spolia
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈspoʊliə/
- Specialized
- In the literature on the ancient and medieval use of spolia, that is, elements of early monuments reused in later times, some conceptual space has been cleared for artifacts like this.
- medieval spolia
Examples
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Many cathedrals in Europe feature spolia taken from older monuments, showcasing the practice of reusing valuable materials.
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The ancient Roman temple was adorned with spolia from a defunct structure, giving it unique historical charm.
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Female counters male in this piece of antique spolia.
Academic text (2005) -
Spolia and reuse.
Blog text (3) -
See Michael J. Waters, "Materials, Materiality, and Spolia in Italian Renaissance Architecture" (PhD diss., Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 2014).
Academic text (2015) -
Likewise, the large block of fine Arudy limestone from which the portal's trumeau sculpture is carved is probably spolia.
Academic text (2005) -
While studies of spolia have tended to emphasize elaborate and monumental constructions, the neighborhood of E.F2 preserves many other less obvious examples of reuse.
Blog text (3) -
It is perhaps an example of spolia in spe, a category in which Anthony Cutler places "things used in the anticipation that they will be seen to complete an object, or at least add to a new creation valences that are not communicated.
Academic text (2005) -
It is at this moment and in this context, the destruction and rebuilding of the cathedral, the loss and recovery of its consecration, that the reuse of the Mars sculpture possesses meaning as a kind of spolia in spe.
Academic text (2005) -
The portal's original monolithic trumeau column (the current one is a nineteenth-century replacement) was quite possibly antique, since monolithic columns in medieval architecture are often, if not usually, antique spolia.
Academic text (2005)
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spolia comes from the Latin spolium, meaning 'spoils' or 'loot' taken in war. So spolia are parts or objects taken from older or captured places and reused in new buildings, and a helpful way to remember it is to think of the English word spoil, which also shows the idea of taking things.