Dumbarton Oaks Papers Number 14

Front Matter

Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 14. (1960) Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281960%2914%3C%3AFM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M Dumbarton Oaks Papers is currently published by Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University.

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http://www.jstor.org Sun Mar 9 07:53:00 2008

DUMBARTON OAKS PAPERS

THE DUMBARTON OAKS RESEARCH LIBRARY AND COLLECTION

Trustees for Harvard University

Washington, District of Columbia

DUMBARTON

OAKS PAPERS

HE Dumbarton Oaks Papers were founded in 1941for the publication of articles concerning late classical, early medieval, and Byzantine civilization in the fields of Art and Architecture, History, Theology, Literature, and Law.

T

Dumbarton Oaks Papers Number 14 contains the following studies and notes: Ernst H. Kantorowicz: O n the Golden Marriage Belt and the Marriage Rings of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection Ernst Kitzinger: A Marble Relief o j the Theodosian Period Kurt Weitzmann : T h e Survival ojMythological Representations in Early Christian and B y zantine Art and Their Impact on Christian Iconography Sirarpie Der Nersessian: T w o Images of the Virgin in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection Otto Demus: T w o Palaeologan Mosaic Icons in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection Andr6 Grabar: U n e pyxide e n ivoire d Dumbarton Oaks. Quelques notes sur I'art profane pendant les dernierssidcles dellEmpire byzantin Jean Meyendorff : Projets de Concile Oecumknique en 1367: U n dialogue inkdit entre Jean Cantacuzdne et le lkgat Paul Ihor Seveenko: T h e Author's Draft of Nicolas Cabasilas' "Anti-Zealot" Discourse in Parisinus Graecus 1276

NOTES

Paul A. Underwood: Notes on the W o r k of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1957-1959; with a contribution by Lawrence J. Majewski on T h e Conservation of a Byzantine Fresco Discovered at Etyemez, Istanbul David Oates : A S u m m a r y Report on the Excavations of the ByzantineInstitutein the Kariye Camii: 1957 and 1958 Cyril Mango and John Parker: A TweljthCentury Description of St. Sophia Cyril Mango and Ihor Sevtenko : A New Manuscript of the De Cerimoniis

T h e Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Studies in B y zantine Art: Report on the Symposium of 1958

DUMBARTON OAKS PAPERS NUMBER FOURTEEN

Dumbarton Oaks Papers

NUMBER FOURTEEN

The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

Trustees for Harvard University

Washington, District of Columbia

1960

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED B Y THE

TRUSTEES FOR HARVARD UNIVERSITY

THE DUMBARTON OAKS RESEARCH LIBRARY AND COLLECTION

WASHINGTON, D. C.

Disfributed by J . J . Augustilz, Publisher Loczlst Valley, New York

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 42-6499

Printed in Germany at J. J. Augustin, Gliickstadt

This Volume is Dedicated with gratitude and respect to M r . and Mrs. Bliss the Founders of Dumbarton Oaks IlOAAA ETH

E I C TlOAAA

CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ERNST H. KANTOROWICZ

I

On the Golden Marriage Belt and the Marriage Rings of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I7

E R N S T KITZINGER

A Marble Relief of the Theodosian Period

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

K U R T WEITZMANN

43

The Survival of Mythological Representations in Early Christian and Byzantine Art

and Their Impact on Christian Iconography

SIRARPIE D E R NERSESSIAN

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

69

Two Images of the Virgin in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection

OTTO D E M U S

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Two Palaeologan Mosaic Icons in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection

ANDRJ? GRABAR

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

121

Une pyxide en ivoire A Dumbarton Oaks. Quelques notes sur l'art profane pendant les

derniers siecles de 1'Empire byzantin

JEANMEYENDORFF

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I47

Projets de Concile OecumCnique en 1367: Un dialogue inCdit entre Jean Cantacuzene et le lCgat Paul IHOR

SEVCENKO .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

179

The Author's Draft of Nicolas Cabasilas' "Anti-Zealot" Discourse in Parisinus Graecus

1276

NOTES PAUL A. UNDERWOOD

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205



Notes on the Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1957-1959; with a Con-

tribution by LAWRENCE J. M A J E W S K I on The Conservation of a Byzantine

Fresco Discovered at Etyemez, Istanbul

DAVID OATES

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

223

A Summary Report on the Excavations of the Byzantine Institute in the Kariye Camii:

1957 and 1958

CYRIL MANGO

and

JOHN PARKER

. . . . . . . . . . . . 233

A Twelfth-Century Description of St. Sophia

CYRIL MANGO

and

IHOR

SEVCENKO

A New Manuscript of the De Cerimo?tiis

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

- 247

The Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Studies in Byzantine Art: Report on the Symposium

of 1958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

ILLUSTRATIONS

(Following Page 16) Ernst H. Kantorowicz: ON

THE GOLDEN MARRIAGE BELT AND THE MARRIAGE RINGS OF THE

DUMBARTON OAKS COLLECTION

Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Golden Marriage Belt. a. Over-all View. b. Detail of Center Pieces. 2. Paris, De Clercq Collection. Golden Marriage Belt. 3. New York, Metropolitan Museum. Golden Belt from Kyrenia, Cyprus 4. Florence, Uffizi Museum. Sarcophagus. 5. Rome, Belvedere Museum. Sarcophagus. 6. Rome, Vatican, Porphyry Statue. Diocletian and Maximian. 7. Rome, Villa Albani. Sarcophagus Frag- ment . 8. Gold Glass: Amor pronubus. 9. Gold Glass: Hercules pronubus. 10. Gold Glass : Christus pronubus. 11. Nicosia, Museum. Silver Dish with Marriage of David and Michal. 12. Concordiae: Antoninus Pius and Faustina. 13. concordiae aeternae: Caracalla and Plau-

tilla. 14. propagoirnperi : caracalla and plautilla. 15. Concordia felix: Caracalla and Plautilla. 16. Vota publica : Marcus Aurelius and Faustina 11. 17. Vota publica: Commodus and Crispina. 18. Concordia Augustorurn. 19. Concordia : Aurelianus and Severina with Sol invictus ~ronubus. 20. Felix Progenies Constantini Aug. : Crispus and Constantine I1 with Fausta as Concordia. 21.Feliciter Nubtiis : Theodosius I1 with Valentinian I11 and Licinia Eudoxia. 22. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Feliciter Nubtiis: Theodosius I1 with Valentinian I11 and Licinia Eudoxia. I.

23a. Feliciter Nubtiis: Christus pronubus with Marcian and Pulcheria. 23b. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Feliciter Nubtiis; Christus pronubus with Anastasius I and Ariadne.

24. Medallic Design: Cardinal de Bouillon Blessing Marriage of Dauphin and Marie Anne of Bavaria. 25. Medal by G. A. deJRossi: Pope Pius V with Venice and Spain. 26. Paris, Dreyfuss Collection. Medallion: Henry IV and Maria de'Medici with Dauphin. 27 a, b. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Wedding Rings. 28. British Museum. Wedding Ring: Christ and St. Mary with Couple. 29. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Wedding Ring. a. Bezel. b. Hoop.

30. Adventus: Hadrian and Sabina with Osiris and Isis.

31 a, b, c. Concordia : Bride and Groom Sacrificing in Front of Statues of Antoninus Pius and Faustina I. 3za. Concovdin Augg. : Gallienus and Salonina. 3zb. Concordiae aeternae: Septimius Severus radiate, Julia Domna on Crescent. 33. Colonia Caesarea Antiochia : Statues of Gordian and Antioch. 34. Bible moraliske: Marriage of Adam and Eve. 35. Bible moraliske: Marriage of Christ and Church. 36. Bible moraliske : Christ Marrying a Church to a Bishop. 37. Munich. Cod. gall. Monac. 16, fol. 35": Saul Marrying Michal to David.

ILLUSTRATIONS

x

(Following Page 42) Ernst Kitzinger: A

MARBLE R E L I E F O F T H E THEODOSIAN PERIOD

I. Dumbarton

Oaks Collection. Marble Relief showing Christ Healing a Blind Man. 2. Istanbul, Atmeydan (Hippodrome). Base of Obelisk, detail of Relief of the Period of Theodosius I . 3. Istanbul, Atmeydan (Hippodrome). Base of Obelisk, detail of Relief of the Period of Theodosius I. 4.Relief shown in figure I, detail: Head of Christ. 5. Istanbul, Archaeological Museum. Relief found at Baklrkoy. 6. Istanbul, Archaeological Museum. Socalled Sarcophagus of a Prince, detail. 7.Tentative Reconstruction of Table Top incorporating Fragment shown in figure I. 8.Athens, Byzantine Museum. Table Top found on the Island of Thera. 9.Relief shown in figure I: View of lower edge. 10. Relief shown in figure I: View of right edge.

11.Relief

shown in figure I: Back. 12.Zagreb, Archaeological Museum. Fragment of Table Top ( ? ) found at Salona. 13. Relief

shown in figure I, detail: Head of Blind Man. 14. Relief shown in figure I, detail: Heads. 15. Ravenna,

Cathedral. Sarcophagus of Exuperantius, detail: Head of St. Paul. 16.Tebessa, Baptistery. Font. 17.Tebtunis,

Church. View of south Chapel showing Table Slab set in Floor at Entrance. 18.Berlin, State Museums. Fragment of Relief found near Sinope. 19.Rome, National Museum. Frieze Sarcophagus, detail: Miracles of Christ. 20. Vatican, RIuseo Sacro. Ivory Box Lid, showing Christ Healing a Blind Man. 21.Ravenna, Archbishop's Palace. Ivory Chair of Bishop Maximian, detail: Christ Healing a Blind and a Lame Man.

(Following Page 68) Kurt Weitzmann: THE

SURVIVAL OF MYTHOLOGICAL REPRESENTATIONS I N

EARLY CHRISTIAN

AND BYZANTINE ART AND T H E I R IMPACT ON CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY

I. Milan,

Ambros. Lib. Cod. 1;. 205, Iliad., Pict. XXIII. 2. Leningrad, Hermitage. Silver Plate (Photo. The Hermitage, Courtesy of Miss Banck) 3. Ostia. Etruscan Urn. 4. Paris, Cabinet des MCdailles. Silver

Oenochoe, detail.

5. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Silver Dish. 6. Antioch. Mosaic Pavement, detail. 7. Paris, Bibliothcque Nationale, Suppl. gr. 247, fol. 47. 8.Piazza Armerina. Floor Mosaic (Photo. Courtesy Soprintendenza alle Antichit2 della Sicilia Orientale, Siracusa) . g. Venice, San Marco, Treasury. Vase, detail. 10.Alexandria, Benachi Collection. Lamp.

11.Dumbarton

Oaks Collection. Ivory Casket. 12.Princeton, University Museum. Mosaic Pavement from Antioch, detail. 13. Jerusalem, Cod. Taphou 14,fol. 311'. 14.Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Silver Plate. 15. Girgenti. Roman Sarcophagus, detail. 16.Antioch. Mosaic Pavement, detail. 17.Vatican, Museum. Floor Mosaic. 18.Venice,SanMarco, Narthex. Mosaic,detail. 19.Cairo, Museum. Bronze Plate, detail. 20. Rome, Museo Capitolino. Marble Relief, detail. 21. Vatican, Cod. gr. 333, fol. 6. 22. Venice, Biblioteca Marciana, Cod. gr.454, fol. 6".

ILLUSTRATIONS

xi

23. Paris, Cabinet des Mkdailles. Iliac Tablet, detail. 24. Rome, Museo Capitolino. Iliac Tablet, detail. 25. Vatican, Cod. gr. 747, fol. 248". 26. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Pap. gr. Oxyrh. 2331.

33. Rome, Museo Capitolino. Iliac Tablet, detail. 34. Stuttgart, Schlossmuseum. Ivory. 35. Mt. Sinai, Monastery of St. Catherine. Icon.

27. Trier, Museum. Pyxis.

38. Berlin-Dahlem, Ehem. Staatliche Museen. Ivory. 39. Rome, Sta Maria Antiqua. Fresco. 40. Naples, Museo Nazionale. Marble Group. 41. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Mosaic Icon. 42. Paris, Bibliothhque Nationale, Cod. gr. 139, fol. I". 43. Pom~eii,Macellum. Fresco, detail. 44. Antioch. Mosaic Pavement, detail.

28. Florence, Museo Archeologico, Etruscan Urn, detail. 29. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Pyxis. 30. Leningrad, Hermitage, Pyxis. 31. Louvre. Sarcophaps, fragments. 32. Munich, Staatsbibliothek, Cod. lat. 23631, fol. 24".

36. Zurich, Museum. Pyxis. 37. Florence, Uffizi. Marble Altar.

(Following Page 86) Sirarpie Der Nersessian:

TWO IMAGES OF THE VIRGIN IN THE DUMBARTON OAKS COLLECTION

I. Dumbarton

Oaks Collection. Ivory Plaque. The Virgin between John the Baptist and St. Basil.

2.

Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Bloodstone Cameo with Bust of the Virgin.

3. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Seal of the Virgin Hagiosoritissa. 4. Mt. Athos, Pantocrator Monastery, no. 49, fol. 4' (Photo. Courtesy of Prof. K. Weitzmann). 5. Berlin-Dahlem, Ehem. Staatliche Museen. Ivory Triptych, detail. 6. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Marble Relief of the Virgin, front View.

7. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Marble Relief of the Virgin, back View.

8. Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek. Ivory Binding for the Prayer Book of the Empress Cunegonde (Photo. Courtesy of Prof. K. Weitzmann). g. Istanbul, Kariye Camii, Inner Narthex. Mosaic (Photo. Courtesy of the Byzantine Institute of America). 10. Lagoudera, Cyprus. Church of the Virgin of Arakos (Photo. Courtesy of Mr. A. Stylianou). 11. Spoleto, Cathedral. Icon of the Virgin (Photo. Alinari) . 12. Sopotani, southwest Chapel. Translation of the Body of Stephen Nemanja. 13. Mt. Athos, Lavra Monastery, no. I O ~ A , fol. 3 (Photo.Courtesy of the Bildarchiv der Oest. National Bibliothek [Aufn. N.B. 1013331).

(Following Page 119) Otto Demus: TWO

PALAEOLOGAN MOSAIC ICONS IN THE DUMBARTON OAKS COLLECTION

I. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Mosaic Icon, The Forty Martyrs. 2-3. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. hlosaic Icon, The Forty Martyrs, details.

4. British Evluseum. Add. MS 19352. a. fol. 81. b. fol. 81" (Photos. Courtesy of the British Museum).

5. Vatican, Cod. syr. 559, part

I,

fol. 93".

6. Rome, Sta Maria Antiqua, Chapel, Apse. Wall Painting.

7. Moscow, Synodal Library. Menologium no. 183.

8. Lesnovo. Wall Painting.

xii

ILLUSTRATIONS

g. ZiZa, Vault. Wall Paintings. a. south Side. b. north Side. 10. Souvech, Church of the Forty Martyrs, left Aisle, Vault. Wall Painting. 11. Derani. Wall Painting. 12. Berlin-Dahlem, Ehem. Staatliche Museen. Ivory. 13. Leningrad, Hermitage. Ivory Triptych, center Panel. 14. Vatican, Barb. lat. 14.4, fol. 13oV,Silverpoint Drawing. 15. Vodora, Wall Painting. 16. Torcello, Cathedral, west Wall. Mosaic, detail. 17. DeCani. Wall Painting.

18,1g. Istanbul, Kariye Camii, Parecclesion.

Wall Paintings (Photos. Courtesy of the Byzantine Institute of America). 20. Vatican, Cod. gr. 1754, fol. 13", Penitential Canon. 21. Athens, Byzantine Museum. Icon. 22. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Mosaic Icon, St. John Chrysostom.

23. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Mosaic Icon, St. John Chrysostom, detail. 24. Rome, Sta Maria Antiqua, north Aisle. Wall Painting (Photo. Courtesy of P. Buberl) . 25. Kiev, St. Sophia. Mosaic, St. John Chrysostom detail. 26. Palermo, Cappella Palatina. Mosaic, St. John Chrysostom, detail. 27. Palermo, Cappella Palatina. Mosaic, the Prophet Jonah, detail. 28. Paris, Bibliothbque Nationale. Coislin 79, fol. 2", detail. 29. Palermo, Cappella Palatina. Mosaic, St. Luke, detail. 30. Istanbul, Hagia Sophia, north Tympanum, Mosaic (Photo. Courtesy of the Byzantine Institute of America). 31. Rome, Sancta Sanctorum. Reliquary, detail (Photo. Sansaini). 32. Istanbul, Kariye Camii, Parecclesion, Apse. Wall Painting (Photo. Courtesy of the Byzantine Institute of America).

(Following Page 146) AndrC Grabar:

.i D U M B A R T O N O A K S . Q U E L Q U E S N O T E S SCTR L'ART PROFANE PENDANT LES D E R N I E R S S I E C L E S DE L'EMPIRE B Y Z A N T I N

U N E P Y X I D E EN IVOIRE

1-7. Collection Dumbarton Oaks. Pyxide. 8. Berlin, Staatsbibliothek. Frontispice du Psautier dit Hamilton. 9. Oxford, Lincoln College, gr. 35, Typicon du couvent de la "Vraie EspCrance," fol. 8 (phot. Bodleian Library). 10. Oxford, Lincoln College, gr. 35, Typicon du couvent de la "Vraie EspCrance," fol. 11 (phot. Bodleian Library). 11. Oxford, Lincoln College, gr. 35, Typicon du couvent de la "Vraie EspCrance," fol. 12 (phot. Bodleian Library). 12. Hortus Deliciarum de Herrade de Landsberg, fol. 322, dhtail (d'aprks Straub et Keller). 13. Paris, Mude du Louvre. Frontispice d'un manuscrit de 1402. 14. JCrusalem. Patriarcat armhien cod. 2563, fol. 380.

15, 16. British Museum, Curzon 115, Evangile bulgare du tsar Ivan Alexandre (1356) (phot. British Museum). 17. Serbie, Milegevo. Peinture murale (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes). 18. Serbie, Sopobani, Peinture murale (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes). 19. Bibliothbque Vaticane, cod. gr. 333, Arbre de Jess6 (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes). 20. Strasbourg, Grand SCminaire, cod. 78 (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes). 21. Constantinople, Hippodrome. Socle de 1'obClisque thCodosien. zza-c and 23. Kiev, Ste-Sophie. Peintures murales dans les cages d'escalier. 24. Washington, D. C., Freer Gallery of Art. Peinture chinoise sur soie, no. 09.216. (phot. Freer Gallery of Art).

ILLUSTRATIONS

25. Leningrad, Ermitage. Diptyque dJAnastase, dCtail. 26. VCrone. Diptyque d'AnthCmios, dCtail. 27. Istanbul, MusCe archCologique. Statue d'un acrobate. 28. Mantoue, Palazzo Ducale. Stde funCraire romaine (phot. Soprintendenza alle gallerie di Mantova) . 29. Oliphant de Jaszhkrkny, Hongrie. Dktail. 30. Oliphant de JaszhCrCny, Hongrie. Dessin au trait. 31. Dvin, ArmCnie. Fragment d'un vase en verre byzantin (phot. Djanpoladian). 32, 33. Venise, Bibliothhque Marcienne, cod. gr. Z 540, tables des canons (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes).

34"-i Mt. Sinai, cod. 339, initiales historikes (phot. Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.). 35a-e. Turin, cod. C. I. 6/16, initiales historiCes (phot. Bibliothkque Turin). 36. Oxford, Biblioth6que BodlCienne, cod. Auct. t. infr. I, 10, fol. 16', dCtail (phot. Bodleian Library). 37. Paris, Biblioth6que Nationale, lat. 6, fol. 64') dCtail (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes). 38. MusCe de Barcelone. Peinture murale de S. Juan de Bohi (phot. Mas, Barcelone no. MB-5). 39. Serbie, Staro-Nagorizino. Peinture murale (phot. Ecole des Hautes Etudes).

