Abstract
Miniature objects are usually considered first as ritual objects, as substitutes for larger items, or as signifiers of abstract concepts. Too little attention is paid to their value as representations, and as a source for ancient day-to-day objects, or realia. But before we can use them as evidence for larger objects, we must first understand the manner in which any group of miniature objects depicts reality. Examples of miniature objects from Iron Age and Roman Western Europe are considered here using the art-historical concept of a continuum of representation, on which miniatures range from realistic to abstract modes of representation. Some miniatures offer direct and accurate evidence about realia, others are schematic or semi-abstract. While the latter modes of representation offer little direct evidence for the appearance of ancient realia, they nonetheless may indicate how realia were perceived.
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