The Sion Treasure Reconsidered: The Biographies and Multivalence of Sacred Silver Objects in Sixth-Century Byzantium (Studies in Byzantine Cultural History) - Softcover

Ari, Ahmet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1032385367 ISBN 13: 9781032385365

Publisher: Routledge, 2025

Synopsis

In 1963 a collection of fifty-seven silver vessels was discovered during illegal excavations by villagers in Antalya Province, Turkey. The Sion Treasure, named after the inscription ‘Holy Sion’ on several vessels in the hoard, is now divided between five collections: Antalya Museum (Turkey), Dumbarton Oaks (United States), a private collection in Geneva, the Digby-Jones collection and Hewett collection (United Kingdom).

This book builds on the studies of the Sion Treasure and examines questions regarding silver mining, manufacture, and the economic and cultural role of the silver vessels. It considers the treasure using the concept of the cultural biography of objects. The vessels from the Sion Treasure have not previously been considered in this context and the book highlights the fact that the value and significance of the objects at the time they were created does not lie exclusively in their visual characteristics and aesthetics since their relationship to, and with, people is also significant. While their functionality lends them one life story, another biography is gained through their users: the producers, patrons, and individuals within the church, not only the clergy, who engaged with the objects.

The Sion Treasure Reconsidered will appeal to students and scholars alike interested in Byzantine cultural and material history and medieval material history in general.

About this title

About the Author

Ahmet Arı is a lecturer in Byzantine Studies at Nevsehir Hacı Bektas Veli University, Turkey.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1032385367
• ISBN 13: 9781032385365
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 212