(Following Page Ihor Sevtenko:

201)

THE AUTHOR'S DRAFT OF XICOLAS CABASILAS'

"AXTI-ZEALOT" DISCOURSE

IS

P A R I S I N U S G R A E C U S 1276 I. Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 65": Hands A and A2. 2.

3. 4.

5. ti.

Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 6@, top: Hands A and A2. Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 75") bottom: Hands A and A2. Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 76r: Hands A and A2. Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 78', bottom: Hands A and A2. Parisi~ius Gr. 1276, fol. 82", bottom: Hand A.

7. Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 83': Hand Ab.

8. Parisinus Gr. 1276, fol. 96r, top: Hand A. 9. Parisinas Gr. 1276, fol. 86", bottom: Hand Ab. 10. Parisinus GY. 1276, fol. 7zV, bottom: Hands A and A2. 11. Parisi~zfbsGr.1276, fol. roor: Hand of the Fragment. 12. Istanbul, Paflaghias 157, fol. 2947, top (Photo : L'Institut de Recherche et dlHistoire des Textes). 13. Ibid., fol. 295', top. 14. Meteora. Barlaam Monastery 202, fol. 49r, top (Photo: L'Institut de Recherche et dJ~i'stoire des Textes).

(Following Page

222)

Paul A. Underwood: NOTES OK THE WORK O F THE BYZAXTINE IXSTITUTE I N ISTANBUL: 1957-1959

Lawrence J. Majewski: THE CONSERVATION OF A BYZANTINE FRESCO DISCOVERED AT ETYEMEZ,

ISTANBUL

I. Hagia Sophia, West Wall of Nave. 2. Hagia Sophia, West Wall of Nave. Opus Sectile Panel representing an Aedicula (before repairs). 3. Hagia Sophia, West Wall of Nave. Opus Sectile Panel representing an Aedicula (after repairs). 4. Hagia Sophia, West Wall of Nave. Opus Sectile Panels representing Dolphins.

j.

Hagia Sophia, West Wall and Vaults of South Side-Aisle (before cleaning).

6. Hagia Sophia. Mosaic Cross in Summit of Vault, West End of South Side-Aisle. 7. Hagia Sophia. Opus Sectile Border in West Wall of South Side-Aisle, detail. 8. Hagia Sophia. Opus Sectile Border in West Wall of South Side-Aisle, detail.

ILLUSTRATIONS

xiv

g. Hagia Sophia. Bronze Door to Inner Nar-

17.Fetiye Carnii. Fragments of Cornice,

thex, south of Central Door (after cleaning). 10. Hagia Sophia. Bronze Door to Inner Narthex, Central Door (after cleaning). 11. Hagia Sophia. Bronze Door to Inner Narthex, detail of Central Door. 12. Hagia Sophia. Bronze Door to Inner Narthex, detail of Central Door. 13. Hagia Sophia. Imperial Door, Bronze Lintel and Door Frame, detail (after cleaning). 14. H a d a Sophia. Mosaic Portrait of the Emperor Alexander (partly uncovered). 15. Fetiye Camii. Baptism of Christ, Mosaic (partly uncovered). 16. Fetiye Camii. St. Blasius, Mosaic (partly uncovered).

Frieze and Revetments.

Istanbul. Newly discovered

Fresco, in situ. 19. Etyemez, Istanbul. Preparations for Removal of Fresco. 20. Etyemez, Istanbul. Placing Sections of Fresco on temporary Form. 21. Etyemez, Istanbul. The Fresco in its Armature. 22. Etyemez Fresco, detail of left Side (restored). 23. Etyemez Fresco, detail of right Side (restored). 24. Etyemez Fresco. The Virgin (Blachernitissa) (restored). 25. Etyemez Fresco, detail: Head of the Virgin (restored). 18. Etyemez,

Illwstrations in Text Page

216. A.

Fetiye Camii, Sketch Plan of Parecclesion. B. Sketch Map of Southwest Istanbul .

Page

220.

David Oates:

Page

C. Sketch showing three Layers of Fresco. Page 221. D. Sketch of Fresco in situ. 220.

A SUMMARY REPORT ON THE EXCAVATIONS OF THE BYZANTINE INSTITUTE IN THE KARIYE CAMII: 1957 AND 1958

Illzkstration in Text Page

224. I. Kariye Camii. Plan of

successive

Structures.

(Following Page 249) Cyril Mango and Ihor Sevcenko:

A NEW MANUSCRIPT OF THE DE CERIMONIIS

I. Codex

Chalcensis S. Trinitatis

(125)

2. Codex

Chalcensis S.Trinitatis

(125) I33, fol. 67".

I33,fol. 39'.

NOTES

On the Golden Marriage Belt and the Marriage Rings of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection Ernst H. Kantorowicz Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 14. (1960), pp. 1-16. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281960%2914%3C1%3AOTGMBA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-W Dumbarton Oaks Papers is currently published by Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/journals/doaks.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission.

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http://www.jstor.org Sun Mar 9 07:53:15 2008

O N THE GOLDEN MARRIAGE BELT AND THE MARRIAGE RINGS OF THE DUMBARTON OAKS COLLECTION

This article is identical with a paper read at the Symposium on "The Dumbarton Oaks Collection: Studies in Byzantine Art," held a t Dumbarton Oaks in May 1958. The paper, in its turn, was based on a section of the lecture on "Roman Coins and Christian Rites," given at Dumbarton Oaks as far back as April 1951.

HERE are several objets d'art in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection which at this Symposium-held in honor of its founders on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary-should not pass unnoticed, and the discussion of which fittingly opens this year's series of papers: the golden marriage belt from Syria (figs. ~ a - b )and a number of Byzantine marriage rings (figs. z7a-b, zga-b). The iconographic questions connected with these objects, and ultimately with the far broader problem of interrelations between Roman coins and Christian rites, are not entirely unknown, since they have been studied at least in broad out1ine.l There remain, however, some details which are interesting enough to justify a new assessment of the material and which may lend depth to the over-all historical perspective. Golden belts composed of coins or coin-like medallions and forming a piece of jewelry which, according to Roman law, might even be an object of u s ~ f r u c t , ~ were not unusual in early Byzantine times.3There is, for example, a very similar belt, equal in length to the one at Dumbarton Oaks (74 cm.), in the De Clercq ~ third one is in the Metropolitan Museum; it was Collection, in Paris (fig. z ) .A found in Kyrenia, on Cyprus, where it was unearthed together with a now famous set of silver dishes and other valuables (fig. 3).5 The Kyrenia girdle is remarkable for its monetary value. I t is composed of solid gold medallions and coins and weighs almost a pound; that is, as Mr. Philip Grierson has pointed out, almost three-months' salary of a provincial governor, which amounted to four pounds of gold annually during the reign of J ~ s t i n i a n .The ~ other two girdles are much lighter, since their central medallions and the adjoining medalets are relatively thin pieces of gold pressed from molds and therefore hollow on the reverse side. If, as Mr. Marvin Ross has suggested, the design of the central medallion actually goes back to genuine gold medallions distributed by the emperor, the implication would be that the older pattern of imperial gifts, which followed the consular type-that is, displaying the emperor on his chariot in the consular procession-had been replaced, in the late sixth or seventh century, The material has, quite recently, been assembled in a convenient and efficient way by 1%'. TVeinstock, "Pronuba," RE, XXIII: I (1g57), 750-756; see also Arnold Ehrhardt, "Nuptiae," RE, XVII: 2 (1g37), 1478-1489, and the articles by Delling and Kotting mentioned infra, notes 8 and 10. Dig., 7,1,28: Nomismatum aureorum vel argenteorum veterum, quibus pro gemmis uti solent, usus fructus legari potest. Odofredus on this law (Lyon, 1552), fol. 250v, gl. numismatum: Poteris uti [~zumismatibus] in gemmis et portare ad pectus vel decorare teipsum, shows that the intention of the legislator was perfectly clear to the jurists in the thirteenth century. See Philip Grierson, "The Kyrenia Girdle of Byzantine Medallions and Solidi," Numismatic Chronicle, ser. VI, vol. XV (1g55), 55-70, who (pp. 57, 59) briefly discusses also the other girdles.; See Marvin C. Ross, "A Byzantine Gold Medallion a t Dumbarton Oaks," Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 11 (19571, 247-261, esp. 258. A. de Ridder, Collection De Clercq: Les bijoux et les pierres grauLes, V I I : I (Paris, I ~ I I )208, , no. 1212. Cf. Grierson, op. cit., 59, note 12; Ross, op.cit., 258, note 74, and fig. 12. This is the girdle studied, and carefully analysed, by Grierson, 09.cit. (with pls. VI-VIII) ; see pp. 55f. for the history of the find a t Kyrenia, Cyprus; also Ross, op. cit., 247f., and figs. 4-5. op. cit., 69, note 49. "rierson,

