The Allegory of Romance: Secular Ivories From Medieval France c.1300-c.1450

Qureshi, Adeela (2001) The Allegory of Romance: Secular Ivories From Medieval France c.1300-c.1450. MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Secular art from the Middle Ages survives in fragmentary form, is usually rare, and is hence overlooked. The Church's dominant role also accounted for the neglect of secular objects. Throughout medieval times the Church was the chief patron of the arts, and a substantial amount of money was spent on creating objects for worship, and decorating monumental buildings of importance. Religious objects dominate museum collections, while secular artefacts are not given as much importance. The focus of this exhibition is to relive the past, through its secular artefacts especially ivories, which exemplify the analogies that exist between medieval society and present times. The concept of courtship, and love is as alive today as it was several hundred years ago. Literary expansions of medieval themes have infiltrated through the moving image-cinema, television and video. These artefacts have a strong association with the enhancement of personal beauty. Such images are powerful in their own right, made for particular purposes, rituals and moments in time. Often given by men to women and sometimes by women to men. They did not reflect so much as embody medieval love experiences, and were also responsible for providing elaborate fantasies of desire. The aim of the exhibition is not to provide a stylistic evolution over the period, but to approach the topics thematically, in order to draw and keep the attention of visitors. The thematic approach allows objects of different media to be displayed in close proximity to one another, hence breaking the monotony of a chronological approach and regeneration through time.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Art history, Medieval history
• Date of Award: 2001
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2001-76175
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2019 16:31
• Last Modified: 19 Nov 2019 16:31
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/76175