MARIA PARANI
22893565
...
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Department of History and Archaeology
Archaeological Research Unit,
12, Gladstonos str.
Undergraduate studies at the University of Athens (diploma in History and Archaeology, with a specialization in Archaeology and Art History, 1991), postgraduate studies at University College London (M.A. in Field and Analytical Techniques in Archaeology, 1993) and the University of Oxford (D.Phil. in Byzantine Art and Archaeology, 2000). Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. (2001-2002). Hannah Seeger Davis Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in the Program of Hellenic Studies, Princeton University (2002-2003). Visiting Staff (P.D. 407) in Byzantine Archaeology at the University of Crete, Department of History and Archaeology (spring 2004). Summer Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. (2004, 2017). She teaches at the University of Cyprus since January 2005.
Funded research projects
- 2021-2023: coordinator of research projec A digital corpus of painted Greek inscriptions from medieval Cyprus (10th – 13th centuries AD), funded by the University of Cyprus.
- 2021-2023: collaborator in the project NetMAR: Network for Byzantine Arts and Rituals (Horizon 2020 – WIDESPREAD-05-2020 – Twinning; primary coordinator: Stavroula Constantinou, UCY).
- 2019-2021: research collaborator in the project Lactating Breasts: Motherhood and Breastfeeding in Antiquity and Byzantium (4th century BCE-7th century CE) (Research and Innovation Foundation, Cyprus, Programme “Excellence Hubs”; primary coordinator: Stavroula Constantinou, UCY).
- 2014-2016: primary coordinator for the Foundation A. G. Leventis Research Programme The church of the Transfiguration at Sotera (Famagusta District) in context: History – Architecture – Murals; in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus.
- 2006-2007: academic supervisor for UCY (Partner 6) of the programme Byzantine Heritage Network: Rehabilitation, Ηighlighting and Μanagement in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin (INTERREG III B ARCHIMED). In association with the Dipartimento Attività Produttive, Regione Basilicata (Italy), the Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche, Istituto per i beni archeologici e monumentali (Italy), the Provincia di Lecce (Italy), the Prefecture of Rethymnon and the Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment of the University of Athens.
Coordination of Post-doctoral research projects
- 2020-2022: Negotiating Modernity (NEMO): Rural Dress and Sociocultural Change in Cyprus during the British Period (1878-1960) (“Onisilos” funding scheme for postdoctoral researchers, UCY). Postdoctoral researcher: Petroula Hadjittophi. Seconcary coordinator: Euphrosyne Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou.
Teaching at the University of Cyprus
Undergraduate Programme
ARC 132 – Introduction to Byzantine Art and Archaeology
ARC 269 – Post-Byzantine Art (1453 – 19th century)
ARC 249 – Communication and Exchange Networks in the Early Byzantine Period (4th – 7th century)
ARC 230 – Early Byzantine Cities in the Eastern Mediterranean (4th – 7th century)
ARC 248 – Monumental Art in the Byzantine Periphery (9th – 12th century)
ARC 263 – Everyday life in Byzantium
ARC 264 – Byzantine Glyptics
ARC 239 – Byzantine Icon Theory and the Iconoclastic Controversy
ARC 204 – Gender in Byzantine Art
ARC 259 – Byzantine Metalwork
ARH 257 – The Bible in Byzantine Art
ARC 216 – Byzantine Cyprus: Art and Archeaology (4th – 12th century)
ARC 307 – The topography of Constantinople
ARC 334 – Dress and Adornment in Byzantium
ARC 331 – Iconographic Programmes of Middle Byzantine Churches
ARC 388 – Art and Ritual in Byzantine Cyprus
ARC 269 – Post-Byzantine Art (1453 – 19th century)
ARC 249 – Communication and Exchange Networks in the Early Byzantine Period (4th – 7th century)
ARC 230 – Early Byzantine Cities in the Eastern Mediterranean (4th – 7th century)
ARC 248 – Monumental Art in the Byzantine Periphery (9th – 12th century)
ARC 263 – Everyday life in Byzantium
ARC 264 – Byzantine Glyptics
ARC 239 – Byzantine Icon Theory and the Iconoclastic Controversy
ARC 204 – Gender in Byzantine Art
ARC 259 – Byzantine Metalwork
ARH 257 – The Bible in Byzantine Art
ARC 216 – Byzantine Cyprus: Art and Archeaology (4th – 12th century)
ARC 307 – The topography of Constantinople
ARC 334 – Dress and Adornment in Byzantium
ARC 331 – Iconographic Programmes of Middle Byzantine Churches
ARC 388 – Art and Ritual in Byzantine Cyprus
Interdepartmental Postgraduate Programme in Byzantine Studies and the Latin East
ARC 505 – Byzantine Icon Theory
ARC 506 – Byzantine "Secular" Art
ARC 507 – Dress: The Mirror of Byzantine Society
ARC 508 – Relations between Centre and Periphery: Byzantine Art in Cyprus
ARC 509 – From Paganism to Christianity
M.A. in Field Archaeology on Land and under the Sea (in English) / Interdepartmental Postgraduate Programme "Conservation and Restoration of Historic Buidlings and Sites"
ARC 663 – Introduction to Cultural Heritage Management
Formation processes of Byzantine art, representation of realia, Byzantine and medieval Cyprus, Byzantine epigraphy, cultural exchange in the fields of court ceremonial, dress and art, daily life in Byzantium and the exploration of alternative sources for the study of Byzantine material culture, Byzantine dress and identity, the Byzantine home, imperial ceremonial, light and lighting in Byzantium.