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by a religious motif: the display, twice repeated, of a Christian marriage scene.' I t is the iconography of this central scene to which attention shall be called here -a catena iconographica of which some links are well known whereas others have passed unnoticed. The ancient Roman marriage rites were taken over by the Christian Church with very few change^.^ The auspices of the augurs, of course, were abolished, and the sacrificium nuptiale, the nuptial sacrifice of wine or incense, was eventually "convertedJ' and became a nuptial mass. But the legal and ceremonial aspects, namely the reading of the marriage consent from the tabulae nufltiales and its signing, the handing over of the dowry, the dextrarum iunctio or clasping of the right hands, and the cooperation of the deity confirming the legal action and protecting the marriage, dea pronuba or deus pronubus-all of these underwent few changes, or changes only with regard to the tutelary deity. 1n pre-imperial and early imperial times, the goddess uniting and protecting the young couple was Juno, who was invoked because hers was the care of the vincla iugalia, the "fetters of marriage."g In that capacity, Juno pronuba was shown standing between the young couple with her hands on the shoulders of groom and bride who were performing the dextrarum iunctio; at least the archeologists would usually call this deity a Juno pronubn when she appearsas she does quite frequently-on sarcophagi, for instance on the sarcophagus of the Uffizi (fig. 4),1° or on that of the Belvedere (fig. 5) where we also notice the altar for the sacrificium nufitiale.ll Whether the goddess on the sarcophagi really was meant to be Juno, is, however, by no means certain; for the contemporary imperial issues of wedding coins reflect with few exceptions the idea of Concordia, the concord of the bridal ROSS,op. cit., 258, 261. See, in addition to Weinstock and Ehrhardt (supra, note I), the studies by August Rossbach, Rornische Hochzeits- und Ehedenkmaler (Leipzig, 1871), and Inez Scott Ryberg, R i f e s of the State Religion in R o m a n A r t (Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, XXII [Rome, 1g55]), 163ff. For the Christian aspects of the problem, see Otto Pelka, Altchristliche Ehedenkmaler (Strasbourg, 1901); Ludwig Eisenhofer, Handbuch der katholischen Liturgik, I1 (Freiburg, 1g33), 408ff.; Korbinian Ritzer, Eheschliessung: Formen, Riten und religioses Brauchtum der Eheschliessung in den christlichen Kirchen des ersten Jahrtausends (Wiirzburg Diss., 1940), the most thorough and erudite study on the development of the Christian marriage rite, unfortunately published in typescript only (Munich, 1951). I am grateful to Dom Leo Eizenhofer, Abtei Neuburg near Heidelberg, for calling my attention to this work and lending me his copy. See further G. Delling, art. "Eheschliessung," Reallexikon fiir Antike und Christentum, IV (195g), 719-731. See, for the problem, Weinstock, art. "Pronuba," cols. 750-752. 10 Ryberg, Rites, pl. LVIII, fig. 91. G. Rodenwaldt, uber den Stilwandel in der antoninischen K u n s t (Abhandlungen d. preuss. Akad. d. Wissenschaften, Jahrg. 1935, No. 3 [Berlin, 1935]), 13ff., while admitting that archaeologists usually call the deity J u n o pronuba, decides nevertheless in favor of Concordia; see also his study "Zur Kunstgeschichte der Jahre 220 bis 270," Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archbologischen Instituts, L I (1936)~rogf., where he discusses the sarcophagus in the Thermae Museum and styles the p m u b a correctly Concordia. The material has been ably collected by B. Kotting, art. "Dextrarum iunctio," Reallexikon fiir Antike u n d Christentum, I11 (1g57), 881-888. 11 Ryberg, Rites, pl. LIX, fig. 93. Photo: Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, Rome, No. 36.540. I am much obliged to Mrs. Ryberg for lending me this photograph, and to Professor Reinhard Herbig, Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome, for providing me with a copy of it. 7

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couple. We recognize the dextrarum i~nctioof Antoninus Pius and the elder Faustina where the inscription says simply CONCORDIAE (fig. 12)or, as in the case of Caracalla and Plautilla, CONCORDIAE AETERNAE (fig. 13).12The idea, however, hardly differs when the inscription refers to the PROPAGO IMPERI (fig. 14) which was expected to issue from the concord of Caracalla and his empress.13 "Concord," however, though forming sometimes, together with Fides and Pudicitia, the cortkge of Juno pronztba,14 was not the original meaning of the ceremony. Originally the Roman bridegroom did not clasp hands with his bride, but -in memory, as it were, of the "Rape of the Sabine Women" -took the bride by the wrist to indicate that she was given in his possession and power and was obliged to obey and serve him.15 Concordia, to be sure, was a very ancient Roman goddess; but only gradually did she grow into the role of a marriage deity, apparently at a time when the notion of concord had been assimilated to and influenced by the Stoic idea of Homonoia -implying not only the concord of those concerned, but also the "harmony of the universe," an idea which, along with Stoic philosophy, had been spreading in the Roman Empire.16 I t was, if we may say so, this "spatial" cosmos harmony of which eventually the bridal couple too was supposed to be an exponent. The "Rape of the Sabine Women" had been philosophized and philanthropized; it had been replaced, under the influence of Greek philosophy, by a completely different state of mind and of mood. In the course of this development, imperial coins commemorating, or referring to, the marriage of an imperial couple began to display Colzcordia herself acting as pronuba. As a Concordia felix she solemnizes the marriage of Caracalla and Plautilla (fig. 15)~'or puts her hands on the shoulders of Marcus Aurelius and the younger Faustina as they clasp hands while receiving the Vota publics occasioned by their marriage (fig. 16),18a scene in which she also unites Commodus and Crispina (fig. 17).I9Concordia establishes, as it were, both the unison of the august couple and its unisonance with the eternal harmony of the universe. The main idea, of course, was similar when two emperors were shown clasping and ~ the Concordia Augustorum hands to demonstrate their Concordia (fig. 1 8 ) , ~ need not always have evoked such heart-warmingly acid feelings as apparently l2

Harold Mattingly, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (London, 1g23-50), IV,

pl. VII, fig. 13, and Paul L. Strack, Untersuchungen zur romischen Reichspragung des zweiten Jahrhunderts (Stuttgart, 1931-37), 111,pl. VI, fig. 422; for the Concordia aeterna coin (fig.IS), see Mattingly, V, pl. XXXVIII, fig. I , and Mattingly, Roman Coins (London, 1g27), pl, xxxv, fig. 13. l 3 Mattingly, V, pl. XXXVIII, fig. 2. Martianus Capella, De nuptiis, 11, 147, ed. A. Dick, 63: deorum Pronuba [Iuno] nuntzatur, ante quam Concordia, Fides Pudicitiaque $raecurrunt. Cf. Weinstock, art. "Pronuba," col. 752. l5 Pelka, Altchristliche Ehedenkmaler, 99. l8 Cf. Eiliv Skard, "Zwei religios-politische Begriffe: Euergetes-Concordia," Norske VidenskapsAkademi i Oslo: Avhandlinger (1g31), 67-105; cf. W. Nestle, in Klio, XXI (1gz7), 353f., on Homonoia in Greek authors; W. W. Tarn, Alexander the Great, I1 (Cambridge, 1g50), append. 25, pp. 3ggff.; also Zwicker, art. "Homonoia," RE, V I I I : 2 (1g13), 2265ff.; see, for possible Greek influence, Weinstock art. "Pronuba," 752, 38ff.; also Tarn, op. cit., 11, 415f.; Skard, 74ff., 105. l7 Mattingly, V, pl. XXXIII, fig. 16. Is Mattingly, IV, p1. XIII, fig.4; Strack, Untersuchungen, 111, 109, with pl. v, fig. 159, and pl. XVI, fig. 957. Is F. Gnecchi, I Medaglioni Romani, I1 (Milan, I ~ I Z ) ,pl. XCI, figs. 8, g. 20 Mattingly, IV, pl. LIII, fig. 13.

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was true in the case of the tetrarchs in their porphyry monuments in the Vatican (fig. 6).21 While Concordia prevailed as a marriage goddess, her place could yet be taken by another patron deity as well. The Emperor Aurelian made the cult of Sol invict~san official cult of the state. Fittingly, we find the Sun god, the new dominus imfierii, who by his rise conquers the demons of darkness and brings peace and security to man, as the pronubus, the unifier and solemnizer of the marriage of Aurelian and Severina (fig. 1 9 ) . I~t ~is not surprising, of course, that in a gold-glass picture Cupid is found acting as an Amor pronubus, his hands resting on the heads of the couple (fig. 8);23after all, his mother Venus was mentioned occasionally as a p r o n ~ b a I. t~ may ~ strike us, however, as more curious to find, in the time of late paganism, a gold glass displaying a Hercules pronubus: ORFITVS ET CONSTANTIA I N NOMINE HERCVLIS reads the inscription (fig.9).25 Hercules, to be sure, offers the golden fruits which he recovered from the garden of the Hesperides and which formed a very ancient nuptial symbol. Pomegranates, however, since they contained many seeds in one skin, were also a symbol of Concordia who is quite often shown with a pomegranate lying on a at era.^^ The presence of Hercules is not justified by the three fruits alone. He has a connection with Concordia as well. In front of the Roman aedes Concordiae Augustae, the temple of Concord on the Capitoline Hill, rededicated in A.D. 13, there was a statue of Hercules crowning- himself.Z7 Moreover, in the political theory of the late empire, Hercules, the eponymous god of the Herculean dynasty of the tetrarchs, was above all the heroic savior in the service of man, who had liberated the world from all sorts of monsters, and who therefore appeared as the great pacator mundi, the ~ipqvo-rrolbsand ~ipqvoqrjhat,pacifier and concord-bringer of the w0rld.~8And in this capacity, too, Hercules pronubus may well have taken the place of Concordia pronuba. The more numerous the substitutes of Concord became, the greater, of course, became the discord within the Roman world and the graver the political situation. According to Hellenistic political theories it was the chief task of the prince to establish within his empire the Homonoia of his subjects and to attune them to a harmony which, in the sublunary sphere, was supposed to reflect the 21 Richard Delbriick, Antike Porphyrwevke (Berlin, 1g32), pl. X X X V , fig. I (Diocletian andMaximian). s 2 M. Bernhart, Handbuch zur Miinzkunde der romischen Kaisevzeit (Halle, 1926), pl. 111, fig. 3; also Mattingly and E. A. Sydenham, T h e R o m a n Imperial Coinage, V : I (1927), pl. "11, fig. 109; cf. M o n naies romaines impkriales: Collection de M . P a u l Vautiev et M a x i m e Collignon (Lucerne, 1922), pl. LII, fig. 1617, and p. 89. 2 3 Raffaele Garrucci, Vetri ovnati di figuve in ovo (Rome, 1858))pl. XXVIII, fig. 6. 2"Veinstock, art. "Pronuba," 755; Carl Koch, art. "Venus," RE, VIIIA, 878; see Kotting, art. "Eheschliessung," (supva, note I O ) , 884, for V e n u s pronuba in Nero's Domus aurea. 25 Garrucci, Vetri, pl. xxxv, fig. I. Cf. H. Vopel, Die altchvistlichen Goldglaser (Freiburg, 1899))29. Occasionally a fruit is seen on t h e patera; e. g. Bernhart, Handbuch zur Miinzkunde, pl. LX, fig. 3 ; also Mattingly, 111, pl. X L ~ I fig. , 14. Cf. Cesare Ripa, Iconologia (Padua, 161I ) , 91 ff., and Dora and Erwin Panofsky, "Iconography of the Galerie Fransois Ier at Fontainebleau,"j Gazette des beauxarts, sCr. VI, vol. LII (1958), 127, note 31, with figs. 16-17. 27 C . C. Vermeule, "Heracles Crowning Himself: New Greek Statuary Types and their Place in Hellenistic and Roman Art," Jouvnal of Hellenic Studies, LXXVII (1957)) 284f., pl. I, figs. 4-6. Cf. Ryberg, Rites, 86f. and pl. xxvr, fig. 39b, for a supplicatio t o Concord in front of her cult image. 28 Wilhelm Derichs, Hevakles: Vorbild des Hevrschers i n der Antike (Cologne Diss. [Typescript], 1950), 391 751 107, I Z O f .

