SOURCES OF KYIV RELIEFS WITH «SECULAR» PLOTS: ISSUE OF ATTRIBUTION AND DATING

Abstract

The earliest Kyiv reliefs with figurative images correlate with temples built in the second half of the 11th — early 12th centuries. The iconography and dating of Ovruch pyrophyllite slate reliefs with secular or indefinite plots has been the subject of research by more than one generation of scholars. The reliefs have been found already damaged or reused, so their original placement in the interior or faзade, as well in the temple or palace also remains a matter of debate.
 The study of the images of these reliefs in the context of the development of Byzantine art shows that the Kyiv artists copied a Christian patterns that combined secular, mythological and biblical plots, the formation of which took place under the influence of the Classic heritage. According to the conditions of discovery, iconography and style, these are the works of the second half of the 11th — early 12th centuries. The typological and stylistic similarity of four such reliefs permit to suggest that they were made for the same building, although they were found in different parts of the city. They depict the biblical character Samson or David, the mythological character Cybele or the Great Mother of the Gods, a warrior fighting the lion and a fragment of the animal head — a goat or a lioness. Fragments of two other reliefs depict the animal looks like a lion with the rider on its back, possibly Samson or David. The depiction of a man riding a beast is the motif of oriental origin that became widespread in Byzantine and Romanesque art of the 12th century, including in Rus. Two fragments of slabs depicting the griffin in high relief come from the exterior decor. In the art of the 10th—12th centuries, the griffin as a vigilant guard of the sacred place was depicted on the facades of churches in the type of «solemn procession». The Kyiv’s griffin was probably included in the heraldic composition. The question of the placement of the slabs — in a palace or a temple — is still disputable.