The Skripou Screen

Abstract

Strzygowski, in his short account of the ninth-century church of the Dormition at Skripou-Orchomenos, made no mention of the evidence for a contemporary screen. Some of the fragments were visible in his time, for they had previously been recorded, though not published, by Barnsley. It was not until 1932 that the character of the screen was first made known by Maria Soteriou's study of the building, in which three of the marble fragments surviving from it were illustrated. The repertory of ornament used on these fragments was seen to be identical with that employed on the string-courses and cornices of the church itself, which left no doubt that the screen was an integral part of the building erected by the protospatharius Leo in 873/4. More recently, Professor Grabar has contributed an invaluable study of the style of ornament with which both church and screen were enriched.