About the lecture
Colorful and bright clothes can fascinate and mesmerize, but they can also signify a person’s status or function as a warning sign for dangers. The high priest’s wardrobe described in Exodus is one of the most detailed descriptions of colorful clothing in the Hebrew Bible. On the one hand, the high priest is dressed in expensive hues that signify status, but on the other hand, he blends into the holy and dangerous tabernacle made of fabrics with similar hues. The high priest is thus gloriously dressed to stand out and camouflaged to blend in. In this lecture, we will look at the colorful high priest, his sensuous and dangerous surroundings, and the power connected to his colorful vestments.
About Dr. Lorenzen
Søren Lorenzen is a research associate at the University of Bonn. His research concentrates on questions of identity, language, and embodiment in the Hebrew Bible. Dr. Lorenzen’s Ph.D. dissertation focused on names and selfhood in biblical texts and will be published as a monograph in August 2022 (Mohr Siebeck). Recently, he has explored new territories by engaging colors and color symbolism in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel.
Digital event - how to participate
The seminar will be held digitally. If you wish to attend a lecture, you need to register in advance.
A zoom link will be sent to you before the event. You can download Zoom or use your browser: https://zoom.us/download
Suggestions for further Reading
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Batchelor, D. (2000), Chromophobia, London: Reaktion Books.
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Brenner, Athalya (1982), Colour Terms in the Old Testament, Sheffield: JSOT.
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Hartley, J. E. (2010), The Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Colour Lexemes, Louvain: Peeters.
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Imes, C. J. (2019), ‘Between Two Worlds: The Functional and Symbolic Significance of The High Priestly Regalia,’ in A. Finitsis (ed.), Dress and Clothing in the Hebrew Bible: “For All Her Household Are Clothed in Crimson”, 29–62, London: T&T Clark.
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Koenig, S. (2012), ‘Color, Symbolism of. II. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament’, EBR, 491–2, Berlin: de Gruyter.
About Ancient Attire
A Digital Lecture Series on Dress, Adornment and Vestimentary Codes in the Ancient Mediterranean World
The aim of this series is to investigate vestimentary codes in ancient cultures, and to explore how these concepts relate to gender, hierarchy and power.
Seven excellent international researchers, experts on the material cultures and texts of the ancient Mediterranean, will present a 30-minute lecture, followed by amble time for questions and discussion.
We are interested in mapping dress and adornment as broadly as possible and therefore we encourage our speakers to consider vestimentary codes from a multi-sensorial perspective and to give thought to both touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision.
Ancient Attire Programme - Fall 2022
- Friday August 26 at 3pm (Oslo): Dr. Rosalind Janssen: “Unpacking Tutankhamun’s Wardrobe”
- Friday September 16 at 3pm (Oslo): Dr. Laura Quick: “Divine Dress, Divinization and Dethronement in the Hebrew Bible”
- Friday October 21 at 3pm (Oslo): Dr. Søren Lorenzen: “The High Priest and his Glorious Camouflage”
- Friday November 11 at 3pm (Oslo): Dr. Mary Harlow: “Female Dress at Rome: Getting it Right”
- Friday December 2 at 3pm (Oslo): Dr. Agnès Garcia-Ventura and Dr. Mireia López-Bertran: “Dressed to sound? An approach to dress and attire of female musicians in Phoenician and Punic contexts”
- Friday December 16 at 3pm (Oslo): Dr. Salvatore Gaspa: “Dress, Adornment and the Material Language of Power: Royal Textiles in Assyria”
Organizer
The lecture series is organized by Professor Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and hosted by The Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo and the Faculty’s research group Biblical Texts, Cultures and Receptions.