‎Branko Fredde van Oppen de Ruiter, Ronald Wallenfels (eds)‎
‎Hellenistic Sealings & Archives. Proceedings of The Edfu Connection, an international conference‎

‎, Brepols, 2021 Paperback, xxxvi + 260 pages, Size:216 x 280 mm, Illustrations:367 b/w, 8 col., 9 tables b/w., 8 maps b/w, Language: English. ISBN 9782503591278.‎

Reference : 65135

‎Summary Ancient seal impressions that were once employed to seal a variety of objects, in particular different kinds of documents, can offer a wealth of information not only about iconography, but also about the dissemination of ideas and beliefs. Their usage provides evidence about the continuation, transformation, and mutual influences that impacted upon local traditions, as well as shed light on administrative and bureaucratic practices. Drawing together in-depth contributions by specialists in the field, this timely volume - the first of its kind in twenty-five years - offers new insights into seals and their importance during the relatively understudied Hellenistic period (c. 325-25 BCE), as well as contextualizing this subject through a focus on related fields such as glyptics and numismatics. The twelve chapters included here explore the importance of hoards, among them those from Delos, Doliche, Edfu, Kedesh, Pistiros, Seleucia-on-the-Tigris, Selinunte, and Uruk, and examine themes that range from the persistence of pharaonic imagery on Ptolemaic sealings and Greek influence on Sicilian seals, to the survival of Mesopotamian traditions on Parthian clay tablets and the use of Hellenistic iconography on Bactrian finger rings. Through this multifaceted approach, this volume is able to elucidate the daily realities of social, public, and private archival practices that went beyond the political and elite levels of life, and to illuminate aspects of Hellenistic history that have long remained obscure or inaccessible. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Organiser's Acknowledgements Colour plates Topographical List Hellenistic Sealings and Archives - BRANKO F. VAN OPPEN DE RUITER Pharaonic-Themed Sealings in the Edfu Hoard - ROBERT S. BIANCHI Coins and Sealings: The Portraiture of Ptolemy VI-XII - CATHARINE C. LORBER Hellenistic Motifs in the Edfu Hoard - BRANKO F. VAN OPPEN DE RUITER Sealing the Deal: Representing Heracles in Selinunte - JANE L. AINSWORTH A Review of Clay Sealings from an early Hellenistic Deposit at the Emporium of Pistiros - ZOSIA H. ARCHIBALD Searching for the Archive of Doliche: A Preliminary Report on the Archive Repertoire -TORBEN SCHREIBER Snowflakes and Quicksand: A Survey of Hellenistic Sealing Practices - SHARON C. HERBERT Hellenistic Sealings in Context: The City Archive of Seleucia-on-the-Tigris - VITO MESSINA Patterns of Use of Royal Portraits in Hellenistic Archives - LAURE MAREST Archival Practices of the Chreophylakes at Dura-Europos - GAËLLE COQUEUGNIOT Arsacid-period Seal Impressions from Uruk - RONALD WALLENFELS Business as Usual? Seals and Sealings in the Hellenistic Far East - GUNNAR R. DUMKE Bibliography Index‎