Zur Intermaterialität geschnitzter Kästen aus Holz

How does materiality affect artistic processes of object creation and reception? This volume examining carved boxes from the High and Late medieval periods deals with interrelations between material and technique. It compiles details of the origin, provenance and function of numerous boxes and also embeds production techniques, material preferences and reception aesthetics in the state of contemporary knowledge. One focus is on interactions and transfers of materials. Wood in particular was used to imitate and evoke ivory, silk and gold, which might bring about social rapprochement between the lower nobility and the higher nobility, or between the carving craftsmen and the bourgeoisie. The analysis of intermateriality establishes that materials, forms and techniques cannot be grasped in isolation.

Arne Leopold, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf