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Visualising Women in Late Antiquity examines depictions of contemporary women in the late antique Mediterranean as a rich source for social history. Most histories of women in this period focus on the copious surviving textual sources, the majority of which were written by churchmen. Yet it is also widely acknowledged that such sources can be as problematic as they are fascinating. This book proposes the question: instead of a history focused on textual depictions of women, what might a history centred around visual depictions look like? It seeks to examine how women experienced the numerous changes that shaped Late Antiquity as a transitional period between the classical and medieval words, while also showing that women's experiences were an inextricable part of wider social, religious, and economic histories.
Over the course of this groundbreaking book, Grace Stafford considers what visual representation can tell us about four interrelated axes of change, each chosen for its importance and prevalence in visual culture: bathing, adornment, and the ceremonialisation of elite life; learning, education, and intellectual culture; family and the life-course; and public benefaction and patronage. Throughout, Stafford brings together a wide range of images from across the Mediterranean, from mosaics, wall-paintings, and textiles, to ivory, silverware, and graffiti. The analysis of this visual and material culture both corroborates and challenges well-known developments in gender history and traditional text-based narratives, while also revealing new aspects of women's experiences.
