I will be presenting at the upcoming, annual Bible and Archaeology Fest on "Books Without Texts: Literacy, Status, and Authority in Early Christian Art." Here is a synopsis:
Why are books everywhere in early Christian art—when the Bible says almost nothing about them? Books, scrolls, and codices function as elite Roman status symbols—and early Christian art adopts them aggressively to project authority, education, and legitimacy, often independent of biblical narrative. In this presentation, Dr. Walsh will review the evolution of these images and their implications for our understandings of Christian iconography.
Hope to see you there! https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/travel-study/29th-annual-bible-and-archaeology-fest/
