Interesting lecture in Princeton, MJ

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PrincetonUniversity
Program in Hellenic
Studies

http://www.princeton.edu/~hellenic

Workshop ⌠It▓s All About the Hat: Costume, Imperial Authority, and
theTransformation of Byzantine Liturgical Dress

Warren T. Woodfin , Post-Doctoral Fellow, Program in Hellenic
Studies wwoo...@princeton.edu
RESPONDENT: Slobodan Djurchic', Department of Art and Archaeology

From Antiquity onwards, the image of the emperor symbolically embodied
his authority far from his physical presence. Members of the
Palaiologan court wore headgear, the skaranikon, decorated with the
emperor▓s likeness, along with clothing woven or embroidered with
imperial symbols such as eagles, lions, and griffins. Simultaneously,
the liturgical costume of Byzantine clergy was enriched with new
insignia and rich embroidered decoration, including the introduction of
headgear for bishops. Through a
delicate manipulation of references to the system of hierarchical dress
prevailing in the imperial sphere, the embroidered vestments of late
Byzantine prelates stake a claim to more direct access to divine
authority than that embodied in the emperor.

Warren Woodfin graduated from WilliamsCollege in 1996 with Highest
Honors in Art History. He holds an M.A. (1999) and a Ph.D. (2002) in
Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His
research focuses on the intersections between ecclesial liturgies and
the ceremonies of statecraft
in Byzantium and the medieval West. Byzantine textiles and costume are
a particular interest and the subject of his doctoral dissertation on
⌠Late Byzantine Liturgical Vestments and the Iconography of Sacerdotal
Power.■ At Princeton, he is completing a book on Byzantine liturgical
vestments and their embroidered decoration. Previously, Woodfin was a
Junior Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and Visiting Assistant Professor in Art
and Art History at DukeUniversity.

Tuesday, October 7,
2003
6:00 p.m.
58 Prospect Avenue, Room
107