Stile internazionale e/o interferenze culturali. Breve indagine sulla produzione artistica del tardo cipriota

The definition of the so-called "International Style" was the subject of debate among scholars since its coinage. In 1932, the American critic H. R. Hitchcock chose this expression «to indicate the substantial unity of purpose that had characterized the architectural production linked to European rationalism and neoplasticism». Nowadays remain rather obscure the dynamics of general and specific reasons why this term soon came to be part of the vocabulary of art history and archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age. The concept of "International Style" as applied to art history of the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age, basically defines a "series" of luxury products characterized by a framework looks to be the result of transference of foreign iconographic patterns obviously not belonging, in both space and time, to the place where these products have been found, but which are referable to "icons" actually present in the surrounding areas. The geographical context in which this phenomenon can be set in, includes regional powers localized in the Aegean, Egypt, the Levant and Cyprus. Recent studies have highlighted the need to revise the concept of "International Style". This paper aims to offer an updated overview of the debate, starting with a summary analysis of some well known Late Cypriot luxury products, not according only to an iconographical point of view, but also trying to get loose a very important phenomenon during this time-the emergence of "symbols of power"-from too schematic and reductive classifications. The final task is to plug in this phenomenon into a geographical and political framework of widerranging, in which clearly emerges "cultural interference", motivated by specific strategies and diplomatic policies.