BOOKS
-L. Bouras† and M. G. Parani, Lighting in Early Byzantium (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2008)
-Reconstructing the Reality of Images: Byzantine Material Culture and Religious Iconography (11th-15th centuries), The Medieval Mediterranean 41 (Leiden and Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003)
EDITED BOOKS
-with M. Olympios, The Art and Archaeology of Lusignan and Venetian Cyprus (1192-1571): Recent Research and New Discoveries, Studies in the Visual Culture of the Middle Ages 12 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2019).
-with T. Papacostas, Discipuli dona ferentes. Glimpses of Byzantium in Honour of Marlia Mundell Mango, ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟς – Studies in Byzantine History and Civilization 11 (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2017).
-with D. Michaelides, The Archaeology of Late Antique and Byzantine Cyprus (4th–12th centuries AD). Conference in Honour of Athanasios Papageorghiou = Cahiers du Centre d’ Études Chypriotes 43 (2013), 11-328.
-with A. Beihammer and S. Constantinou, Court Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in Byzantium and the Medieval Mediterranean. Comparative Perspectives, The Medieval Mediterranean 98 (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2013).
-with A. D. Beihammer and C. D. Schabel, Diplomatics in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1000-1500: Aspects of Cross-Cultural Communication, The Medieval Mediterranean 74 (Leiden and Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2008).
ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS
-"On the fringe. The painted ornament of the Holy Tinity chapel at Koutsovendēs, Cyprus", Zograf 44 (2020), 59-78.
-"On the fringe. The painted ornament of the Holy Tinity chapel at Koutsovendēs, Cyprus", Zograf 44 (2020), 59-78.
-“Curtains in the Middle and Late Byzantine House,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 73 (2019), 145-163.
-"A Monument of His Own? An Iconographic Study of the Wall Paintings of the Holy Trinity Parekklesion at the Monastery of St. John Chrysostom, Koutsovendis (Cyprus)", Studies in Iconography 39 (2018), 1-85.
-"Mediating presence: Curtains in Middle and Late Byzantine imperial ceremonial and portraiture," Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 42/1 (2018), 1-25.
-“Byzantine Cutlery: An Overview,” Δελτίον Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας 31 (2010), 139-164.
-“Cultural Identity and Dress: The Case of Late Byzantine Court Costume,” Jarbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantinistik 57 (2007), 95-134.
-“Representations of Glass Objects as a Source on Byzantine Glass. How useful are they?” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 59 (2005), 147-171.
-With B. Pitarakis and J.-M. Spieser, “Un exemple d’inventaire d’objets liturgiques. Le Testament d’Eustathios Boilas (Avril 1059),” Revue des Etudes Byzantines 61 (2003), 143-165.
-“The Romanos Ιvory and the New Tokal? Kilise: Imperial Costume as a Tool for Dating Byzantine Art,” Cahiers Archeologiques 49 (2001), 15-28.
ARTICLES IN CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
-“Clothes maketh the emperor? Embodying and performing imperial ideology in Byzantium through dress,” in Staging the Ruler’s Body in Medieval Cultures: A Comparative Perspective, ed. M. Bacci, G. Grigoryan Savary, and M. Studer-Karlen (Turnhout: Brepols, 2023), 156-172.
-“Images of Breastfeeding in Early Byzantine Art: Form – Context – Function”, in Breastfeeding and Mothering in Antiquity and Early Byzantium, ed. S. Constantinou and A. Skouroumouni-Stavrinou (London: Routledge, 2023), 183-205.
-“Images of Breastfeeding in Early Byzantine Art: Form – Context – Function”, in Breastfeeding and Mothering in Antiquity and Early Byzantium, ed. S. Constantinou and A. Skouroumouni-Stavrinou (London: Routledge, 2023), 183-205.
-With B. Pitarakis and J.-M. Spieser, “Artefacts and Raw Materials in Byzantine Archival Documents (ByzAD): A New Electronic Resource for the Study of Byzantine Material Culture,” in Lire les Archives de l’Athos, ed. O. Delouis and K. Smyrlis = Travaux et mémoires 23/2 (Paris, 2019), 419-445.
-“Experiencing miraculous icons in Byzantium: the examples of the icon of the ‘Usual Miracle’ and the Hodegetria in Constantinople,” in Visibilité et présence de l’image dans l’espace ecclésial. Byzance et Moyen Âge occidental, ed. S. Brodbeck and A.-O. Poilpré, with the assistance of M. Stavrou, Byzantina Sorbonensia 30 (Paris: Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2019), 171-194.
-"'The Joy of the Most Holy Mother of God the Hodegetria the One in Constantinople': Revisiting the Famous Representation at the Blacherna Monastery, Arta," in Viewing Greece: Cultural and Political Agency in the Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean, ed. S. E. J. Gerstel, Studies in the Visual Cultures of the Middle Ages 11 (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2016), 113-145.
-“Living in a Sweet Land: The Material Culture of Daily Life on Cyprus, 13th-14th centuries,” in Medieval Cyprus. A Place of Cultural Encounter, ed. S. Rogge and M. Grünbart (Μünster, 2015), 219-244.
-"The Stuff of Life: The Material Culture of Everyday Living on Middle Byzantine Cyprus (11th-12th centuries)», in Cyprus and the Balance of Empires. Art and Archaeology from Justinian I to the Coeur de Lion, ed. Ch. A. Stewart, T. W. Davis and A. Weyl Carr (Boston, 2014), 153-163.
-“Look like an Angel: The Attire of Eunuchs and Its Significance within the Context of Middle Byzantine Court Ceremonial,” in Court
Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in Byzantium and the Medieval Mediterranean. Comparative Perspectives, ed. A. Beihammer, S. Constantinou and M. Parani, The Medieval Mediterranean 98 (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers), 433-463.
Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in Byzantium and the Medieval Mediterranean. Comparative Perspectives, ed. A. Beihammer, S. Constantinou and M. Parani, The Medieval Mediterranean 98 (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers), 433-463.
-“‘Rise like the sun, the God-inspired kingship’: Light-symbolism and the Uses of Light in Middle and Late Byzantine Imperial Ceremonials,” in Hierotopy of Light and Fire in the Culture of the Byzantine World, ed. A. Lidov (Moscow: Theoria Publishing House, 2013), 159-184.
-“Artisanal Production in Late Antique Cyprus,” in The Insular System of the Early Byzantine Mediterranean. Archaeology and History, ed. D. Michaelides, Ph. Pergola, and E. Zanini, BAR International Series 2523 (Oxford, 2013), 131-138.
-“Dressed to Kill: Middle Byzantine Military Ceremonial Attire,” in The Byzantine Court: Source of Power and Culture. Papers from the Second International Sevgi Gonul Byzantine Studies Symposium, Istanbul 21-23 June 2010, ed. A. Odekan, N. Necipoglu, and E. Akyurek (Istanbul: Koc University Press, 2013), 145-156.
-"Encounters in the Realm of Dress: Attitudes towards Western Styles in the Greek East," in Renaissance Encounters: Greek East – Latin West, ed. M. S. Brownlee and D. H. Gondicas (Leiden and Boston, 2013), 263-301.
-“Byzantine Jewellery: The Evidence from Byzantine Legal Documents,” in “Intelligible Beauty”: Recent Research on Byzantine Jewellery (British Museum Research Publication 178), ed. Ch. Entwistle and N. Adams (London, 2010), 186-192.
-“Intercultural exchange in the field of material culture in the Eastern Mediterranean: the evidence of Byzantine legal documents (11th to 15th centuries,” in Diplomatics in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1000-1500: Aspects of Cross-Cultural Communication, ed. A. D. Beihammer, M. G. Parani and C. D. Schabel (Leiden and Boston,2008), 349–371.
-“Defining Personal Space: Dress and Accessories in Late Antiquity,” in Objects in Context, Objects in Use. Material Spatiality in Late Antiquity. (Late Antique Archaeology 5 - 2007), ed. L. Lavan, E. Swift and T. Putzeys (Leiden and Boston), 497-529.
-“Byzantine Material Culture and Religious Iconography,” in Material Culture and Well-Being in Byzantium (400-1453), Proceedings of the International Conference (Cambridge, 8-10 September 2001), ed. M. Grunbart, E. Kislinger, A. Muthesius and D. Stathakopoulos (Vienna, 2007), 181-192.
