Conference to focus on medieval arts of the Near East, April 8-9

The Index of Christian Art has organized a major conference devoted to the medieval arts of the Near East for Friday and Saturday, April 8-9.

Some of the world's leading authorities will discuss the medieval art of Coptic Egypt, Ethopia, Syria, Georgia and Lebanon as well as the Western Mediterranean during the gathering in 101 McCormick Hall. Sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Titled "Interactions: Artistic Interchange Between the Eastern and Western Worlds in the Medieval Period," it is the first such conference to be held in the United States.

One of Princeton's most treasured resources for the study of the medieval world, the Index of Christian Art has long been renowned for its encyclopedic coverage of the subject matter of medieval art. For most of its 90-year history, the index has focused on the art of the Western world.

Over the last 20 years, however, there has been an increasing interest in medieval art of the Near East, according to director Colum Hourihane, and the index has started a number of initiatives to photograph and document the arts of these areas. The work involves digitizing many private and institutional collections and making them available on the Internet.

More information on the conference is available online.