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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Flavia VanniORCiD
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The chapter explores another aspect of the social and economic life of the socially considered poor addressing the difficulty of distinguishing the individual from the group when it comes to issues of production and communal labour organisation. This apparent anonymity impacts the assessment of the income of specific categories of artisans: those involved in carving, painting, and making plaster reliefs. The chapter investigates the urban and rural condition of these artisans by focussing on the production of plasterworks, addressing issues of individuality and anonymity as well as the transferrable skills that allowed artisans to move from one ‘art’ to another, and to use different skill sets according to seasonal need. The social and economic implications of such flexibility meant there was a workforce in Byzantium able to respond and adapt to a number of external factors. This specific focus on plasterwork allows for a more nuanced discussion of artistic labourers in both urban and rural contexts as plaster was a material used by both several specialised and unskilled artisans.
Author(s): Vanni F
Editor(s): Kelley, A. C.; Vanni, F
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: Approaching Social Hierarchies in Byzantium: Dialogues Between Rich and Poor
Year: 2025
Pages: 54-79
Print publication date: 20/01/2025
Online publication date: 20/01/2025
Acceptance date: 23/06/2023
Edition: 1st
Series Title: Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies
Publisher: Routledge
Place Published: London
URL: https://www.routledge.com/Approaching-Social-Hierarchies-in-Byzantium-Dialogues-Between-Rich-and-Poor/Kelley-Vanni/p/book/9781032543635
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9781032543635