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harmony of the universe. The emperor was honored as the pacator mundi and appeared as the living Concord of the human race with regard to both public and private spheres.29 From early times onward Concordia was connected with the imperial cult, especially with that of the empresses. The Empress Livia was identified with Concordia-Homonoia and became the patroness of marriages in Egypt where the nuptial rites were celebrated ini 'lovhia~ E~(3amq~, that is, probably in front of her statue.30 And at the very end of the Roman Empire, in 321 or 324, a double-solidus was issued at Trier showing Constantine's Empress, Fausta, as a Concordia between Crispus and Constantine 11, the FELIX PROGENIES CONSTANTIN1 AVG., as the inscription says (fig. 20).~l The appearance of the emperor himself in the role of a Concordia pronuba is a feature of a very late period only. Perhaps we should recall the fact that in the late Empire contracts -including marriage contracts -were frequently signed before the emperor's image; also, that the solemn oath, if such was taken, was delivered by the genius, the tyche, "of our unconquered lord and august emp e r ~ r . That " ~ ~ is to say, the emperor in his capacity of guardian of contracts and solemn oaths could be recognized even in the legal sphere as an incarnation of Concordia. Represented in this role we find Theodosius 11, in a solidus of 437, a specimen of which has recently been acquired by the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (figs. 21, 2 2 ) . The haloed emperor gives his blessings to the marriage of Valentinian I11 and Licinia Eudoxia, while the legend surrounding the imperial pronubus and the likewise haloed couple reads: FELlClTER NVBTllS.33 We know from the evidence of the papyri that in the later years of Theodosius I1 the official oath formula was christianized. The imperial tyche was still invoked, a custom that lingered on until the seventh century. But this invocation was preceded thenceforth by the invocation of Christ or the HolyTrinity.34 At the next issue of wedding solid;, in 450, we find that Juno and Coficordia, Sol invictus and Cupid, Hercules and emperor have ceded their place to Christus ZB W . W . T a r n , Alexander, 11, 4 0 9 f f . ; c f . E . R. Goodenough, " T h e Political Philosophy o f Hellenistic Kingship," Yale Classical Studies, I (1928), 5 9 f f . and passim, for t h e "Pythagorean" tractates ( w h i c h speak o f "Harmonia" rather t h a n Homonoia); also Louis Delatte, Les Traitks de la Royautt! dlEcphante, DiotogBne et Sthinidas (LiCge and Paris, 1 9 4 2 ) I~n d e x , s. v. drppovia, w h o dates these treatises rather late (first or second century A.D.). For t h e emperor as pacator, see Leo Berlinger, Beitrage zur inoffiziellen Titulatur der romischen Kaiser (Breslau Diss., 1935), 5 4 f f . , 6 6 f . ; A. Alfoldi, i n Romische Mitteilungen, L (1935), 99 and pl. VII. 30 Ulrich W i l c k e n , "Ehepatrone im romischen Kaiserhaus," Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsgeschichte, roman. Abt., XXIX ( ~ g o g )5,0 4 f f . 31 R. Delbriick, Spatantike Kaiserportraits (Berlin, 1 9 3 3 ) ~ 7 8 and pl. v, fig. 4. 32 See E . Seidl, Der Eid i m romisch-agyptischen Provinzialrecht (Miinchener Beitrage zur Papyrusforschung, XXIV [Munich, 1935]),5 f f . , for t h e forms o f oaths, and 1 2 1 , for marriage contracts; c f . A. Steinwenter, art. "Iusiurandum," R E , X : I (1g18), 1260, line 1 2 , for sponsalia strengthened b y a n o a t h , and (line 2 2 ) for contracts w i t h oath. For legal actions contracted i n front o f a n imperial image, see W i l c k e n , loc. cit. (supra, note 3 0 ) ; Alfoldi, i n Romische Mitteilungen, XLIX ( 1 9 3 4 )7~0 f . ; H e l m u t Kruse, Studien zur offiziellen Geltung des Kaiserbildes (Paderborn, 1g34), 7 9 f . ; Erik Peterson, I1 Libro degli Angeli ( R o m e , 1946), 58, n o t e I I I . See infra, p. 15. 33 H . Dressel, i n Zeitschrift fur Numismatik, XXI (1898), 247f., pl. VII, fig. 15. T h e Dumbarton O a k s specimen was acquired i n April, 1958; i t is reproduced here (fig. 2 2 ) . 34 Seidl, E i d , 8ff., for t h e Christian oaths beginning under Theodosius I1 ( c f . 1 2 f . ) ;see p. 1 1 for t h e invocation o f t h e imperial tyche under Heraclius. Augustine, E p . X X I I I , 5 ( C S E L . , X L I V , 6 g , lines 1 8 f f . ) ,says expressis verbis t h a t t h e o a t h o f groom and bride was t o b e t a k e n plerumque per Christum; c f . Delling, "Eheschliessung" (supra, n o t e 8 ) , 729.

ERNST KANTOROWICZ pronzcbzcs (fig.23 a).35The bridal couple, the Empress Pulcheria and her E m p e r o r Consort Marcian, the first at whose coronation the patriarch extended the blessings of the Church, are haloed and diademed like their p r e d e c e s s o r s , and the central figure appears in quasi-imperial attire. Only the crossed halo of the p r o n u b z t s indicates the change and allows us to understand that in the Christian empire Christ was the new pacator mundi. By c o i n c i d e n c e , in a verse inscription of ca. A.D. 450 at the Church of S. Croce in Ravenna, Christ is praised as cuncti concordia mzcndi, "the Concord of the whole world. J'36 True, the solidzcs of 450 is not the first representation of Christ in the role of Concordia pronuba. In the sarcophagus reliefs of the fourth century Christ is sometimes shown in the place formerly taken by Juno p r o n u b a , and the iconographic continuity here is no less striking than it was in the case of the coin images. Although the sarcophagus of the Villa Albani (fig. 7) is badly m u t i l a t e d , enough is left to recognize not only Christ in the place of the Roman g o d d e s s , but also the altar for the sacrificium nuptiale (see fig. 5) which now has been turned into a lectern carrying a Gospel Book.37That the pronubus should be acting at the same time as stephanophoros, holding the bridal crowns over the heads of the couple, is a feature not customary in earlier Roman wedding iconography. It reminds us, however, how ineffective were the ranting invectives of Tertullian against the crowning of bride and groom38-a custom even now o b served in the Eastern Churches-and how easily the bridal wreaths of flowers assumed an almost transcendental connotation anticipating the eternal crown of life, provided that the marriage was contracted tantum in Domino, "only in the Lord" (I Cor . 7 :39).39 The continuity by transference disclosed by the monuments is strikingly confirmed by the texts of the first half of the fifth century. Around A.D. 400, 36 Paulinus of Nola, Carmen XXV, 10, ed. Hartel, 238 : Absit ab his thalamis . . . Iuno, Cupido, Venus, nomina luxuriae. For the medallion, see Dressel, op. cit., 248f., pl. VII, fig. 16. This is yet another item illustrating the process by which the imperial dignity of the Eastern Empire became ecclesiasticised, particularly noticeable around 450; see, e. g., Peter Charanis, "Coronation and its Constitutional Significance in the Later Roman Empire," Byzantion, XV (1940-41), 53f. A later solidus of the same type has been recently acquired by the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (59.47; see fig. 23b). It refers to the marriage of Anastasius I and Ariadne (May 20, 491) and still displays, probably for the last time, the legend FELICITER NVBTIIS. The imperial couple is without halo, whereas the crossed halo of Christ as pronubus is very clearly recognizable. See G. Zacos and A. Veglery, "An Unknown Solidus of Anastasios I," Numismatic Circular, LXVII (September 1g5g), 154f., an article to which Professor Philip Grierson kindly called my attention. 36 Agnellus, Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis, ed. Holder-Egger, in Mon. Germ. Hist., Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum (1878), 306, lines 18f.; ed. A. Testi Rasponi, in the new edition of Muratori, Rerum Italicarum scripto~es,I I : 3 (Bologna, 1924)~122: Christe, Patris verbum, cuncti concordia mundi.. . This was the first line of the verse inscription on the f a ~ a d eof Santa Croce in Ravenna, a church built by Galla Placidia. See Andre Grabar, Martyrium, I (Paris, 1946), 224, note 2, through whom my attention was drawn to this inscription. 37 J. Wilpert, I sarcofagi cristiani antichi, I (Rome, 1932), pl. LXXIV, fig. 3. 38 Tertullian, De corona, 13,4; Karl Baus, Der Kranz in Antike und Christentum (Theophaneia, I1 [Bonn, 1g40]), chap. V, pp. 93ff.; cf. Eisenhofer, Liturgik, 11, 412; also Hans Julius Wolff, Written and Unwitten Marriages in Hellenistic and Postclassical Roman Law (Haverford, 1939), 84f. Ritzer, Eheschliessung, I , 41f., stresses (p. 46) the Armenian influence; see Kotting (supra, note IO), 886, for the wreath a t the dextrarum iunctio. a9 Tertullian refers (De corona, 13,5) t o this passage: habes apostolum in domino nubere iubentem. See the edition by Aemilius Kroymann, in Corpus Christianorum, Ser. lat., I1 (Turnhout, 1g54), 1061, 28f.

