Mandaean Symbolic Art (Relié)

The artwork within nine of the corpus of Mandaran religious scrolls deserves cognition as a unique form of visual expression, with roots in the Mesopotamian region in Late Antiquity. Mandaeism itself is of interest as the last surviving gnostic religion. Manducan Symbolic Art examines the geometric structure, function, and symbolic associations of the imagery of the nine scrolls, in conjunction with the accompanying Mandais text.
Together, text and illustrations serve to communicate a complex body of knowledge to Mandaran priests. Central to the interpretation of the art is Mandaran ritual practice, especially that of baptism. To elucidate aspects of the iconography, the book draws extensively on the author's own photographic documentation of these practices, carried out in Greater Western Sydney, Australia, over a ten-year period.
Diversely depicted key motifs, such as the figure, drabsa or religious banner, date palm, and various plants, are discussed with reference to their context within the manuscripts as well as in comparison with Roman and Syrian representations, in particular, those from Dura-Europos.