Decorative Program Research Articles

Materiality of Seclusion: A Decorated Monastic Hermitage in the Dead Sea Escarpment

The monastic practice of Lenten retreats in the desert is attested in ancient Palestine by the early fifth century. However, within the large archaeological corpus of desert monasticism, sites that can be positively identified as Lenten hermitages were previously unattested. The hermitage discovered during the recent survey of the Dead Sea Escarpment is situated in a rock shelter in a narrow natural ledge, part of the high cliff towering the western shore of the Dead Sea. The harsh, arid environment and lack of perennial water sources nearby make the site a suitable abode mainly during the spring season. The walls of the shelter are covered by two layers of plaster bearing the remains of two different decorative programs, adorning the cell with red paintings and repetitive round medallions and blind arcades. Both phases of decoration exhibit initial lining, probably in preparation for relatively long texts. The sophisticated decoration of this isolated hermitage, which was not meant to impress visitors but rather to stimulate spiritual work in solitude far from the distractions of the outside world, provides an exceptional opportunity to discuss the interaction between the landscape, the image, and the written word in the ascetic practices of Palestinian monasticism.

Reexamining Syncretism in Late Antique Iconography of a Vault Mosaic

Late Antiquity, third to seventh centuries, is a period recognized for the continuity and change of Roman culture despite a new religion and political instability. This continuity allowed space for syncretism: an amalgamation of different art, religion, and culture in the Empire. In the following pages, I discuss the understanding of a vault mosaic featuring a charioteer or solar figure within the necropolis in Vatican City, Rome, Italy. For this paper, I use material culture from Rome and Constantinople that dates from the first to fourth centuries in order to contextualize the mosaic with other syncretic works of art and to demonstrate multiple readings of artworks. My focus for this paper is the vault mosaic found in Tomb M, built in the second century (Figure 2). I begin with an examination of the decorative programs of the necropolis including the room with the vault mosaic. Next, I briefly investigate iconographies of the ascension to demonstrate a concern with the afterlife by different audiences. Then, I analyze visual evidence of continuity and change in meaning of imperial iconography on material culture during the reign of Constantine I (r. 306–337) to show more examples of syncretic art by a single patron. My methodological approach decenters Christianity—a point to which I will return—seeking a more accurate contextualization of Late Antique material culture.

ORNAMENTAL DECORATION OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN MAUSOLEUM CHAPEL OF EXODUS (KHARGA OASIS, EGYPT): ROLE, CONNOTATIONS, DATING

The Chapel of Exodus is a small Coptic mausoleum located in the outskirts of the oasis of Kharga in Libyan Desert (Egypt). It is famous for its elaborated pictorial program which is loosely dated back to the late 4th through the early 5th century A.D. While its figure paintings have long been under the academic scrutiny, the decorative program has not so far attracted the scholars’ attention. Meanwhile, the non-figured decorations usually tell the story of their own, and the study of the decorative programs can be highly enlightening. This is exactly the case of the Chapel of Exodus. The style and color palette of the decorative paintings stand in stark contrast to the figure scenes. While the latter look rather outdated for the suggested timespan, the former seem precocious in many ways. The decorative program is holistic, polychromic and rich in ornamental motifs, which is unusual for Egyptian murals of the 5th century A.D., while being characteristic of the 6th century decorations of Christian churches. Painted imitations of spiral fluted columns also support the idea of later dating. Moreover, the holistic character of the program and accent on precious stone veneer imitations underline the high status of the mausoleum owner. It seems plausible that by the time when the decorative program was added (presumably, in the 6th century), the 5th century mausoleum had become an important commemorative monument.

The display of wealth, status and power: two recently discovered mid-fourth-century BC pebble-mosaic floors from Sinope

AbstractIn 2019, excavation in the Yalnızlar neighbourhood of Sinop, Turkey, revealed a small number of architectural remains, two stone-paved floors and two lavishly decorated pebble-mosaic floors. Both the architectural remains and the pebble-mosaic floors are rare finds in Sinop, even more so given that the floors were found largely intact within their architectural settings. These elements appear to have constituted a portion of a once-grand house of the mid-fourth century BC. This article focuses on the pebble-mosaic floors, which will be analysed in two parts. The first introduces the floors and considers their construction techniques and decorative programmes. Analogies form an essential part of the analysis in order to contextualise both pavements within the corpus of Greek pebble-mosaic floors. A holistic evaluation of the architectural remains and the mosaics follows, in order to consider the setting and use of the floors. In the second part of the article, the sociocultural context of the mosaics is addressed. The analysis considers the meaning and symbolism of their decorations, as well as the place they once occupied within the lives of their owners. Ultimately, the position of the examples from Sinope within the wider sphere of mid-fourth-century BC Greek pebble-mosaic floors will be considered, along with the significance of such lavishly decorated floors in Sinope at this time.

