Classicism and the Making of Commemorative Monuments in Newly Independent Ireland

This chapter discusses the influence of classicism in the construction of commemorative monuments after Irish independence, with particular focus on the National War Memorial, which was eventually erected at Islandbridge, and on the temporary and then permanent Cenotaph honouring Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith, and Kevin O’Higgins. The partisan contexts and political disputes behind the decisions on commemorative monuments are traced, highlighting various delays in the execution of these projects. However, it is shown that, despite a tradition of Celtic revivalism and nationalist antipathy to classicism as an imperial aesthetic, in the case of the monuments discussed, classicism transcended divisions and lent itself to timeless commemoration and reconciliation in a manner aesthetically aligned with the existing fabric of urban Dublin.

Tree of Pearls

The woman known as “Tree of Pearls” ruled Egypt in the summer of 1250. A rare case of a woman sultan, her reign marked the shift from the Ayyubid to the Mamluk dynasty, and her architectural patronage of two building complexes had a lasting impact on Cairo and on Islamic architecture. Rising to power from slave origins, Tree of Pearls—her name in Arabic is Shajar al-Durr—used her wealth and power to add a tomb to the urban madrasa (college) that had been built by her husband, Sultan Salih, and with this innovation, madrasas and many other charitably endowed architectural complexes became commemorative monuments, a practice that remains widespread today. This was the first occasion in Cairo in which a secular patron’s relationship to his architectural foundation was reified through the actual presence of his body. The tomb thus profoundly transformed the relationship between architecture and its patron, emphasizing and emblematizing his historical presence. Indeed, the characteristic domed skyline of Cairo that we see today is shaped by such domes that have kept the memory of their named patrons visible to the public eye. This dramatic transformation, in which architecture came to embody human identity, was made possible by the sultan-queen Shajar al-Durr, a woman who began her career as a mere slave-concubine. Her path-breaking patronage contradicts the prevailing assumption among historians of Islam that there was no distinctive female voice in art and architecture.

Glory Crowned in Marble: Self-promotion of Individuals and Families in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Monuments in Istria and Dalmatia

Senior representatives of the Venetian Republic inspired distinguished noblemen and rich citizens in Venice, as well as in Terraferma and Stato da Mar, to perpetuate their memory through lavish commemorative monuments that were erected in churches and convents. Their endeavour for self-promotion and their wish to monopolise glory could be detected in the choice of material for the busts that adorned almost every monument: marble. The most elaborate monument of this kind belongs to the Brutti family, erected in 1695 in Koper Cathedral. In 1688 the Town of Labin ordered a marble bust of local hero Antonio Bollani and placed it on the facade of the parish church. Fine examples of family glorification could be found in the capital of Venetian Dalmatia – Zadar. In the Church of Saint Chrysogonus, there is a monument to the provveditore Marino Zorzi, adorned with a marble portrait bust. Rather similar is the monument to condottiere Simeone Fanfogna in Zadar’s Benedictine Church of Saint Mary and the monument to the military engineer Francesco Rossini in Saint Simeon. All these monuments embellished with portrait busts have a common purpose: to ensure the everlasting memory of important individuals. This paper analyses comparative examples, models, artists, as well as the desires of clients or authorities that were able to invest money in self or family promotion, thus creating the identity of success.

Commemoration

This chapter examines the assumptions surrounding kinship, burial, and commemoration in classical Athens, focusing on the implications of commemorative monuments, sumptuary laws, war graves, public and private spheres, ‘family tombs’, periboloi, death of adolescents, ‘genealogical’ stelai, and addition to and alteration of tomb monuments.

The 10-year anniversary of the Republic of Lithuania: the State celebration program of 1928 and the monuments of independence

The Supreme Committee for the 10-year Anniversary Celebration of the Independence of the Republic of Lithuania was established in 1928. The committee performed its mission making the national rally campaign of the celebration of two state festivals – February 16 and May 15. The organizational skills and experience of Vladas Nagevičius in developing the national important memorial symbols should be noted. He was the chairman of the committee and the director of the Military Museum. The year 1928 evidenced the first manifestation of the global cultural memory in Independent Lithuania. A model of the ceremonial communication of the state festivals was created. It had an important component – a monument – a materialization sign of the memorial. To achieve their objectives, the committee used the periodicals, the Church, radio, artists and, of course, local communities. Dealing with the problems of commemorative monuments – the lack of funding, the risk of cheap monuments, the need to design an exceptional memorial object with national traditions, the committee inspired to introduce the shape of a splendour wooden cross as an identity standard. The Committee and the majority of citizens considered that the traditional monuments of cross-crafting is a successful reflection of the nationhood. The Supreme Committee had an exceptional role in designing the commemorative process in 1928.

Later Medieval Death and Burial

This chapter discusses medieval burial ritual, including the act of burial, cemeteries and burial location, and the grave goods of priest, bishops, nobility, and royalty which included a wide range of clothing and objects associated with their office. The burial of Richard III illustrates how much bioarchaeology can now reveal to us about the biography of the body in the grave. Also outlined here are the distinctive mortuary practices of, for example, Jews, lepers, heretics, and suicides as well as the mainstream Christian tradition of heart burials. Commemorative monuments of all levels of society are described, from medieval royal tombs to the graves of the poorest parishioner, though minor monuments within the graveyard are only rarely discovered.

Targeting Statues: Monument “Vandalism” as an Expression of Sociopolitical Protest in South Africa

Inspired by the “Rhodes Must Fall” campaign, this article examines the defacement of statues and commemorative monuments in postapartheid South Africa. The term “vandalism” is problematized and, based on observation, site visits, and media reports, various cases of statue defacement are then discussed. Local events are contextualized in relation to selected postcolonial societies in Africa and other comparative international contexts. The article argues that political discontent is not necessarily expressed in overt acts of ideologically motivated vandalism, but can manifest itself equally in acts of neglect, disrespect, silence, and disengagement.