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Severianus of Gabala wrote in a sermon, which strangely enough is also transmitted under the name of Petrus Chrysologus, Bishop of Ravenna between 430 and 450:

"When the images of two persons, kings or brothers, are painted, we often notice that the painter, so as to emphasize the unanimity of the couple, places at the back of them a Concordia in female garb. With her arms she embraces both to indicate that the two persons, whose bodies are separated, concur in mind and will. So does now the Peace of the Lord stand in the center to teach us how separate bodies may become one in spirit.40"

We could hardly have asked for a more accurate description of the change which, by A.D. 400, had taken place: the substitution of Concordia by the "Peace of the Lord." Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, however, who died in 431, was even more specific when, in the Epithalamium for his son Julian, he applied the technical term ~ronubusto Christ : Tali bge suis nubentibus adstat Iesus Pronubus, et vini nectare mutat aquam.

(By those of his who marry in this [Christian] law Jesus stands as pronubus, and he changes water into the nectar of wine.)41 The allusion to the marriage of Cana gives additional weight to the pronubus attribute of Christ, an idea apparently quite familiar in the fifth century. The popular art of decorating gold-glasses helped to spread even more widely that idea (fig. I O ) * ~ which in later times was projected back into the mythical past: the deity uniting the hands of Adam and Eve (fig. 34).43 In the legal sphere, the emperor as a guardian of marriage contracts was likewise replaced by Christ and his vicars; for the tabulae nuptiales were signed not infrequently before the bishop.44 Henceforth the imperial pronubus vanishes 40 The passage from Severianus of Gabala was published by Carl Weymann, "Omonoia," Hevmes, XXIX (1894), 626f.; it is identical with one in a Christmas sermon attributed to Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo CXLIX, in Patr. lat., LII, 5g8D-5ggA. While it is not at all clear how it happened that sermons of Severianus were ascribed to Petrus Chrysologus, the fact itself is generally recognized; see Albert Siegmund, Die Uberlieferung der griechischen christlichen Literatur in der lateinischen Kirche bis zum zw6lften Jahrhundert (Munich-Pasing,1949)~130; E. Dekkers and A. Gaar, Clavis Patrum Latinorum (Sacris erudiri, I11; Steenbrugge, 195I ) , 227. The concord-bringing "Peace of the Lord" was represented in the contemporary mosaic of the arch of S. Maria Maggiore (ca. 432-440) by an angel acting as pronubus and uniting Joseph and the prophetess Anna (that is, the New and Old Testaments); cf. Grabar, L'empereur, 218f., and pl. x x x ~ v . 41 Paulinus of Nola, Carmen XXV, 15 I f., ed. Hartel (CSEL.,XXX [1894]),243. Cf. F. J. Dolger, Antike und Christentum,VI (1g50), I , note I : "Eine Arbeit fiir sich konnte im Anschluss an Paulinus von Nola.. . Iesus pronubus betitelt werden." Unfortunately Dolger did not write that study. 4 2 Garrucci, I vetri, pl. x x ~ xfig. , 3. 4 3 Bible moralis6'e illustre'e, ed. Comte A. Delaborde (Paris, I ~ I I ) I, , pl. VI (Oxford, Bodleian M S 270b, fol. 69. 44 Eisenhofer, Liturgik, II,4ogf.,416f.; cf. Pelka, AltchristlicheEhedenkmaler, 92 ; Ritzer, Eheschliessung, I, 35, 40f. Augustine, Sermo CCCXXXII, 5 4, Patr. lat., XXXVIII, 1463, mentions expressis verbis the signing of the tabulae by the bishop: Verum est; istis tabulis subscripsit episcopus. The sacerdotal benediction of matrimony is mentioned quite often.Paulinus of Nola, Carmen XXV, 11 : Sancta

10

E R N S T KANTOROWICZ

from iconography, though a certain lingering is still noticeable in the silver dish from Cyprus where a chlamydatus, King Saul, marries off his daughter Michal to ~~ the figure of the bishop or priest solemnizing young David (fig. I I ) . However, matrimony was too prominent in daily life to be neglected in art. I t was a scene depicted in numerous representations of the Sposalizio until, in the High Renaissance, it reappeared in medallic art.46Only one medallic design from among very many will be mentioned here: the Cardinal de Bouillon solemnizing the marriage of the Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XIV, to Marie Anne of Bavaria (fig. z4).47The inscription VICTORIA ET PACE AUSPlClBUS shows that this event had primarily political aspects, though it was not so exclusively political as a medallion of 1570, executed by Giovan Antonio de'Rossi, on which the bride is the Signoria of Venice, the groom is the Kingdom of Spain, and the Concordia pron.uba is Pope Pius V extending his blessings to a military alliance against the Turks (fig. 2 5 ) .48 For all the available evidence, however, it can still be asked whether in fact Concordia pronuba was simply replaced, in the fourth and fifth centuries, by Christzcs pronubus, and whether this change implies merely an iconographic problem or affected the meaning of the ceremony as well. The answer to these questions is given by the golden marriage belt of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (figs. ~ a - b ) . The central medallions display Christ as the unifier and solemnizer who places his hands over those of the couple clasping hands. Of chief importance is the inscription : E K OEOY OM 0N0 I A, "Concord deriving .~~ from God," with the words XAPIC and Y r l E l A written in the e ~ e r g u e That sacerdotis venerando pignora pacto/tungumtuv; also line 231 : Imbue, Christe, novos de sancto antistite nuptos. The ecclesiastical benediction was mentioned already by John Chrysostom, I n Genesim Hmnilza , preaches against pagan excesses a t X L V I I I , 3 67, Patr. gr., LIV, 443 (see Ritzer, I, 41, note ~ o I )who wedding parties and adds: 6kov 6.rrawa ~ a i h & a m h a i r ~ t v... ~ akpkas l ~ d d ~va l 6 1tOxGjv ' ~ a~iAoytCjv i m)v

. .

6pbvoiav TOG(NVOIKEU~OU uwucpiyy~tv. .

Nicosia (Cyprus),Museum. Photograph: Dumbarton Oaks. The dish has often been reproduced; see, e. g., Charles Diehl, Manuel d'art byzantin, I (Paris, 1925), 313, fig. 159; Leclercq, art. "Chypre," DACL., 111: I , 1581, fig. 2914 (with literature); also art. "David," DACL., I V : I , zgg/300, fig. 3630. That the design followed the imperial prototype cannot be doubted; see Andre Grabar, L'empereur duns l'art byzantin (Paris, 1936)~21 7, note 4. 46 Cf. A. von Salis, Anlike und Renaissance (Ziirich, 1g4j), 5j f . The material has not yet been collected, though a beginning has been made; see Paul Schmid, "Die deutsche Hochzeitsmedaille", Deutsches Jahrbuch fur Numismatik, 111-IV (1940-41), 9-52, pls. I-VI. The fact that a Juno pronuba made her appearance in a pantomime performed in Bologna a t the wedding of Annibale Bentivoglio and Lucrezia d'Este, merely reflects the general climate of the Renaissance; cf. Jakob Burckhardt, Die Kultur der Renaissance, ed. Werner Kaegi (Gesamtausgabe, V [Berlin and Leipzig, 1g30]), 298, Engl. transl. by S. G. C. Middlemore (Vienna, n. d.), 214. 47 [Claude-Fran~ois Menestrier], Mkdailles sur les principaux LvLnements d u rigne de Louis le Grand (Acad6mie Royale des MBdailles et des Inscriptions [Paris, I joz]), fig. on p. 180. 48 Georg Habich, Die Medaillen der italienischen Renaissance (Stuttgart and Berlin, n. d.) pl. L X X I X , fig. 8. 49 Dumbarton Oaks Collection, no. 37.33; cf. The Dumbarton Oaks Collection: Handbook (Washington, 1g55), p. 80, no. 190, and figure on p. 95; also Berta Segall, "The Dumbarton Oaks Collection," American Journal of Archaeology, XLV (1g41), 13f., and figs. 5-7. For the device, see Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De caerimoniis, 11, ch. 48, ed. A. Vogt (Paris, 193g), 11,p. 8, the acclamation a t the imperial wedding: 'Es, 6 8ebs 6 &y~os,6bs airrois 6p6votav with similar wishes t o follow for the empire (paoih~~ov)and the marriage (y&pos). Further, the acclamations for the Augusta (Vogt, 11, 9): Zb 6wpcp~MqsC 8 ~ 0 ~ 6 -rropcpOpq. i d5