Review: Architectural Rhetoric and the Iconography of Authority in Colonial Mexico. The Casa de Montejo, by C. Cody Barteet

Review: Architectural Rhetoric and the Iconography of Authority in Colonial Mexico. The Casa de Montejo, by C. Cody Barteet

Door Construction of Ancient Egyptian Rock-Cut Tombs at the Eastern Plateau of the Giza Necropolis

On the basis of extensive material obtained during the work of the Russian archaeological mission, a generalization of the structural design of doors in Ancient Egyptian rock-cut tombs on the Eastern Plateau of Giza was carried out. The analysis showed that the size and structural design of the doors are directly related to the time of the chapel construction, the wealth of the tomb owner and natural or artificial features of the rocky area. Thus, the first rock-cut tombs whose owners had a high social status, which began to be built from the middle of the V dynasty on the eastern edge of the Eastern Plateau, are distinguished not only by their large size and extensive pictorial program of chapel decoration, but also by wide passages, inserted drums of better stone and well executed door fastening places. While towards the end of the Old Kingdom, when the Necropolis became compact and generally impoverished, there was a marked tendency not only to reduce the size of the passages to the chapels, but also to simplify the door arrangement and even to abandon the doors in most of the tombs. The development of gentle rocky areas and areas of poor rock quality in V–VI dynasties, leads to the appearance of steps to descend into the chapel, open courtyards and reduced dimensions of the passages to maintain their strength. Statistical analysis of the width of the passages and drums height in the chapels of the 72 currently available rock-cut tombs has demonstrated the existence of stable dimensional standards at the beginning of the development of the rock massif (c. mid V dynasty). For example, the tombs that appeared first in the tomb groups had an opening width of 10 or 12 ancient Egyptian palms (76–80 or 90–98 cm) and a drum height of 4 or 7 palms (30 or 52 cm). But towards the end of the Old Kingdom the width of the passages is reduced to about 8 palms (about 60 cm) and the height of the drums above the passages to 17 cm, and in many cases they disappear from the decoration of the entrances.

The Late Roman Mosaics from the Villa of Pont del Treball Digne, Barcelona

The construction of the new La Sagrera high-speed rail line station in Barcelona revealed a new archaeological site whose remains were identified as a roman villa. The studies undertaken have allowed the foundation of the settlement to be dated to the first half of the 1st century BC and to identify different building and refurbishment phases. The most important transformation of the pars urbana was undertaken in the late 4th century AD. We attest the creation of new living spaces dedicated mainly to the social functions of the villa and the representation of the dominus. A new decorative programme was also implemented at this time. It included two mosaic and opus sectile floors and marble wall linings. This process of enriching the domestic space took place in parallel with similar refurbishment programmes documented in the roman town of Barcino. The aim of this study is to conduct the compositional analysis of these late pavements. Moreover, some chronological appreciations about the pavements construction can be made, due to ceramic studies.

The Peopled Scroll of the Great Palace Mosaic in Constantinople. New Perspectives

Many studies have been devoted to the mosaic of the Great Palace peristyle in Constantinople / İstanbul. To its style, influences and models, as well as to its dating or to the function of the room it decorated. But there is one element that has so far not aroused much interest: the peopled scroll that circumscribes the central panel. The iconographic, chromatic, and technical richness of this border make it much more than a simple ornamental frame. It is even a key element of the pavement. This type of border developed towards the end of the 2nd century AD in workshops on the Levantine coast on the basis of a Hellenistic pattern. The presence of foliate heads at regular intervals in the border contributed to the revival of this pattern inherited from the Greek world. Four heads of this type are partially preserved in the Great Palace Mosaic. But what is it really about? The analysis of the corpus of the Roman foliate heads and the contextualising of this pavement allow to specify the origin and meaning of these heads, but also to confirm the dating of the 6th century AD, and to shed new light on the interpretation of the decorative program.

