SubsidieMeestersRoman Making and its Meanings: Representations of Manual Creation in the Literature and Art of Imperial Rome
FACERE explores the cultural significance of 'making' in ancient Rome by analyzing literary and artistic representations to uncover aesthetic and moral implications of material culture.
Projectdetails
Introduction
How did the ancient Romans respond to the material world around them? This project, FACERE, proposes a new way of approaching this question. It studies ‘making’ – the processes by which the objects and buildings which surrounded Romans in their daily lives were produced.
The Concept of Making
How things were made in ancient Rome is usually studied as a practical or technical process. However, making also has a wide range of culturally specific aesthetic and moral implications. FACERE breaks new ground by asking not how making was done, but what making meant to the inhabitants of the Roman Empire.
Analysis of Roman Discourse
To answer this question, we analyse the Roman discourse of making:
- Literary texts – poetry and prose in Greek and Latin
- Visual artworks, such as paintings, reliefs, and mosaics
These representations of processes of making can tell us how Romans thought, felt, and spoke about them.
Key Objectives
FACERE aims to achieve two key objectives:
-
Cultural History of ‘Roman Making’
We will write a new cultural history of ‘Roman making’, adding to our understanding of the technological, logistic, and economic dimensions the crucial new dimension of the cultural values involved in making, in particular its aesthetic and moral complexities.- How did making relate to Roman notions about the environment?
- How did Roman writers and artists depict the ability and agency of different kinds of makers, and how does this relate to their gender, ethnicity, and social status?
- Were certain ways of making considered superior to others, and why?
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Investigating Material Culture
FACERE proposes a new way of investigating the impact of material culture on Roman viewers. How things were made, and how their stories of making were presented or imagined, was deeply relevant to what they meant to their ancient viewers, owners, and users.FACERE introduces the innovative analytical concept of ‘madeness’, which allows us to bring ‘making’ and ‘meaning’ together.
Financiële details & Tijdlijn
Financiële details
| Subsidiebedrag | € 1.499.999 |
| Totale projectbegroting | € 1.499.999 |
Tijdlijn
| Startdatum | 1-9-2023 |
| Einddatum | 31-8-2028 |
| Subsidiejaar | 2023 |
Partners & Locaties
Projectpartners
- RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGENpenvoerder
Land(en)
Vergelijkbare projecten binnen European Research Council
| Project | Regeling | Bedrag | Jaar | Actie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Fragility, Instability, Ambiguity, and Self-Reflexivity of Images in Roman ArtFRAGILE IMAGES redefines Roman imagery by exploring its fragility and ambiguity, aiming to transform image theory and enhance understanding of visual culture from 2nd century BC to 4th century AD. | ERC Advanced... | € 2.500.000 | 2025 | Details |
Masters of the stone: The stonecutters' workshops and the rise of the late antique epigraphical cultures (third-fifth century AD)The STONE-MASTERS project investigates the transformation of Roman epigraphic traditions in Late Antiquity by studying stonecutting workshops to redefine cultural transfer mechanisms. | ERC Starting... | € 1.499.625 | 2022 | Details |
The INscribed city: urban structures and interaction in ROMEIN-ROME aims to systematically analyze Rome's urban organization and social fabric by integrating inscriptions and mapping activities across the city, enhancing historical understanding and research resources. | ERC Advanced... | € 2.498.457 | 2022 | Details |
The Making of Local Legal Cultures under Rome: A View from the MarginsThis project analyzes local legal cultures in the Greek East under Roman rule, integrating Jewish jurisprudence to explore provincial agency and identity through law. | ERC Consolid... | € 1.999.019 | 2024 | Details |
Feeding the Roman Army, Making the EmpireFRAME investigates the economic and military functions of Roman frontiers in Europe by analyzing food remains to understand army supply networks and their impact on landscapes and economies. | ERC Consolid... | € 1.998.825 | 2025 | Details |
The Fragility, Instability, Ambiguity, and Self-Reflexivity of Images in Roman Art
FRAGILE IMAGES redefines Roman imagery by exploring its fragility and ambiguity, aiming to transform image theory and enhance understanding of visual culture from 2nd century BC to 4th century AD.
Masters of the stone: The stonecutters' workshops and the rise of the late antique epigraphical cultures (third-fifth century AD)
The STONE-MASTERS project investigates the transformation of Roman epigraphic traditions in Late Antiquity by studying stonecutting workshops to redefine cultural transfer mechanisms.
The INscribed city: urban structures and interaction in ROME
IN-ROME aims to systematically analyze Rome's urban organization and social fabric by integrating inscriptions and mapping activities across the city, enhancing historical understanding and research resources.
The Making of Local Legal Cultures under Rome: A View from the Margins
This project analyzes local legal cultures in the Greek East under Roman rule, integrating Jewish jurisprudence to explore provincial agency and identity through law.
Feeding the Roman Army, Making the Empire
FRAME investigates the economic and military functions of Roman frontiers in Europe by analyzing food remains to understand army supply networks and their impact on landscapes and economies.