Visual Judaism in Late Antiquity: Historical Contexts of Jewish Art

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012. Cloth, x, 582 pages, illustrations; 27 cm. Tight, clean copy. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. A fine copy of the first printing. OVERSIZE! No priority/international, except by arrangement. Profusely illustrated. "A new type of Jewish art emerged in Late Antiquity, when artists produced visual depictions that had not existed earlier within a Jewish context--figural images (including pagan motifs), biblical scenes, and religious symbols. Visual Judaism locates this phenomenon in the wider context of Late Antiquity, revealing new insights into the role of visual culture in Jewish society, in which individual communities determined what forms of artistic expression would be displayed in their synagogues. Following introductory chapters surveying Jewish art over almost fifteen hundred years, down to the third century CE, author Lee I. Levine focuses on the wealth of archaeological, artistic, and textural material from the third to seventh centuries, demonstrating how this artistic activity responded to new historical circumstances." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Introduction. Ancient Jewish art: a century of research; Early historical contexts. Israelite art; Art in the Second Temple period and its aftermath; New expressions of Jewish art in the late Roman era. The emergence of Jewish art in the third century; Dura Europos in its Eastern religious setting; Bet She?arim in its patriarchal context; The Jewish catacombs of Rome and their Roman and Christian parallels; The third century in retrospect; Late antiquity in Jewish history: a significantly altered historical perspective. The Byzantine period: old, new, and recent views; The Byzantine-Christian period and its impact on Jewish culture; The flourishing of Jewish art in the Byzantine-Christian era. Synagogue art in late antiquity: an overview; H?ammat Tiberias and its patriarchal-aristocratic setting; Sepphoris in its priestly context; Bet Alpha in its sixth-century Christian milieu; Sardis: prominence and stability in the Jewish diaspora; Art-historical issues. The zodiac and other Greco-Roman motifs in Jewish art; Religious components of Jewish art and synagogue sanctity: diachronic and synchronic factors; Modern metatheories in the interpretation of Jewish art; Art and society. The communal dimension of synagogue art and other related contexts; Art and the rabbis; Art, the patriarchs, and the urban aristocracy; Art and Jewish identity in late antiquity.. 1st. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 4to. Collectible.