Greek Funerary and Votive Reliefs Reused for Display in the Ancient Mediterranean. A Long-term, Interdisciplinary, and Cross-cultural Approach

ended

The REFRAME Project will shed new light on the reuse for display of Greek marble funerary and votive reliefs in the Ancient Mediterranean. At the heart of the research are reliefs sculpted in Greece in the 6th-2nd centuries BCE that after exhausting their original function as gravestones in cemeteries, or as votive gifts in sanctuaries were reused and put on display in a new context. The major question raised by these artefacts is: Why, and how, were old Greek tombstones and small votive gifts capable of affecting people in different cultural areas and periods from Antiquity right through to our times? Current approaches have proven inadequate to answer this question. My research will establish a new interpretive model capable of illuminating the impact of these artefacts in their original contexts as well as over time and space, from their origin right through to their musealization. Thanks to its long-term, cross-cultural, and comparative approach, this research will provide us with new and in depth knowledge of the Greek and Roman attitudes toward and interest in antique artefacts, achieving a more inclusive understanding of ancient reuse, collecting, and antiquarianism. However, this project will also disclose new opportunities for comparative research in other historical periods and cultural areas, providing new scientific methods, tools, and networks to bridge ancient and contemporary attitudes toward and interest in antique artefacts. Further, this project will develop a new museum communication strategy in order to bring knowledge to the public of the itineraries of these reliefs over time, reframing the way museum visitors experience and understand these objects and re-empowering these reliefs to affect people with their presence and materiality, as they have done throughout their history. By gaining new competitive knowledge and skills, this project will empower me to achieve long-term scientific goals and to stabilize my career in research.