Wykorzystanie gemm w autoprezentacji i propagandzie w okresie Rzymskiej Republiki i za panowania cesarza Augusta

Tom I: tekst, tom II: katalog

The study aims at tackling a problem of use of engraved gems for self-presentation and propaganda purposes in the Roman Republic and under Augustus. The most important observation about the gems in this dissertation is that they portray Roman society at each level. They are snapshots of people believes, ideologies, everyday life and thus, they might cast some light at propaganda actions performed by Roman political leaders and their factions in the past. Gems are plausible to show both, general trends in propaganda activities as well as individual and private acts of being involved in politics, since they were objects of strictly personal use. They enable us to analyse and learn Roman propaganda from a completely different angle than coins, sculpture or literature. The miniaturism of ancient gems is often in inverse proportion to their cultural significance. Despite - or perhaps because of - their ubiquity, the motifs they bear are often highly sophisticated and captivating in their visual presentation of complex ideas. By such effective artistry the image is, almost literally, impressed upon the mind of the viewer. However, it is not easy to spot and correctly interpret propaganda messages encoded on gems. In contrary, the richness of iconography and forms often leads to overinterpretations. Therefore, the point of departure here is a database covering a wide range of information categories, which have guided the structure of the presentation. It is a combination of numerous case studies of 'propaganda gems' and a critical study of the previous scholarship, which tended to use the term propaganda for representations not necessarily related to this matter. The idea is not only to present clear-cut examples of 'propaganda gems', but also to discuss those problematical pieces and issues related to them. Hence, the aim is to offer a more complete analysis of the problem previously neglected. The study is organised into five main parts. First goes introduction outlining state of research on the subject of use of gems for self-presentation and propaganda purposes as well as aims of the dissertation, methodology employed and structure of the thesis. The second part includes definitions and characteristics of propaganda phenomenon as a term circulating in the current studies of semiotics and communication. It discusses various forms of propaganda, its basic tools and techniques as well as hypothesies about their effectiveness if applied in the studies of ancient society. It also draws attention to some problems related to ancient (e.g. Roman) propaganda studies. The third part discusses an evolutionary model of use of engraved gems from self-presentation to propaganda purposes in the Roman Republic and under Augustus. It is clear that propaganda on intaglios and cameos stems from the phenomenon of self-presentation. Apart from utilitarian motivations like sealing, it was the need and desire to present and express oneself in a specific, usually improved and bringing positive associations way, that was one of the key-impulses for production of gems in the 3rd century BC ancient Rome. That phenomenon is typical for Etruscan, Italic, Roman and Hellenistic cultural elements that have been merging over two centuries into one Graeco-Roman glyptic tradition. First presentations of Roman victorious generals on gems combined with commemoration of important political events and most importantly boost of personal branding through portraits engraved upon precious and semi-precious stones resulted in a transformation into a complex machinery involving manifestation of loyalty to the patron and affiliation to the faction, promotion of family members and application of divine and heroic natures into the self-image. One observes first tentative attempts of use of gems for propaganda purposes already in the 3rd and 2nd century BC, while there is a clear start of a fully aware propagandistic actions reflected in glyptic material in the early 1st century BC (Sulla's dictatorship). The later fierce rivalry between Pompey the Great, who is traditionally assigned to popularise use of gems in ancient Rome, and Julius Caesar shows that glyptic art has been gradually incorporated to the propaganda machinery of Roman political leaders. The peak of production what one might call 'propaganda gems' is witnessed after death of Caesar in 44 BC and endures until the Actium battle in 31 BC. Then, gems like every other category of Roman art and craftsmanship became a part of a sophisticated language greatly influenced by Imperial rhetoric and ideology carefully designed by Augustus. The fourth part describes the context of 'propaganda gems' in the Roman Republic and under Augustus. The chapters included here contain remarks on the production, distribution, usage and cultural significance of gems. The base is information extracted from ancient literary sources which are followed by archaeological observations of the material considered here as related to self-presentation and propaganda matters and presented in the second part of the dissertation. More theoretical considerations about propagandistic value of engraved gems and possible target groups using them are offered here as well. To show the dynamics of using gems for propaganda purposes a separate chapter has been created that includes statistical analyses of either the whole phenomenon as well as individual categories like portrait gems, those presenting divine and mythological references and so on. Finally, the last chapter presents conclusions and it is also designed to present potential similarities and differences between gems and other artistic media, notably coins, in respect of propaganda. The last, fifth part of the study comprises of a catalogue, bibliography, list of figures, tables, charts, maps and plates. The specific characteristics of engraved gems, their strictly private character and the whole array of devices appearing on them are examined here in respect to their potential propagandistic value. This analysis is performed in the wider scope providing first comprehensive picture covering many aspects of Roman propaganda and a critical survey of overinterpretations of this term in regard to the glyptic art. The ultimate achievement is incorporation of this class of archaeological artefacts into the well-established studies of Roman propaganda as well as the Roman society in general. Gems turn out to be not only another media used by propagandists but also a very sensitive barometer of social moods. It remains disputable to what extent they were helpful in creation of propaganda communications by Roman political leaders, but it is clear that their role in evolution of Roman propaganda should be taken into account in the further studies of this phenomenon.