Scope and Contents
The collection documents approximately 1,500 Byzantine silver vessels and utensils produced for liturgical and domestic use between 300 and 1453 CE within the geographical boundaries of the Roman and Byzantine empires (as known, ca. 1985). Silver vessels from Western Europe through the seventh century and Veneto-Byzantine silver are included; Sassanian silver, coins, jewelry, armor, icon frames, settings, and ingots are excluded.
Mounted photographs of objects correspond to entries in the Silver Corpus Catalog. Each individual object entry includes a description with dimensions and weights provided by published sources and by the holding institutions. An accompanying card catalog serves as an index to the objects; reference cards record bibliography, locations, hoard codes, inscriptions, and object types.
Dates
- Creation: 1981 - 1986
Creator
- Dumbarton Oaks (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
An appointment is required for access to these papers. To request an appointment, fill out the online form: http://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/access-and-hours/schedule-an-appointment.
For research queries, contact the staff of Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives (library@doaks.org).
Conditions Governing Use
Photographs are for research and study purposes only.
Extent
24 linear feet (45 boxes containing around 4,000 photographs; 10 binders of documents; 4 boxes of reference cards)Biographical / Historical
The Silver Corpus was started in 1981 by staff of the Byzantine Photograph Collection (an earlier iteration of the Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives). It was completed between 1984-1986, with aid of grant funds from the J. Paul Getty Trust. Staff who worked on the project were Charlotte Kroll Burk, photograph archivist; William Diebold, Silver Corpus cataloger (1981); and Erin Loftus, Silver Corpus cataloger (1984-86).
Arrangement
Photographs and binders for the Silver Corpus Catalog are arranged by geographic location and institution. Reference cards are organized by subject (bibliography, locations, hoard codes, inscriptions, and object types) and arranged alphabetically within each grouping.
Other Finding Aids
Creator
- Dumbarton Oaks (Organization)
- Title
- Corpus of early Christian and Byzantine silver, 1981-1986 (MS.BZ.020): Finding aid.
- Author
- Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives; Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University.
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- dca00017
Repository Details
Part of the Dumbarton Oaks Repository
Dumbarton Oaks holds archival collections in its Rare Book Collection, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, and the Dumbarton Oaks Archives. The collections include: the papers of noteworthy scholars in the three fields that Dumbarton Oaks supports (Byzantine, Pre-Columbian, and Garden and Landscape); image collections depicting objects or sites of topical interest to scholars in the three fields; Beatrix Farrand’s personal archive of letters and original drawings that document the development of the Dumbarton Oaks Garden; and institutional records and architectural plans and drawings documenting the history of Dumbarton Oaks. For more information about hours and to make an appointment to consult any of the collections listed here, please fill out the request form: https://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/schedule-an-appointment