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LIVING WITH ART. Domestic decorative sculpture in Western Roman Empire: reconstructing display, sociocultural dynamics, and addressing productive and economic processes

Project description

Uncovering the private lives of Ancient Romans

In ancient Rome, the walls of private homes often whispered stories that written texts never told. Decorative sculptures, tucked into gardens, courtyards, or atriums, offered more than aesthetic pleasure; they mirrored personal tastes, gender roles, and social dynamics. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LIVART project dives into this overlooked world, exploring how these artworks shaped and reflected daily life across the western Roman provinces. By blending archaeology, art history, materials science, and cutting-edge 3D/VR tech, researchers aim to uncover the societal, economic, and cultural meanings behind these sculptures. Based at the University of Bonn with expert secondments in Italy and Spain, LIVART is breathing new life into ancient domestic spaces, offering a rare glimpse into the intimate corners of Roman history.

Objective

LIVART is a multidisciplinary, innovative project that will investigate decorative sculptures in domestic contexts during the Roman period. They offer insights into sociocultural practices of private Roman spaces, revealing aspects of daily life not recorded in written sources and reflecting personal preferences of their owners and inhabitants. The project examines function, aesthetic significance, and societal, economic, and cultural roles of these sculptures within Roman families. It aims to understand how they reflect and influence domestic practices, social relationships, gender and diversity roles, and economic dynamics in the Roman Empire. The research integrates archaeology, art history, archaeometry, and 3D/VR technologies to achieve its objectives. Geographically, it focuses on the Western Roman provinces, within a chronological framework extending from the Republican era to the end of the Empire. The project, developed at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Germany), is planned to last 24 months and includes an eight-month secondment phase in three renowned laboratories: Laboratory for Analysing Materials of Ancient origin (LAMA) at the Università Iuav di Venezia (Italy), the Stable Isotope Laboratory at the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering (IGAG) of the National Research Council in Rome, and the Department of Geology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). These secondments ensure the proper integration of various hard science methods and techniques for stone analysis, which are crucial to the project’s research objectives, particularly those productive and economic dynamics derived from the identification of raw materials used to carve the sculptures. Therefore, LIVART addresses significant knowledge gaps and employ advanced methods to preserve and disseminate European cultural heritage, potentially transforming our understanding of Roman domestic life and decorative sculpture.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

RHEINISCHE FRIEDRICH-WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAT BONN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 202 125,12
Address
REGINA PACIS WEG 3
53113 BONN
Germany

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Region
Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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Partners (3)

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