Comment on St. Catherine of Alexandria icon by Theophilia
Very nicely done. One of my favorite saints, although another case of a short-lived miracle...
Quite appropriate as earlier this week I went to an exhibition at the British Museum called 'Faith after the Pharaohs', concerning the period between the Roman take-over and the Fatimid dynasty.
The story of the wheel breaking when the saint touched it also reminds me of when my sister broke a dodgem car, for some reason.
Quite appropriate as earlier this week I went to an exhibition at the British Museum called 'Faith after the Pharaohs', concerning the period between the Roman take-over and the Fatimid dynasty.
The story of the wheel breaking when the saint touched it also reminds me of when my sister broke a dodgem car, for some reason.
Many thanks! 
Oh wow, that must have been an awesome exhibit! That certainly covers a wide and incredibly interesting period of time. I assume they had some of the Fayum mummy portraits there? Did they have any Fatimid period artifacts there as well? I've always wondered what their particular artistic style looked like. I feel it's shameful to have that much of a blank in my knowledge when I find that period so fascinating AND it could come in handy when doing more pictures of the Crusades.
Oh wow, that must have been an awesome exhibit! That certainly covers a wide and incredibly interesting period of time. I assume they had some of the Fayum mummy portraits there? Did they have any Fatimid period artifacts there as well? I've always wondered what their particular artistic style looked like. I feel it's shameful to have that much of a blank in my knowledge when I find that period so fascinating AND it could come in handy when doing more pictures of the Crusades.
Fayum portraits featured, but then the museum has a nice lot of those anyway. They had one of a priest with the seven pointed star diadem at his brow, as well as a statue of another priest wearing a similar item, and a surviving star of its type. There were also papyri interestingly invoking the god of Moses as well as the old Egyptian gods. And there were statues of Horus in Roman armour.
There was also a stripy, knitted child's sock, which you wouldn't think was an ancient artefact.
Lots of stuff about the Coptic church, obviously. The exhibition carried on into the Fatimid era, with a fair few artefacts from that time, vases, manuscripts and so-on. (A surprising amount of figurative art seems to have been prouduced, despite Islamic structures). Indeed the time immediately after Ancient Egypt is a bit vague in a lot of people's minds, so it is nice to have this gap filled in. I didn't take so much of the Fatimid stuff in, though, as I was a bit overloaded by that point.
There was also a stripy, knitted child's sock, which you wouldn't think was an ancient artefact.
Lots of stuff about the Coptic church, obviously. The exhibition carried on into the Fatimid era, with a fair few artefacts from that time, vases, manuscripts and so-on. (A surprising amount of figurative art seems to have been prouduced, despite Islamic structures). Indeed the time immediately after Ancient Egypt is a bit vague in a lot of people's minds, so it is nice to have this gap filled in. I didn't take so much of the Fatimid stuff in, though, as I was a bit overloaded by that point.
Huh, that's really interesting! Yeah, I definitely wouldn't think some stripy knitted child's sock would be an ancient artifact at first glance either. But then, I've gone into museums where there were some little items that just looked like something you could buy at a garage sale. But happened to be 2,000 years old. 
And then there is that really cool feeling you get when you're looking at some little piece of pinched pottery and you're staring at the fingerprints of someone who lived in 2,500 B.C. I will also admit to having a guilty feeling partially mixed with triumph when you notice little details in some pieces. I remember looking at a Greek vase at one point and exulting in the fact that all the lines weren't perfectly straight. HAHA! I'm not the only one who can't paint perfectly straight lines!
But I digress. I would love to see that papyrus myself. Do you remember what the approximate date of it was?
I had never really known about the Roman fascination/craze for all things Egyptian that went on until I found myself in the "Egyptian" part of the Vatican museums and found tons of weird stylistic combinations (like very Hellenistic-looking Roman Emperors in very Egyptian-looking poses and wearing the garments of Pharaohs). If I'm not mistaken, I think the Emperor Hadrian was responsible for a good deal of that. I know he had a particular love for Egypt (and Greece as well) in any case.
From what I understand, the non-figurative mandate in Islam only applies to things used in some religious capacity, such as mosque decoration, architectures, or illuminated pages of the Koran, etc. Secular things, like histories, books or items for home use could have figurative imagery. I could be wrong though.