Third Report on the Publication and Conservation of the Tomb of Ramesses III in the Valley of the Kings (KV 11)

Since antiquity, the tomb of Ramesses III (KV 11) has been among the most frequently visited royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It was also one of the first to be described and documented in detail by European travellers in the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. As large parts of the wall decoration of the tomb, especially in its rear, are now destroyed, the drawings, notes and squeezes of those early researchers who saw the site in its former splendour offer an invaluable resource for the reconstruction of the tomb’s unique decoration programme. The collection, revision, and publication of all relevant archive material concerning KV 11 is an important goal of The Ramesses III (KV 11) Publication and Conservation Project. The following article reports on first and preliminary results from the authors’ research in the archives of the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as the Bodleian Libraries and the Griffith Institute in Oxford, carried out in September 2019 and made possible through the Centenary Award 2019 of the Egypt Exploration Society.

The Atlántida of Capitalism. The murals of Sert in the decorative programme of New York’s Rockefeller Center

New York’s Rockefeller Center is one of most symbolically rich places in the world, although few of its millions of visitors stop to reflect on what its images of power really mean. In the form of an Atlantean mythological allegory, Rockefeller Center was conceived as symbolic propaganda for capitalist, liberal values implicit in both the ‘American Dream’ and the ideology espoused by the Rockefeller family. It embodies the utopia of progress and science that promotes the freedom of the individual and the free movement of capital. Due to ideological clashes –or the vagaries of fate– the Catalan José María Sert was the artist to ultimately complete the most eloquent mural in the main building, a mural which had formerly been painted by Diego de Rivera, and entitled Man at the Crossroads. Sert was a muralist who had previously worked on the scenographic illustration of Manuel de Falla’s Atlántida, capturing some of the motifs that inspired that great cantata based on poetic texts by Jacint Verdaguer. That earlier work is reflected in the lobby of Rockefeller Center’s main building. While Diego de Rivera’s censored frescoes have been studied prolifically, little attention has been paid to Sert’s paradoxical reading of the same subjects. In this article, we analyse the history of the Atlantean Mediterranean literary myth in relation to Spain, the use John D. Rockefeller Jr. made of them in his emblematic urbanistic ensemble, and also the peculiar reading that the Catalan muralist made of these themes of Atlantis in relation to capitalism.

A Gramscian Perspective on Colonial Baroque

The present study provides a comparative analysis of whitewashed stucco moldings and polychrome gilded altarpieces, major elements of the distinct decorative style that originated in colonial Goa during the period under investigation. The study’s comparative approach focuses on the combination of these materials and the entangled evolution of their decorative motifs. The article employs Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony to analyze the artistic patronage of a selected group of religious buildings that are particularly important from the perspective of their decorative program. The theory of cultural hegemony is applied to the discursive and stylistic formulations of the local secular clergy against the background of jurisdictional conflict between the Crown and the Holy See. Through this approach, this study highlights the ability of local elites to legitimize their status and assert their dominance though active consensus strategies, namely the persuasive effects of baroque architecture. The distinct quality of the Goan baroque that emerged within this process of artistic appropriation, is here interpreted in its transversal, emulative and intrinsically allusive aspects.

Piety, Power, or Presence? Strategies of Monumental Visualization of Patronage in Late Antique Ravenna

Between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, lay and cleric alike felt the need to be remembered in the monuments they sponsored. Accordingly, specific elements of the décor were designed as means capable of bearing the patron’s memory. The late antique churches of Ravenna offer an extraordinary field to understand how patrons left their mark on decorative programs of ancient buildings. There, portraits, inscriptions, and monograms emerge as the primary instruments used in a complex strategy of visual communication. However, each had its own communicative power and peculiar use. Either separately or in connection, they were able to convey strong messages of patronship to the viewer. By focusing on each of these elements in its context and on the ways they all interacted with the surrounding architecture and church decoration, this paper will highlight their value as visual objects capable to immortalize the piety, power, or presence of the patron. Indeed, the silent dialogue enacted into the architectural space with the beholder will allow us to reconstruct the hidden messages that individuals or groups meant to communicate to posterity.

GROTTOES THAT HAVE SURVIVED TO THE PRESENT DAY FROM ISTANBUL'S HISTORICAL GARDENS AND THEIR ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

