Palace Ware Across the Neo-Assyrian Imperial Landscape: Social Value and Semiotic Meaning

269 Pages·2015·10.17 MB·English

by  Alice M. W. Hunt

Palace Ware
Across the Neo-Assyrian
Imperial Landscape
Social Value and Semiotic Meaning
By
Alice M.W. Hunt
culture & history of the ancient near east
Palace Ware Across the Neo-Assyrian Imperial Landscape
Culture and History of the
Ancient Near East
Founding Editor
M.H.E. Weippert
Editor-in-Chief
Jonathan Stökl
Editors
Eckart Frahm
W. Randall Garr
Baruch Halpern
Theo P.J. van den Hout
Leslie Anne Warden
Irene J. Winter
VOLUME 78
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/chan
Palace Ware Across the
Neo-Assyrian Imperial Landscape
Social Value and Semiotic Meaning
By
Alice M. W. Hunt
LEIDEN | BOSTON
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issn 1566-2055
isbn 978-90-04-30411-6 (hardback)
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of Figures x
List of Tables XVII
List of Maps XVIII
Glossary XIX
1 The Palace Ware Problem 1
2 Power and Prestige: The Neo-Assyrian Imperial Landscape 20
3 Palace Ware from the Central Provinces: Nimrud, Nineveh
and Aššur 38
4 Palace Ware from the Annexed Provinces:
Dur-Katlimmu & Guzana 97
5 Palace Ware in the Unincorporated Territories 146
6 Conspicuous Consumption: Social Function and Semiotic
Meaning of Palace Ware 182
7 Concluding Remarks 205
Appendix A: Palace Ware Petrographic Thin-section Descriptions 207
Appendix B: INAA Bulk Chemical Data 220
Bibliography 226
Index 247

Acknowledgements
Scientific inquiry and academic research cannot exist in a vacuum. This proj-
ect took shape over years, over shared pints, cups of coffee and bottles of wine.
I am grateful for each and every conversation, new perspective and question I
could not answer; all of which challenged me and encouraged me. Although
you are too numerous to name, you are not forgotten.
This manuscript is based on my doctoral research and I am especially grate-
ful to my supervisors. Thilo Rehren—thank you for believing in me, supporting
me to take risks, and accepting nothing less than excellence. Ian Freestone—
thank you for your encouragement and for helping me refine my analytical
abilities. Rachael Sparks—thank you for keeping me grounded in the archae-
ology, suffering through the science, and providing a shoulder when needed.
In its present manifestation, this manuscript owes much to the advice
and mentorship of Karen Radner (UCL), Eleanor Robson (Cambridge), Jeff
Speakman (UGA), and Katelyn Chin and the series editors. Your comments and
critiques have made this a stronger work and me a better researcher.
It is my pleasure to recognize the individuals and institutions whose gen-
erosity made this project possible. Robert Speller and Ben Price (UCL) for
allowing me access to and training in X-ray radiography and Johannes Sterba
(Technische Universität Wien) for conducing the INAA for this study. Caroline
Cartwright (The British Museum) and Yuval Goren (Tel Aviv University) for
their expertise and advice during my petrographic work. John Curtis and
the Trustees of the British Museum, Ralf-Bernard Wartke (Vorderasiatiches
Museum), Melinda Zeder (Smithsonian Institution), the Israel Antiquities
Authority, Jean-Baptiste Humbert and the École biblique et archéologique fran-
çaise de Jérusalem, Hartmut Kühne and Janoscha Kreppner (Freie Universität
Berlin), Muzahim Mahmoud Hussein (Iraqi Department of Antiquities),
Ayelet Gilboa (University of Haifa), Sy Gitin (AIAR), and David Stronach, Peter
Lumsden and Eleanor Wilkinson (UC Berkeley excavation team) for allowing
me access to materials and for answering endless questions.
For permission to use photographs and other graphic art media under copy-
right I gratefully acknowledge the following presses, museum and individuals:
The British Museum, The British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Harrassowitz
Verlag, Saad Jassim, Hartmut Kühne, and Walter de Gruyter.
Funding for this project was generously awarded by: The State Department
Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, The Albright Institute of
Archaeological Research, Smithsonian Institution, and the Gay Clifford Award
for Outstanding Women.