IMC 2025: Sessions

Session 741: Medieval Sicily, III: Interpreting Ivory

Sponsor:	Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg / University of Lancaster
Organisers:	John Aspinwall, Historisches Seminar, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg Alex Metcalfe, Department of History, Lancaster University
Moderator/Chair:	Alex Metcalfe, Department of History, Lancaster University
Paper 741-a	The Transformation of the Islamic Chess King in Norman Italy (Language: English) Krisztina Ilko, Queens' College, University of Cambridge Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Art History - General, Daily Life, Islamic and Arabic Studies
Paper 741-b	Form Reveals Function: Norman Ivory Caskets with Hunting Scenes (Language: English) Franka Horvat, Independent Scholar Index terms: Art History - General, Islamic and Arabic Studies
Paper 741-c	A Textile-Lined Ivory Pyxis and What It Might Tell Us about 'Sicilian Ivories' (Language: English) Anna McSweeney, Department of History of Art & Architecture, Trinity College Dublin Index terms: Art History - General, Islamic and Arabic Studies
Abstract	This panel examines how carved ivories – often believed to derive from Norman Sicily – serve as key artefacts in understanding medieval artistic patronage, transmission of artistic techniques, and cross-cultural interactions. By contextualising these ivories within broader historical frameworks, this panel considers what such items can say concerning transfer, exchange, and cooperation in the medieval Mediterranean.