Since the 18th century, water elements in new forms have been added to the diversity of water elements that are very rich in the design of Ottoman gardens. One of the most commonly used elements in garden arrangements in Istanbul during this period is the grottos, which are artificial caves. Aim: Considering the examples of these structures in Istanbul, it is seen that many of them have disappeared, and those that have survived to the present day have conservation problems. It is necessary to research the design and structural plan of the grottoes, the materials used and the decoration program so that the necessary restoration and conservation work can be carried out. For this reason, this study aimed at determining the design properties of the grottoes in historical gardens in Istanbul. Method: Within the scope of the study, grottos located in Yıldız Palace, Maslak Pavilions, Beykoz Pavilion, Emirgan Grove, Abraham Pasha Grove and Mizzi Mansion garden were architecturally evaluated in detail. Result: The grottos in historical gardens in Istanbul were created by covering the surfaces of a bearing structure created using stone, brick and iron supports with a mortar, natural or artificial stones to form a cave. The basic principle in the design is to obtain a natural look. Grottoes resembled cascades with the water that usually flowed in a stepped way were also used to grow plants on them, to create a strolling area in the garden, or as a watch area. Conclusion: With this study, it has been observed that in order to protect the grottos in the historical gardens of Istanbul, it has been seen that it is necessary to prepare their inventories, to reveal conservation problems and to do more research on the subject.

Primena secesijskih dekorativnih elemenata u stambenoj arhitekturi Beograda s početka 20. veka

The tendency towards modernization is noticeable in Belgrade's architecture from the beginning of the 20th century, in the form of stylistic norms adopted from the Vienna Secession, which was the medium through which the forces of the reforms in architecture, culture and art were incorporated in the overall processes of modernization of in The Kingdom of Serbia. These processes reflect the cultural strivings of Serbian society, the efforts to demonstrate its cosmopolitan spirit, and the need to elevate and complement its historicist architectural stock, grounded in academic and national models, with more modern elements. In the architecture of the Serbian capital, the Secession brought together and conciliated, in a way, these two tendencies. Only a small number of buildings were composed in the dominant Secession style, with the basic characteristics of dissolution and negation of the earlier compositional schemes of strictly symmetrical horizontal and tripartite, or quinquepartite division of façades with risalits and enclosed façades, as well as conspicuous cornices and friezes, pilasters, framed portals and windows. The Secession's decorative schemes were gradually introduced into the architecture of Belgrade as an authentic depository of a new decorative programme that consisted of both typical and original floral, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and geometric ornaments, which replaced the classical repertory. This was especially prominent in the residential architecture that carried the ideas of the Secession. Therefore, one of the main goals of this essay is to interpret the role of the Secession in residential architecture in Belgrade from the beginning of the 20th century, and to introduce some of its lesser-known examples.

Ancient Relics, New Images and New Saints in Early Modern Genoa

In the context of the new emphasis given by the Council of Trent to the cult of relics, the case of Early Modern Genoa is of particular interest for the rereading of ancient objects of devotion in terms of identity formation and the subsequent generation of new iconographies. In the Middle Ages, Genoa became home to two extraordinarily important relics: the ashes of St John the Baptist and the Holy Basin. These invaluable objects were not associated with one another, however, until the Early Modern Period, when historiographic and literary sources began to put them in relation to the heroic feats of Guglielmo Embriaco. In parallel with this increased interest in votive objects that were already part of Genoa’s history, the city also embarked upon the construction of a new cult, a process that involved acquiring a portion of the remains of St Desiderius of Langres in 1651. This event led to the inclusion of a hitherto almost unknown saint in the decorative program of the chapel of the Ducal Palace (frescoed in those same years), within the canon of the city’s most important religious imagery.

Датировка и программа декорации так называемого «саккоса патриарха Питирима» XVII века из собрания Музеев Московского Кремля

The article analyzes the graphic decor of the sakkos, known as the “sakkos of the Patriarch Pitirim”. The stylistic and technical features of his sewing are compared with the works of the Tsaritsa’s Workshop in the middle of the 17th century. The first mention of the sakkos in question was identified in the “Book of notebook vestments and the act of the great sovereign His Holiness Nikon the Archbishop of the reigning city of Moscow and All Great and Malyi and Belyi Rosii Patriarch” and in the inventory of 1658. This information made it possible to clarify the attribution of the monument. The double naming of the vestments “Evdokeinsky” and “Pitirimovsky”, obviously, is associated with two different events. Probably, the sakkos was granted to Patriarch Nikon by the royal family, during the consecration of the church of the Martyr Evdokia in 1653, and in 1672–1673 he was renewed for the Patriarch Pitirim. The esti- mated date of creation of the sakkos is also confirmed by its comparison with the works of the Tsaritsa’s Workshop, allowing to date the sewn details of the vestments in the early 1650s. This hypothesis is required by the sakkos decoration program, which points to trends that were specifically characteristic of the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon.