And then there is that really cool feeling you get when you're looking at some little piece of pinched pottery and you're staring at the fingerprints of someone who lived in 2,500 B.C. I will also admit to having a guilty feeling partially mixed with triumph when you notice little details in some pieces. I remember looking at a Greek vase at one point and exulting in the fact that all the lines weren't perfectly straight. HAHA! I'm not the only one who can't paint perfectly straight lines! But I digress. I would love to see that papyrus myself. Do you remember what the approximate date of it was?
I had never really known about the Roman fascination/craze for all things Egyptian that went on until I found myself in the "Egyptian" part of the Vatican museums and found tons of weird stylistic combinations (like very Hellenistic-looking Roman Emperors in very Egyptian-looking poses and wearing the garments of Pharaohs). If I'm not mistaken, I think the Emperor Hadrian was responsible for a good deal of that. I know he had a particular love for Egypt (and Greece as well) in any case.
From what I understand, the non-figurative mandate in Islam only applies to things used in some religious capacity, such as mosque decoration, architectures, or illuminated pages of the Koran, etc. Secular things, like histories, books or items for home use could have figurative imagery. I could be wrong though.
It is nice when the Ancients and the Old Masters slip up, and don't make one feel entirely inadequate. Seeing Botticelli or Titian put a head at an impossible angle on a neck, for example... There again everyone has an off-day.
I don't remember the specific dates of the papyri in question. Probably around the First Century.
The pseudo Egyptian stuff in the Vatican museum is indeed quite interesting, i seem to recall. One can imagine the Roman sculptor looking nervous when the patron asks for Egyptian stuff. 'Oh yes. I can do Egyptian style. Absolutely! Are you sure you don't want Greek style though?'
It brings to mind the crude attempts at gothic (or gothick) architecture, from the eighteenth and very early 19th century, that preceded the gothic revival proper, and where you could tell the designers were out of their classical comfort zone and didn't really know what they were doing. (Or the same people doing Chinoiserie, for that matter.)
Another good example of the Roman fixation with Egypt is the Pyramid of Cestius, did you see that?
I don't remember the specific dates of the papyri in question. Probably around the First Century.
The pseudo Egyptian stuff in the Vatican museum is indeed quite interesting, i seem to recall. One can imagine the Roman sculptor looking nervous when the patron asks for Egyptian stuff. 'Oh yes. I can do Egyptian style. Absolutely! Are you sure you don't want Greek style though?'
It brings to mind the crude attempts at gothic (or gothick) architecture, from the eighteenth and very early 19th century, that preceded the gothic revival proper, and where you could tell the designers were out of their classical comfort zone and didn't really know what they were doing. (Or the same people doing Chinoiserie, for that matter.)
Another good example of the Roman fixation with Egypt is the Pyramid of Cestius, did you see that?
Hahah, true that!
Compromise, why not both?! classconnection.s3.amazonaws.c…
I did! And my first reaction was, "Wait, was that a pyramid?!" We unfortunately only saw Rome from a bus for the most part, so I didn't get to poke around nearly as much as I would have liked. But I will go back someday and see it all!
Compromise, why not both?! classconnection.s3.amazonaws.c…
I did! And my first reaction was, "Wait, was that a pyramid?!"
We unfortunately only saw Rome from a bus for the most part, so I didn't get to poke around nearly as much as I would have liked. But I will go back someday and see it all! 
Almost all the miracles involving martyrs were basically "haha no you're not killing this person by the methods of your choosing, you get to kill them when I say so".
Actually most miracles in Christianity are just God displaying his power; multiplying the loaves and fishes, for example, primarily just shows that God is not subject to the do ut des/"sacrificial economy" limitations held to bind even the "small-G" gods. Resurrecting Lazarus shows both that (because Jesus didn't need a human sacrifice to give Lazarus his life back), and that God can even reunite soul and body after they're separated, which is otherwise metaphysically impossible (no matter how many human sacrifices you make—there's a reason Christianity is the only religion which seriously claims ever to have resurrected the dead, in the historic past rather than in the eschatological future).
Actually most miracles in Christianity are just God displaying his power; multiplying the loaves and fishes, for example, primarily just shows that God is not subject to the do ut des/"sacrificial economy" limitations held to bind even the "small-G" gods. Resurrecting Lazarus shows both that (because Jesus didn't need a human sacrifice to give Lazarus his life back), and that God can even reunite soul and body after they're separated, which is otherwise metaphysically impossible (no matter how many human sacrifices you make—there's a reason Christianity is the only religion which seriously claims ever to have resurrected the dead, in the historic past rather than in the eschatological future).