Medieval and Early Modern European, African and Asian ivories seen through the Data Lens

Abstract

Ivories of different natures are one of the oldest materials of artistic expression, and they have been used widely through space and time. The purpose of this article is twofold: on the one hand, to offer a data driven analysis of Medieval and Early Modern ivories in Europe, Africa and Asia (ca. 1000 to 1600); on the other hand, to offer a critical perspective on the proposed query method itself. Nine museums with 2123 objects have been chosen for this analysis, based on the availability of a query endpoint. The proposed method has clear advantages and disadvantages. To the advantages belong the possibility of researching through several museum holdings at the same time (once the dataset is modelled), to query museum object data on view and on deposit all together, to be potentially able to provide insights into a given category from a very broad perspective, but also to search for unusual objects. To the disadvantages belong the fact that data is changeable, and that the selection of the museums is driven by the availability of a query structure. Therefore, the choice of the museums is also problematic, if one wants to address an international comparison. Furthermore, each museum offered data only in specific fields, which adds complexity to an overall query.