M A R R I A G E B E L T AND R I N G S AT DUMBARTON OAKS 11 is to say, Homonoia-Concord no longer ruled, or even existed, in her own right as an independent goddess or virtue, who had her own aedes and altar, nor could the couple by its purely human and moral qualities represent her divine essence. Concordia was now a gift of God; she proceeded from God and had become subservient to God. What Saint Augustine said about Virtus in general, that "Virtue is not a goddess but a gift of God, and that she is to be obtained from Him by whom alone she can be given," or that "not truth, but vanity, makes the Virtues goddesses; for they are gifts of the true God, and not themselves goddesses," all of that was applied to Concordia as well: E K OEOY OMONOIA.50 The change reflected also upon the bridal couple. No longer were groom and bride embraced by the natural harmony of the universe in which they participated and of which they became a likeness through their Homonoia. Their hands are now joined together by a sacrament, by a spiritual principle bestowing upon them Concord as a special gift like Grace and Health. Although the marriage rings (figs. z7a-b) continued to display occasionally the word H0monoia,~1and although both Eastern and Western marriage rites still mentioned the concord by which bride and groom were to be united,52something essential had changed: the couple no longer appeared as the manifest likeness, the visible mimesis of the purely natural order of the world. And yet, the idea of mimesis was not lost, nor was it absent from the Christian ritual. In the Epistle to the Ephesians (5:25), St. Paul enlarged upon the image of the marriage of Christ to the Church, and the chapter from Ephesians appears in almost all the later Christian services of the "Solemnization of Matrimony"; it is used as the Lesson and 50 Augustine, De cia. Dei, IV, 20, ed. Dombart, I , 169: [ V i r t u s ] ... dea non est, sed donum Dei est, i p s a ab ill0 impetretur, a quo solo dari potest. Also IV, 21, Dombart, I , 170: H a s deas n o n veritas, sed uanitas facit; haec e n i m ueri Dei munera sunt, non ipsae sunt deae. Cf. Theodor Ernst Mommsen, "Petrarch and the Story of the Choice of Hercules," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, XVI (19351, 178-182. 5 1 Fig. 27a: Dumbarton Oaks Collection, no. 53.12.4 (sixth century); cf. Handbook, p. 76, no. 169. Mrs. Enrico de'h'egri has called my attention t o the fact that the design of this ring (the bust of Christ over the Cross with two figures, right and left) corresponds exactly t o that of the ampullae (bust of Christ over thecross with the two thieves, right and left) of the sixth century; see Grabar, Les ampoules de Terre Sainte (Paris, 1958), pls. XII, XIII, XIV,XVI,XVIII, XXVI,XXVIII, etc. See, on related rings, Paolo Orsi, "Giojelli bizantini della Sicilia," Milanges ogerts ci M . Gustaue Schlumberger (Paris, 1924), 395, fig. 65 ; Carlo Cecchelli, "L'anello bizantino del Museo di Palermo," Orientalia Christiana Periodica, XI11 (1947), 40-57 (with full bibliography). Fig. 27b: Dumbarton Oaks Collection, no. 59.60; a new acquisition of the Collection. See also Dalton, Catalogue (infra, note 62), 9, No. 48, and, for the ampulla pattern, KO. 50. See the Preface "Qui foedera nuptiarum blando concordiae iugo. . . nexuisti" of the Nuptial Mass in the Sacramentarium Gelasianum, LII, ed. H . A. Wilson (Oxford, 1894), 265, which is found also in the Gregorianum (Patr. lat., LXXVIII, 261), and can be traced t o the Pontificale R o m a n u m saeculi X I I , ed. Michel Andrieu, L e pontifical Romain a u moyen-dge (Studi e Testi, LXXXVI [Vatican City, 1938]),I , 261, 5 9, whereas it no longer has a place in the present Missale Romanum. See further, for the Mozarabic rite, the Liber Ordinum, ed. Marius FBrotin, Monumenta Ecclesiae Liturgics, V (Paris, 1go4), 437: D a eis, Domine, u n a m pudicitiam unamque concordiam, and 438: . . .in timore tuo anitnorum concordiam. The Byzantine Euchologion refers in the various nuptial orders (the Akolouthiai for Sponsalia, Crowning, and Second Marriage) time and again t o Homonoia; see EOxoh6y1ov ~b Miya (Rome, 1873), 163 (twice: 6v 6povoia ~ a pi~ p a i aTIOTEI),164 (Cv ~ i p j v g~ a byovoiq), i 169 (Abs a h o i s . . . by6vo1av yuxQv ~ a owyCcrwv). i Also 172, 176, 179. The prayer pp. 163f. (KCPIE b esbs fipijv b T ~ V65 EBvQv, K T ~ . ) can be traced back t o the Barberini graec. 336 of the eighth (or ninth) century, and may be considerably older; see Ritzer, Eheschliessung, 68f., and, for the date of the codex, Dom Anselm Strittmatter, "Missa Graecorum," Traditio, I (1g43), 81, note 4.

12

ERNST KANTOROWICZ

pervades the prayers.53It is still included in the Book of Common Prayer where, in the introductory prayer, the estate of matrimony is praised as "an honorable estate, instituted of God, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and the Church." And once more, towards the end, there is an invocation of God "who hast consecrated the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery, that in it is signified and represented the spiritual marriage and unity betwixt Christ and his C h u r ~ h . " ~ ~ The marriage of Christ to the Church-in mediaeval art often identified with the Coronation of the Virgin -was occasionally represented in later miniatures (fig. 35) where the chalice or, more generally, the Sacrament of the Altar figured as the unifier.55 Similarly, at the mystical marriage between the bishop and his local church, the Holy Spirit might act as pronabus, with the altar table placed between the couple and with Christ giving his daughter away (fig. 36),56a meaning supported by the miniature in an English Psalter of ca. 1310 where Saul is seen giving away his daughter Michal to David (fig. 37).57Unfortunately, the late-mediaeval secular equivalent -the king's marriage to his realm, symbolized by the ring ceremony of the Coronation Orders58-does not seem to have found any representation at all; the nearest would be a medallion of 1603, showing Henry IV as Mars and Maria deJMedicias Pallas joining hands while the Dauphin Louis XI11 places his foot on a dolphin. We recognize an eagle descending from heaven and carrying a crown in its beak, apparently the "immortal Crown" symbolizing the continuity of kingship and representing, in this case, the unifier (fig. 26) .59 For, the inscription PROPAGO IMPERI indi53 Ephesians 5: 22-33, is the Epistle of the Byzantine marriage rite (Euchologion [editio Romana, 18731, 17of.), and i t may have served that purpose a t all times. I n the West, the tradition is more complicated. Paulinus of Nola, Carmen XXV, 167f. (infra, note 61), shows that the passage from Ephesians was a t least present in his mind when writing the Epithalamium for his son; and i t serves again in the modern Missale Romanum composed under Pius V, in 1570. I n the Middle Ages, however, apparently under the influence of the Romano-Germanic pontifical of the tenth century, the lesson I Corinthians 6: 15-20, was commonly used (cf. Ritzer, 11, 15), thus replacing with a stalwart exhortation against fornication the subtle ontological commemoration of the divine model. Some manuscripts, however, indicate that the Lesson from Ephesians was current as well; cf. Andrieu, Le Pontifical Romain, I , 260, note 4. This is not surprising because the Benediction Deus qui potestate virtutis tuae alludes to the passage from Ephesians (see injra, note 54), and that Benediction, which is still found in the present Missale Romanum, can be traced back to the Roman Pontifical of the twelfth century (Andrieu, op. cit., I , 261, lines 24ff.) and further to the Gregorianum of Pope Hadrian I ; cf. H. A. Wilson, The Gregovian Sacramentary under Charles the Great (Henry Bradshaw Society, X L I X [London, 1915]), 221, $ 6. See also infra, note 65, for that Lesson on the day of Epiphany, that is, the day of the marriage of Christ t o the Church. 54 The Book of Common Prayer follows verbatim the text of the Benediction Deus qui potestate virtutis tuae (supra, note 53) : Deus qui tam excellenti mysterio coniugalem copulam consecrasti, ut Christi et Ecclesiae sacramentum praesignares in foedere nuptiarum. The benediction, of course, is found also in the rite of Sarum which became more or less authoritative for the English Church in the thirteenth century; cf. William Maskell, Monumenta Ritualia Ecclesiae Anglicanae, I (Oxford, 1882), 70 and 72. 55 Bible moralise'e, I, pl. 6 (Oxford, Bodl. MS 270b, fol. 6'). 56 Bible mmalise'e, 111, pl. 479 (London, Brit. RIus. MS Harley 1526-27, fol. 8'). Munich, Cod. gall. 16, fol. 3 5 ~ a, miniature to which Professor Erwin Panofsky obligingly called my attention and of which he also lent me a photograph. Although the MS is said to be French (gall.), it is in fact an English Psalter of ca. 1310 and comes, as Professor Panofsky pointed out to me, from the same workshop as the famous Tickhill Psalter in the Morgan Library. 58 See, for the king's marriage to his realm, E. H. Kantorowicz, The King's Two Bodies (Princeton, 1g57), z ~ z f f . ,and, for the (French) ring formula, 221f., note 85. 59 G. F. Hill, The Dreyfuss Collection: Renaissance Medals (Oxford, 1g31), pl. CXIX, fig. 556. For the eagle with crown on Roman coins, see, e. g., the aureus issued S.C. (by decree of the Senate) to

M A R R I A G E B E L T AND R I N G S AT DUMBARTON O A K S 13 cates that the medallion celebrates the perpetuity of the dynasty exactly as it does on the Roman coin from which the inscription, to the letter, was taken (fig. 14).~' However that may be, the loving understanding, the Homonoia-Concord between Christ and his Church, the latter represented by the Virgin Mary, served as the transcendental model of bridal couples marrying in the Christian faith. This model must have been far older than our relatively late liturgical texts would suggest. For one thing, in the Epithalamium of Paulinus of Nola for his son mention is made not only of Iesus pronubus, but also of the grande sacramentum, quo nubit ecclesia Christo, "the great sacrament by which the Church gave herself into marriage to Christ."G1 Moreover, on the octagonal or quatrefoil bezel of a wedding ring in the British Museum, of the sixth or seventh century (fig. z8),62the hoop of which is likewise octagonal, we recognize the celestial couple of Christ and Mary, King and Queen of Heaven, as they dispense their blessings to the slightly smaller bridal couple -the motto being again Homonoia. This design appears also on another-similar, if more elegant and slightly later-ring of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (figs. zga-b), which is likewise octagonal.63 Once more the inscription reads Homonoia and refers to both couples: to Christ and Mary as the model, and to the smaller human couple as the antitype and mimesis of the exemplary concord of King and Queen of Heaven. A few words may be devoted to the strange octagonal shape of the bezel and the hoop. The octagon is the customary shape of early Christian bapti~teries,~4 and one might be all the more inclined to seek a connection with baptism, since the marriage of Christ to the Church was generally, especially in Syria, understood to follow after, or take place at, the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan : the Church was cleansed on Epiphany and the marriage followed after that nuptial bath-Hodie caelesti sponso iuncta est Ecclesia announces the famous antiphon on E p i ~ h a n yAnother .~~ consideration, however, has its merits too, celebrate the acceptance of the augustus title on the part of Octavian; Alfijldi, in Rom. Mitt., L (1g35), pl. I 3, fig. 5, and p. 87. The French medallist could hardly have known the corresponding iconographic type of the Dove descending with a crown in its bill at the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan of which one of t h e finest specimens is found in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection; cf. Handbook, p. 80, no. 189 (illus. on p. 91). 60 See supra, note 13; for the Crown "which never dies" ("la couronne et la justice ne meurent jamais"), see Kantorowicz, op. cit., 417, note 343, and pp. 336ff. Paulinus of Nola, Carmen XXV, 167f.,ed. Hartel, 243; see supra, note 53. 62 0. M. Dalton, Catalogue of the Finger Rings: Early Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Mediaeval and Later (London, I ~ I Z ) , sf., NO.4 j. Dumbarton Oaks Collection, no. 47.15; see Handbook, p. 81 f., and figure 195 on p. 94, where, however, the bezel is not shown. 6A F. J. Dolger, Antike u n d Christentum, IV (1g34), I 53ff., and V (193j), 293f.; cf. K. Schneider, art. "Achteck" and "Achtzahl," Reallexikon fur Antike und Christentum, I ( ~ g j o )72ff., , 79ff. 65 Odo Casel, "Die Taufe als Brautbad der Kirche," Jahrbuch fur Liturgiewissenschaft, V (1g25), 144-147; Hieronymus Frank, "Hodie caelesti sponso iuncta est Ecclesia: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und Idee des Epiphaniefestes," V o m christlichen M y s t e r i u m : Gesammelte Arbeiten z u m Gedachtnis von Odo ) , Casel O.S.B., edd. AntonMayer, Johannes Quasten, Burkhard Neunheuser (Diisseldorf, ~ g j ~192-226, is t h e most profound discussion of this subject; see p. 159, note 31, for the evidence of the Gallican Epistle Book of Schlettstadt (seventh or eighth century), which has the Lesson from Ephes. 5: 20-33, on Epiphany (see supra, note 53).

