Relic, Reliquary, Materiality: Sacred Art as Design History

This seminar aims to revisit the role and function of sacred arts in the three Abrahamic faiths, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, in order to bring forward a new understanding as to the role and function of artefacts made for and used in religious contexts. By centering on the reliquary as the defining manmade sacred object, we will uncover the place of religious arts through material, design, ritual, and technique. As present-day scholarship is concerned more with the agency, presence, and ontological status of crafted artefacts rather than with their style and iconography, the seminar is set to explore how these objects raise significant questions about the nature and operation of artefacts in the world, their materiality, their ability to act or inspire action, and their relation to speech, texts, and words. The seminar is developed in collaboration with the Jewish Museum and connects to an exhibition on reliquaries and devotional objects in Jewish culture and beyond. It also draws on collections from major New York institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Morgan Library & Museum, to investigate an underexplored chapter in design history. 3 credits. Satisfies the geocultural or chronological requirement.