ARTICLES IN FESTSCHRIFTS
-“Medieval Byzantine Furniture,” in Discipuli dona ferentes. Glimpses of Byzantium in Honour of Marlia Mundell Mango, ed. T. Papacostas and M. Parani, ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΟς – Studies in Byzantine History and Civilization 11 (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2017), 181-221.
-“Optional extras or necessary elements? Middle and Late Byzantine male dress accessories,” in Δασκάλα. Απόδοση τιμής στην Καθηγήτρια Μαίρη Παναγιωτίδη-Κεσίσογλου, ed. Pl. Petridis and V. Foskolou (Athens, 2015), 407-435.
-“Some Thoughts on the Architectural Backgrounds in the Work of the Painter Philippos Goul,” in Antapodosi. Studies in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Archaeology and Art in Honour of Professor Helen Deliyianni-Doris, ed. S. I. Arvanite et al. (Athens, 2010), 341-368 (in Greek).
-“On the Personal Life of Objects in Medieval Byzantium,” in The Material and the Ideal. Essays in Medieval Art and Archaeology in Honour of Jean-Michel Spieser, ed. A. Cutler and A. Papaconstantinou (Leiden and Boston, 2007), 157-176.
-“Byzantine Bridal Costume,” in Δώρημα. A Tribute to the A. G. Leventis Foundation on the Occasion of Its 20th Anniversary (Nicosia, 2000), 185-216.
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS AND REFERENCE WORKS
-“Negotiating Gender Identity through the Visual Arts”, in The Routledge Handbook on Gender and Sexuality in Byzantium, ed. M. Meyer and Ch. Messis (New York and London: Routledge, 2024), 419-442.
-“Negotiating Gender Identity through the Visual Arts”, in The Routledge Handbook on Gender and Sexuality in Byzantium, ed. M. Meyer and Ch. Messis (New York and London: Routledge, 2024), 419-442.
-“Counting down: Inventories,” in Sources for Byzantine Art History. Volume 3: The Visual Culture of Later Byzantium (c. 1081–c.1350), ed. F. Spingou, ser. ed. Ch. Barber, 2 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022), 2: 1125-1133.
-“Secular Art,” in The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Art and Architecture, ed. Ellen C. Schwartz (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021), 117-132.
-“Secular Art,” in The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Art and Architecture, ed. Ellen C. Schwartz (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021), 117-132.
-“Etimasia/Hetoimasia”, in Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online, ed. David G. Hunter, Paul J.J. van Geest, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, first published online: 2018, DOI 10.1163/2589-7993_EECO_SIM_00001126
-"Lamps", in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology, ed. William Caraher, Thomas Davis και David K. Pettegrew (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199369041.013.18
-“Textiles, Byzantium”, “Clothing, Byzantium”, “Hair, hairstyling, Byzantium”, “Cosmetics, Byzantium”, “Amulets, Christian”, “Furniture, Byzantium”, in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, ed. R. Bagnall et al., http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
-“Fabrics and Clothing,” in The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, eds. E. Jeffreys, J. Haldon, and R. Cormack (Oxford, 2008), 407-420.
EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
-“Le royaume des Lusignan (1192-1489): la tradition byzantine,” in Chypre entre Byzance et l’Occident, IVe-XVIe siècle, ed. J. Durand and D. Giovannoni (Paris: The Louvre, 2012), 293-301, and cat. nos. 14, 22, 23, 80.
-City of Gold: The Archaeology of Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus, ed. W. A. P. Childs, J. S. Smith and J. M. Padgett, Princeton Art Museum (New Haven, 2012), cat. nos. 98, 99.
-Sacred Art, Secular Context: Objects of Art from the Byzantine Collection of Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., Accompanied by American Paintings from the Collection of Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, ed. A. Kirin, with contributions by J. N. Carder and R. R. Nelson (Athens, Ga., 2005), 88-89, and cat. nos. 33-37.
-City of Gold: The Archaeology of Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus, ed. W. A. P. Childs, J. S. Smith and J. M. Padgett, Princeton Art Museum (New Haven, 2012), cat. nos. 98, 99.
-Sacred Art, Secular Context: Objects of Art from the Byzantine Collection of Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., Accompanied by American Paintings from the Collection of Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, ed. A. Kirin, with contributions by J. N. Carder and R. R. Nelson (Athens, Ga., 2005), 88-89, and cat. nos. 33-37.
DATABASES
With L. Bender, B. Pitarakis, J.-M. Spieser and A. Vuilloud, Artefacts and Raw Materials in Byzantine Archival Documents / Objets et materiaux dans les documents d'archives byzantins http://typika.cfeb.org