Classical sculptures in al-Andalus. From pagan idols to talismans

• Grant number: 18/15102-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2019
• End date: April 22, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Glaydson José da Silva
• Grantee: Jorge Elices Ocón
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/10226-2 - Classical sculptures in the Islamic world: beyond destruction, BE.EP.PD 19/11019-0 - Power and discourse: classical sculptures in the Islamic world and the past into the present: from al-Andalus to DAESH, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Antique statues have been studied in detail, but its end and reception in al-Andalus, the period of Islamic domination in the Iberian Peninsula, have not received sufficient attention. My project intends to reconsider this gap in research and the role that they have the statues in al-Andalus.Therefore, I will study the references in Arabic written sources and in archaeology to create a catalog of the statues that were still visible in al-Andalus. I intend to show how the statues were reinterpreted and reused as talismans in the Islamic cities, becoming a moral collection of the past and examples and warning for the future. The statues become "lieux de memoire". They represented men and women, who had accumulated power and wisdom, considered ancient symbols already recognizable and powerful, which interacted with the local population, defining their identity, culture and gender. I intend to point out to how the situation is completely different now, with the recent destructions of antiquities and statues in Syria and Iraq.The project's aim is to renew the reception studies regarding ancient History and Archaeology with the elaboration of an article and a book to be published. I also intent to contribute to the diffusion of these topics within the academic community and in the society.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

OCON, JORGE ELICES. Discourses of antiquity in early medieval Iberia. JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL IBERIAN STUDIES, v. 13, n. 1, DEC 2020. (18/15102-7)

ELICES OCON, JORGE. Portraying antiquity in cartoons: examples from the periodical Molla Nasreddin. MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, v. 57, n. 4, JAN 2021. (18/15102-7)

JORGE ELICES OCÓN. Ancient Statues in Islamic Context: DAESH’s Discourse - The Response to History. Revista Brasileira de História, v. 40, n. 84, p. 217-241, 2020-08-21. (18/15102-7)