Saint Bernardino of Siena and Art: Preaching and Baptism in Tuscany

This paper deals with the views of the Franciscan preacher Saint Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444) on baptism and civic peace and the associations he created between art and baptism and preaching. The widespread building and decoration of baptisteries in Italy points to the civic importance of that ritual in Italian cities. There was a close connection between baptism and the sense of civitas: the sacrament of Christian initiation also served to introduce an individual into the Christian society of the city. Bernardino’s emphasis on the relationship between baptism and civic peace followed a long-standing tradition in mendicant preaching. The present study has two major sections: it introduces Bernardino’s views on the arts and then suggests correlations between his ideas on baptism and the artistic program of the fifteenth-century baptismal font in the Siena baptistery created by Lorenzo Ghiberti, Jacopo della Quercia, Donatello, and others. The central issues concern the way Bernardino referred to works of art as a way of making his sermons more approachable and graphic for his illiterate listeners and how his sermons may have influenced the decorative program for the baptismal font in the Sienese baptistery.

DOME CALLIGRAPHY OF ALSANCAK HOCAZADE AHMED RAGIB ÜZÜMCÜ MOSQUE

Hocazade Ahmed Ragıb Üzümcü Camii İzmir’in Alsancak semtinde 1950 yılında inşa edilmiştir. Cami mimari ve tezyinat özellikleri açısından ön plana çıkmıştır. Caminin tezyinat programında hat sanatı uygulamaları zenginliği, üslubu, malzeme ve orijinalliği açısından ön plandadır. İstanbul dışında bir eserde hat sanatı açısından nitelik itibariyle ortaya konan uygulamalar dikkate değer bulunmuştur. Camideki hat sanatının geleneksel uygulama alanlarından biri kubbe yazısıdır. Yazı devrinin ünlü hattatlarından, Hamid Aytaç’ın talebesi, Mustafa Halim Özyazıcı imzasını taşımaktadır. Kubbe yazısının niteliği yazının metin ve form özellikleri, uygulama tekniği, tarihsel çerçevede temsil ettiği mevki ve günümüzdeki durumu açılarından incelenmiştir. Tarihsel çerçeveyi açıklamak için verilen kubbe yazısı örnekleri devrinden kalan örneklerden seçilmiştir. Bu örnekler Rüstem Paşa Camii, Kadırga Sokullu Şehid Mehmed Paşa Camii, Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Camii, Kasımpaşa Cami-i Kebir kubbe yazısı uygulamalarıdır. Tarihsel çerçeveyi aktarmak için kubbe yazıları ile ilgili yazı örneklerinin de temel özellikleri, form ve içerdikleri metin bilgileri verilmiştir. Bu camilerin kubbe yazılarının tamamının görselleri verilerek konumuz desteklenmiştir. Çağdaş uygulama örneği olarak Eyüp Sultan Camii kubbe yazısı seçilmiştir. Böylece Alsancak Hocazade Ahmed Ragıb Üzümcü Camii kubbe yazısının kronolojik olarak hat sanatı tarihinde oturduğu zemin temellendirilmiştir.

Декоративна система и иконографска програма в напрестолните кръстове на Иван Костов

The paper examines the decorative system and iconographic program seen in Ivan Kostov‘s miniature fretwork. Themes and settings of various biblical and historical scenes presented in the crosses created by the artist are analysed. A relation between classical examples of the ecclesiastical objects and the creative interpretations of the artist has been looked for.

Raul Lino e o programa decorativo da Escola Primária de Alcântara - Lisboa (1917)

Using as a reference the Primary School of Alcântara (Lisbon) – designed in 1815 by the architect Raul Lino and inaugurated one year later –, my analysis will focus on the decorative program (set of paintings, dated from 1917) on the walls of the classrooms of this building. My main goal is to examine the impact that the paintings, from the perspective of their author - Raul Lino, whose Anglo German education was strongly influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement – would have on the children. For the architect, images was not just decorative. In fact, they were meant to help the children appreciate nature and art, to educate their sense of taste, and even to develop in them a patriotic sense (an agenda involving the formation of the republican citizen). In this sense, we see the emergence the of an aesthetic education as part of a more general social and political program. In line with the same idea, we can conceive of the curriculum in a wider sense, i. e., as including knowledge and skills obtained in formal lessons, but also values and attitudes received from the impact of school decoration on the students individual and collective memory. Methodologically, itis worth emphasizing that the sources I value are not just visual. In fact, some written texts by Raul Lino, namely, active correspondence and articles, are also used; the triangulation of several sources of evidence is very important. The analysis of the visual sources goes from the description of the elements present in the paintings (mostly, Nature and animals) to close observation of the sources that inspired the author. In relation to this last aspect, I should underline that Raul Lino was an illustrator of children’s books, an experience that he integrated into the school buildings that he planned.