Icon, cult, and context

"This festschrift honors UCLA professor emerita Susan Downey and her meticulous scholarship on religious architecture and imagery in the Roman/Hellenistic world. The iconography of gods and goddesses, the analysis of sacred imagery in the context of ancient cult practices, and the design and decoration of sacred spaces are the main themes of the book. Authors examine such subjects as painting from Dura-Europos, Hellenistic sculpture at Saqqara in Egypt, Roman cameo glass, Pompeian fresco, and aspects of Venus in portrait sculpture. The essays on Dura-Europos are especially valuable in light of the present turmoil in the region.Professor Downey's influence shines through in these discussions, which echo her mentorship of several generations of art history and archaeology students and recognize her scholarly achievements. The broad temporal and geographic parameters of the volume are expansive, and the juxtaposition of images and analyses leads to surprising new conclusions"-- "This festschrift honors UCLA Professor Emerita Susan Downey's meticulous scholarship on the Classical World architecture of sacred spaces, and the objects and imagery contained in those spaces. The contributors, former students and current colleagues of Susan Downey, demonstrate a shared concern for very careful consideration of the evidence in their analyses of religious iconography, cult practices and sacred edifices. The book is divided into sections that echo the title of the volume: icon, cult, and context. The iconography of gods and goddesses, analysis of sacred imagery in the context of ancient cult practices, and the design and decoration of sacred spaces are the main themes of the book. Professor Downey's influence shines through in these discussions of cult objects, iconography, and religious architecture, which echo her mentorship of several generations of art history and archaeology students, and recognize her scholarly achievements"--