Renata Fontanillas

Materiality at the Western Edge: Reconsidering Islamic Art in Medieval Portugal at the 21st Ernst Herzfeld Society Colloquium

Renata Fontanillas is a researcher affiliated with the Institute of Art History of the University of Lisbon. She holds a PhD in Art History from the same institution and was awarded a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for her research project entitled 'Medieval Portugal: a new chapter in the History of Islamic Art'. She has also contributed to the 'Islamic Heritage in Portugal' project, organised by Universidade Lusófona, and has held positions as co-curator and assistant curator of exhibitions. She has extensive professional experience in the field of cultural management (she holds a Master's degree in Business Management and Cultural Institutions from the University of Barcelona) and her research interests lie in the overlooked material heritage of Islamic art in Europe.

Renata's paper examines the marginalisation of Portugal’s Islamic artistic heritage within global narratives of Islamic art. Drawing on archaeological evidence and material culture—particularly ceramics, metalwork, and stone artefacts—it argues for a broader and more inclusive understanding of artistic production in al-Andalus.