Artistic Practice, Materiality, and Ideology in the Medieval East Roman Empire and Neighboring Eastern Polities

Mariana Bodnaruk is Assistant Professor in Ancient History at the Faculty of History of the University of Warsaw. They taught at Al-Quds Bard College, Central European University, Bard College, Masaryk University, and the University of Olomouc. Their research was published in Journal of Epigraphic Studies, Journal of Late Antiquity, Antichthon, Phoenix, and Byzantinoslavica. They authored An Empire of Elites: The Self-Representation of the Senatorial Aristocracy in the Later Roman State in the Fourth Century AD (2026). Their research interests include epigraphy, art history, hagiography of the medieval East Roman Empire, as well as trans studies and queer marxism.

• Introduction. Towards a Materialist History of East Roman ArtMariana BodnarukPart I: Materiality and Ideology of Epigraphic TextsChapter 1. Byzantine Lead Seals as Expressions of Power and IdentityChristos MalatrasChapter 2. Imperial Inscriptions and Inscribed Images as a Means of Propaganda in Medieval ByzantiumGeorgios PallisChapter 3. The Agency of Epigraphy: Inscriptions and the Weaponization of Relics in ByzantiumBrad HostetlerPart II. Material and Ideological Constructedness of Visual and Performative Representations Chapter 4. Repetition as a Mechanism of Craft and Devotion: Rethinking Art Historical Frameworks through Early Christian Reliquaries and Casket MountsAdrien PalladinoChapter 5. A Tale of Two Cities: The Journey of the Ivory Pyxis of St. MenasRuben CampiniChapter 6. Divine Intervention and Imperial Performance: The Pilgrimage of John VIII PalaiologosAnna AdashinskayaPart III. Female Agency and Material TurnChapter 7. The Representation of Senatorial Women in Late Antique Inscribed Honorific Texts and Statue MonumentsMariana BodnarukChapter 8. Female Presence in Moments of Death and (Re)Birth: Materializing Protective Power of Sacred Purity and Motherhood Across Late Antique Mediterranean and BeyondTeodora GeorgievováChapter 9. A Woman Who Had So Much to Lose: Theodora Palaiologina, the Union of Lyons and the Cleansing Power of ArtPetra MelicharPart IV. Impact of Empire? East Roman Neighboring Polities Beyond Center and PeripheryChapter 10. Images of Orthodoxy or Political Compromise? Visual Representations in the Late Antique South CaucasusVeronika Džugan Hermanová and Ivan FolettiChapter 11. Transcultural Art as a Sign of Power: Coins Showing the Theotokos Crowning the Ruler in Byzantium and in Al-JazīrahManuela Studer-KarlenChapter 12. Patriarchs and Anti-Patriarchs Looking for Legitimacy in Ṭūr ʿAbdīn in Pre-Modern EraAlexandre Varela ExpósitoAfterwardMichele BacciAppendix