millennium scholars have tended to emphasize tive images, but we often fail to un- B.C.E., deep into Assyria (modern the derivative nature of Phoenician derstandt he ideas behind them. northern Iraq)a nd across the Medi- art and to focus on its apparentl ack terraneana s far as Italy and Spain. of meaning in comparison with the Phoenician "MinorA rts": The products of Phoenician crafts- imagery of other artistic traditions. Contexts and Problems men influenced Etruscan and Greek As one might expect, however, The Phoenician art that survives artists during the first third of the Phoenician art ranges widely in today consists mainly of relatively first millennium B.C.E., even before quality and significance, according small objects sometimes called the Phoenicians had established to the skills of individual artists and "minora rts."T hese are often made themselves as a major presence in the varying, often overlapping,f unc- of expensive materials such as silver, the western Mediterranean. tions for which particular objects gold, ivory and semiprecious stones, Ironically,m ost surviving Phoe- were intended. These functions in- but they also occur in terracotta, nician art has been discoveredo ut- cluded fulfilling a specific role in a bronze, glass and paste. Some larger, side Phoenicia proper.I n Phoenicia, religious ritual, serving as an afford- heavier items of stone are also pre- archaeologists have excavatedt oo able copy of an expensive prototype, served. Unfortunately, objects made few sites to remedy this situation and being beautiful. Much of Phoe- of carvedw ood and textiles have and, where they have excavated,t hey nician art served a practical purpose, almost all perished. have usually not dug deeply enough yet was also intended to appeal to Most of the art has survivedi n fu- (with the exception of Sarepta;s ee the eye. I will therefore not distin- nerary contexts. Graveg oods include Pritchard 1978). The virtual absence guish here between artist and crafts- personal possessions or insignia of of Phoenician art in Phoenicia itself man (assuming that most ancient rank and status purchased or in- poses a dilemma for those trying to artists were male). herited in life and taken to the grave, identify what, specifically, makes Deciding what art, if any,t o call such as jewelry,s carabsa nd amulets, early Phoenician art "Phoenician." "Phoenician"in the Late Bronze Age metal bowls, and ivory boxes and The problem is not unlike that con- (circa 1550-1200 B.C.E.i)s not easy, cosmetic implements. Other, more fronting early students of Greek vase and in the early Iron Age there is a functional objects, such as bronze ra- painting of the seventh and sixth gap in most of the artistic evidence zors, terracottam asks, and stone sar- centuries B.C.E. Their researchw as from about 1200 to 900 or 800 B.C.E. cophagi and commemorative monu- hamperedb y the fact that most of Fort hese reasons, I focus here on the ments, were associated with funerary the surviving vases have been found first millennium from the ninth cen- rituals. Limitations of space prevent in Etruscant ombs in northern Italy tury B.C.E. on. I propose to illustrate discussion here of the vast corpus of (Boardman1 974: 9-10). a sample of Phoenician art in four jewelry,a mulets and scarabs,t he In the west, we can usually representativem edia: ivory (furni- many bronze and terracottaf igu- identify as "Phoenician"th e art com- ture, boxes and toiletries, mostly rines and the rarers tone sarcophagi monly found in quantity at well- from the east), metal (bowls from (see Moscati 1988: 292-99, 328-53, excavatedP hoenician sites in Spain, the east, razors from the west), stone 370-93, 394-403). Sicily, Sardiniaa nd Tunisia. These (stelae and cippi - tombstones - Phoenician art is found in sanc- artifacts, most dating to the seventh from the west), and terracotta (masks tuaries as well as funeraryc ontexts, through second centuries B.C.E., often and protomes - small molded heads - but less often in areas of habitation. differ from those presumably made from both east and west). This does not mean that all the art by eastern Phoenicians, which date These examples illustrate a great was created for the dead or to worship mainly from the ninth to eighth cen- deal not only about Phoenician ar- the gods. Phoenician settlements turies B.C.E.A t all Phoenician sites tistic techniques and aesthetic tastes have frequently been razed, looted of any period, it is difficult to isolate but also about Phoenician religious or built over, both in antiquity and true Phoenician art from products beliefs and rituals, international