Tridacna Revised

The engraved Tridacna shell in the collection of the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden the Netherlands fits into a corpus of engraved Tridacna shells, engraved Tridacna shell and Lambis shell discs and cosmetic palette’s. These object have been interpreted as luxury items and cosmetic containers produced by Phoenicians, in the past. However, the use and meaning of the Tridacna shells is complex and differs by region, such this study shows. Their meaning is layered and defined by the context of use. Some were evidently connected to the ritual sphere as in the case of votive offerings, some however were of more personal utilitarian character These objects are representative ‘s of the omnidirectional connections in the Iron Age Mediterranean world. They show the connections to be active deep in-land, in the East Mediterranean. They also show that the boundaries scholars set between cultural regions for decades are fluid or not existing at all. The stylistic features observed in...Show moreThe engraved Tridacna shell in the collection of the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden the Netherlands fits into a corpus of engraved Tridacna shells, engraved Tridacna shell and Lambis shell discs and cosmetic palette’s. These object have been interpreted as luxury items and cosmetic containers produced by Phoenicians, in the past. However, the use and meaning of the Tridacna shells is complex and differs by region, such this study shows. Their meaning is layered and defined by the context of use. Some were evidently connected to the ritual sphere as in the case of votive offerings, some however were of more personal utilitarian character These objects are representative ‘s of the omnidirectional connections in the Iron Age Mediterranean world. They show the connections to be active deep in-land, in the East Mediterranean. They also show that the boundaries scholars set between cultural regions for decades are fluid or not existing at all. The stylistic features observed in the iconography of depictions on the engraved Tridanca’s, palette’s and engraved shell discs are not illustrative of several cultural influences converging in Phoenician artistic expression, but of an interregional koinè. A language of visual expression spoken throughout the Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions. It consists of ‘styles’ and motives not bounded by any ‘culture’. No longer attached to ‘a’ single meaning within a region. Thus stylistic features that have been guiding the origin debate about these objects should not be leading. Evaluation of the archaeological context, set in the framework as postulated by Horden and Purcell of interconnected regions in the Mediterranean, gives reason to revise. New objects have come to light that lead to a production among the semi-settled pastoral and nomadic tribes in the region of Edom situated in the South of present day Jordan. The engraved Tridacna shells could have been traded toward the West by Phoenician sailing merchants but this is not the only possible means of distribution.Show less

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Tridacna Revised