RP 234: Imagining the Divine: Art in Religions of Late Antiquity Across Eurasia

The ground-breaking and beautifully illustrated volume, Imagining the Divine: Art in Religions of Late Antiquity Across Eurasia brings together scholars of the art and archaeology of late antiquity (c.200-1000), across cultures and religions reaching from India to Iberia, to discuss how objects can better inform our understanding of religions.

During the period, major transformations are visible in the production of religious art, and in the relationships between people and objects in religious contexts across the ancient world. The shift in behaviour and formalising of iconographies are visible in art associated with numerous religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, religions of the Roman Empire, and paganism in northern Europe. Studies of these religions and their material culture, however, have been shaped by Eurocentric and post-Reformation Christian frameworks that prioritised Scripture, while minimising the capacity of images and objects to hold religious content.

Despite recent steps to incorporate objects, much academic discourse, especially in comparative religion, remains stubbornly textual. This volume seeks to explore the ramifications of placing objects first and foremost in the comparative study of religions in late antiquity, and to consider the potential for interdisciplinary conversation to reinvigorate the field.

Imagining the Divine is essential reading for researchers and students of the religious cultures of late antiquity across Eurasia.