modern times. Most that survive imitating it and to distinguish locally trade and travel in the ancient Medi- have either not yet been found or not made Phoenician objects from those terranean, and the exchange of ideas been thoroughly excavated, especial- imported or copied from other Phoe- and techniques among cultures. In ly in Phoenicia. Phoenician tombs nician sites. Many objects are also particular, these objects document and sanctuaries are often reposi- difficult to date because the owners the iconography from which Phoeni- tories of art that might not other- passed them on as heirlooms, which cian craftsmen chose symbols of wise be preserved. are rarely found in contexts close in myth, religion and daily life both to Much of the art was portable, date to their period of manufacture. Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992 7 A section of the outer frieze of a silver bowl dating to the seventh century B.C.Efr. om Amathus, Cyprus.T he Phoenicians regularlyc ombined images borrowedf rom a variety of foreigna rtistic traditions, including Egyptian,A ssyrian and Greek. This bowl illustrates the attack on a walled, Near Easternc ity by soldiers depicted in three differents tyles. Fromt he right, four "Greekh oplites"( named for their characteristics hield, the hoplon) approacht he city with raised spears, while behind them march four 'Assyriana rchers' bTtoh e left, two "Egyptians" scale the citadel on ladders, holding their shields over their heads; beyond them Egyptian- looking men fell trees in an orchard.D rawn from Markoe 1985: CY4. Unless otherwise noted, all drawings by the author. A final problem for dating Phoeni- plied to subgroupsw ithin the corpus on whether it increased through cian art is its often conservative of Phoenician art. As a result, the time or predominatedi n certain nature. Artists sometimes repeated non-specialist may understandably periods, still continues (Markoe the same motifs in similar ways for become quite confused. 1985: 16-17). centuries. Egyptiana ttributes generally Sometimes Phoenician artists dominate, and "Egyptianizing"is the imitated specific foreign styles rather WhatM akesP hoenician adjective most commonly used to than modifying or recombining a Art "Phoenician?" describe Phoenician art. In the last variety of foreign motifs. It can be The hallmark of Phoenician art is its difficult to recognize art as "Phoeni- eclecticism. Most often, we recognize cian"w hen it copies a foreign model Phoenician art by its unusual combi- The hallmark of closely. To complicate matters even nations and modifications of motifs further,P hoenician artists were by and designs borrowedf rom a variety Phoenician art is no means the only ones to borrow of foreign sources, such as Assyrian, generously from foreign iconog- Syrian, Greek and Egyptian. Some- its eclecticism. raphies. Fore xample, there are many times it is possible to identify a work similarities between Syrian or north- as Phoenician because of the distinc- tive organization of its designs, but century, scholars debated whether attempts to do so have been rare or not Phoenician ivories were ac- 7- (Markoe1 985: chapter3 ). The eclec- tually Egyptian.I n addition to speci- I /7/~\ - tic Phoenician "composites tyle"i s fic Egyptiant hemes, such as the one that artists of the different lend- winged sun disk or Pharaohs miting ing traditions would probablyn ot his enemies, Phoenician artists often - (cid:127) have used, especially when motifs of employed common elements of Egyp- , . (cid:127)_- \ -'\(cid:127)'". ,' particular religious or social signifi- tian designs, such as the regular cance are depicted out of context. spacing of figures across a relatively Modern critics, depending upon plain background,t he standardized wdohmicihn abnotr,r mowaye dcsa tlyl lae Pthheoye ncoicniasind er pfirgouproers tinio pnrs ooff ihleu,m thaen s amnodo athn,i muna-l .. ,_ -, ' / < .-(cid:127) ' ' I -4 , work "Egyptianizing,""A ssyrianiz- decoratede xpanses of flesh or cloth- (cid:127).-(cid:127).-'"-'. ing,"" Cypro-Phoenician("A ssyrianiz- ing, the symmetry of individual ing Phoenician art found in Cyprus) motifs and designs, and the colors or "Syrianizing"(" Syro-Phoenician"). common in Egyptiana rt:b lack, Unfortunately, all scholars are not in white, green, red, yellow and blue. complete agreement as to which ob- The modern scholarly debate on the jects should be called "Phoenician" nature and extent of Egyptiani nflu- and how these terms should be ap- ence on Phoenician art, in particular 8 Biblical Archaeologist, March 1992

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