A01=Marcus Milwright
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Author_Marcus Milwright
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balsam
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HBJF1
Category=MBX
Category=NHG
COP=United Kingdom
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
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eq_history
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Language_English
luxury studies
Matarea
medieval Mediterranean
medieval Middle East
Mediterranean
Middle East
Middle Eastern history
PA=Available
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
softlaunch
Product details
- ISBN 9781399508872
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 05 Dec 2022
- Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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Tells the history of the precious balsam of Matarea: a substance traded for its weight in gold
Uses archaeological and textual sources to trace the cultivation of balsam trees from the 4th century BCE to the 17th century CE
Surveys the evidence for the symbolic value and practical applications of balsam in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe
Establishes the many uses of balsam in pre-modern medicine, religious ritual and royal ceremonies
Correlates modern botanical studies with historical sources in the identification of the trees that once grew in the plantation of Matarea in Egypt
Explores the complex socio-cultural factors that contributed to the sense of value accorded to rare commodities
Richly illustrated with over 50 line drawings, engravings, watercolours and photographs, drawn from sources ranging across time from medieval manuscripts to 20th-century photographs, depicting balsam trees, balsam resin receptacles, the compound of Matarea, maps and more
Using written sources, visual data and archaeological material, Marcus Milwright reconstructs the fascinating cultural history of the balsam tree from Jericho and En-Gedi to Egypt, and from ancient times to the 17th century. Miwright addresses the symbolic associations of balsam and the site of Matarea (where the last balsam tree died in 1615), the distribution of products from the tree through trade and diplomacy, and the applications of these products in medicine, ritual and the domestic environment. He also establishes links with resin-producing trees from the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
The balsam of Matarea was a substance famous as a panacea among physicians in the Middle East and Europe during the Antique and Medieval periods. It was used in many aspects of medieval life and is associated with figures such as the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba and Cleopatra.
Marcus Milwright is Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology in the Department of Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada. He is the author of The Fortress of the Raven: Karak in the Middle Islamic Period (2008), An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology (EUP, 2010) and The Dome of the Rock and it Umayyad Mosaic Inscriptions (EUP, 2016).