E R N S T KANTOROWICZ and may even appear preferable. Andre Grabar has convincingly proved that the Church of the Holy Saviour in Antioch, which Constantine the Great dedicated in 327, was originally devoted to Homonoia-Concordia, a title referring to a more specialized capacity or hypostasis of the incarnate Word.66That is to say, just as Constantine dedicated churches in Constantinople to the Saviour in his special capacities of Divine Wisdom (Sophia), of Divine Power (Dynamis), and Divine Peace (Eirene),G7so did he dedicate a church to the Saviour as Divine Concord (Homonoia) in the Oriental capital, Antioch -a tropaion after his victory over Licinius by which the Orient and its capital, Antioch, were again united to the Roman Empire where Homonoia now prevailed. The Church K U ~ ~ U K as ~V, of the Divine Concord, however, was an octagon-~6 6~~Cxyovov Theophanes called it.68Apparently, the word Homonoia released almost automatically, for the Byzantine mind, the vision of the octagon at Antioch, just as for us the word Hagia Sophia immediately conjures the vision of the dome of the most venerable church of Constantinople. Perhaps the octagonal Homofloia rings may even serve to strengthen Grabar's ingenious identification. In its Christian garb, as displayed by the rings, the idea of Homonoia, or Harmony, gained a new spatial depth and an unexpected perspective. This then, this doubling of the couples-the celestial couple being a model of the terrestrial-should, we may assume, be considered as a genuine contribution of the ideas developed by the Christian Church. Or does this doubling, too, have its pagan antecedents ? I t is true that the myths of Amor and Psyche, of Mars and Venus, may have served occasionally as mythical paradigms, comparable perhaps to the marriage of Adam and Eve as a cipher of Christian m y t h ~ l o g y . ~ ~ But those myths were hardly more than allegorical parallels lacking the moral obligation to imitate a model, and they definitely lacked the spatial reality and perspective which the marriage between the Mediator and the Mediatrix, Christ and the Church, conveyed to the idea of Homonoia and thereby to the wedding ceremony itself. This would likewise be true when a coin displayed the imperial couple, Hadrian and Sabina, joining hands with a divine couple, ~ ~the scene, referring to an adventus reception, has no Osiris and Isis (fig. 3 0 ) ; for model character whatsoever. Hence, we may dismiss off-hand the mythical "models," but cannot dismiss with equal nonchalance some other imperial antecedents. In A.D. 176, the Roman Senate passed a decree ordering that bride and groom should offer on their wedding day a sacrifice on an altar placed in front of the colossal silver statues, in the temple of Venus and Roma, of Marcus A. Grabar, Martyrium, I, 222ff. See Jean Paul Richter, Quellen der byzantinischen Kunstgeschichte (Vienna, 189.7), 4, 2, for the three churches inConstantinople; cf. 13, 3 37. The oratory called Homonoia in the capital uras not dedicated to Christ as Concord, but commemorated the concord of a Council; ibid., 144, 3 4. 6B Theophanes, Chronographia, I, ed. C. de Boor (Leipzig, 1883-85), 28, quoted by Grabar who also discusses (223f.) the political situation. 60 See Rossbach, Romische Hochzeits- und Ehedenknziiler, 172,for a sarcophaglls in the Campo Santo a t Pisa, where Amor and Psyche are represented as well as bride and groom. See supra, note 43, and fig. 34, for Adam and Eve. 7 0 Strack, Untersuchungen, 11, pl. XIII, fig. 743; cf. pl. VI, fig. 314, also p. 164. 66

67

M A R R I A G E B E L T AND R I N G S AT DUMBARTON O A K S 15 Aurelius and his Empress, the younger F a ~ s t i n aSimilar . ~ ~ decrees, we may recall, are known from E g ~ p t . ~Most 2 explicit, however, is an earlier inscription from Ostia. That city consecrated an altar for the imperial couple Antoninus Pius and the elder Faustina to the end that ob insignem eorzzm concordiam-for the outstanding concord of emperor and empress-the maidens that marry at Ostia, and their grooms are held to offer on that altar on the day of their wedding.73 That this decree was carried through verbatim-probably not only in Ostia and the provinces, but also in Rome7*-is suggested by a series of superb sestertii of Antoninus Pius which actually reveal the whole procedure (figs. 31a-c).~5We recognize the colossal statues of Emperor and Empress facing each other, also the altar, and, before it, the dextrarztm iunctio of bride and groom. The two smaller human figures are framed and overshadowed by the huge statues (the pedestals are plainly visible, even on a later replica [fig. 33])76of Emperor and Empress who clasp hands exactly as does the newly wedded pair at their feet. Moreover, the Emperor carries in his left hand the statue of Concordia whose name we also read in the inscription and who creates, as it were, the harmony of all three spheres: the human, the imperial, and the universal. Concordia pronuba is effective by her own cosmic power of rendering harmony; but she wields her power also through the mediatorship of the prototypes, the Divi. The Divi, as demanded by Hellenistic political philosophy, are the mimetai of the heavenly order, whereas man becomes the mimetes of the ruler. The coin discloses strikingly the unison, harmony, and equality of rhythm of macrocosmos and microcosmos. All of this opens up some wider perspectives both backward and forward. We may think of Theocritk' Panegyric for King Ptolemy I1 and his Queen Arsinoe whose "holy wedlock" of brother and sister appeared to the poet as a mimesis of that of the rulers of Olympus, Zeus and Hera77-a metaphor which has its antecedents far back in the ancient Near East where the royal marriage 71 Alfoldi, in: Rom. Mitt., XLIX (1934)~ 61, note 3, and L (1g3j), 96; Strack, Untersuchungen, 111, p. 96 (quoting and interpreting Cassius Dio, 71, 31, I ) ; Weinstock, art. "Pronuba," 753. 7 2 U. Wilcken, "Ehepatrone im romischen Kaiserhaus" (supra, note 30). 7 3 CIL., XIV, Suppl. 5326: Imp. Caesari T. Aelio Hadriano Antonino Aug. P i o P.P. et divae Fau-

stinae ob insignem eorum concordiam Utique in ara virgines quae in Colovzia Ostiensi nubent item mariti earum supplicent. Strack, loc. cit. 7 4 Strack, 111, 96. 76 Strack, 111,pl. x, fig. 826; Alfoldi, Rom. Mitt., L (1935)) pl. XII, fig. I j; Bernhart, pl. LX, fig. 10. Rossbach, Romische .. . Ehedenkmaler, 22f., has misunderstood the meaning of these coins because he thought that the smaller figures were Marcus Aurelius and the younger Faustina; but so have others; cf. Strack, 111, 96, note 291; Alfoldi, op. cit., 96, note I. 76 G. F. Hill, Catalogue of the Gveek Coins of Lycia, Pamphilia, and Pisidia (London, 1897), 188f., nos. 75-76, pl. XXXII, fig. 2 : Gordian and Antioch (Colonia Caesarea Antiochia), standing confronted on pedestals; the Emperor holding in his left a statue (of the genius of the city or of Concordia ?) grasps with his right the right hand of Antioch; between them an altar. Cf. Strack, 111, 96, note 291, who called attention to this coin. 7 7 Theocritus, XVII, 128-134. Cf. Fritz Taeger, Charisma: Studien zur Geschichte des antiken Herrscherkultes (Stuttgart, 1g57), 376; see also G. W. Elderkin, "The Marriage of Zeus and Hera and its Symbol," American Journal of Archaeology, XLI (1g37), 424-435.

16

E R N S T KANTOROWICZ

was generally visualized as an antitype of the iepbs y&pos of the divine powers.76 Or we may turn our attention towards later times and mention the imperial couple of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, or Gallienus and Salonina, who were represented on their Concordia coins as Sun and Moon (figs. 3za, b),79the Emperor radiate and the Empress on the crescent, and recall the marriage of the Sol Iustitiae to the Woman Having the Moon under her Feet (Rev. 12: I), that is, according to customary exegesis, the And we may add, for what it is worth, that in the Byzantine and Russian Eztchologia the rituals of crowning the bride and groom commemorate in the Dismissal not only Christ and Mary, but also Saint Constantine the Great and Saint Helen, the Emperor's mother.*l In this concentricity of human, saintly, and divine couples there is, it is true, some resemblance with the former concentricity of human, imperial, and divine spheres. But the Christian imperial saints no longer were exponents or models of that natural order and concord of the world which the sestertius of Antoninus Pius and Faustina suggested. Constantine and Helen have become exponents and symbols of that spiritual world order which the inscription of the Dumbarton Oaks golden wedding belt proclaims: E K OEOY OMONOIA. THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY Princeton, N. J. See, e. g., Ivan Engnell, Studies in Divine Kingship in the Ancient Near East (Uppsala, 1943), Index, s. v. iepb~y & p o ~ E ; . Norden, Die Geburt des Kindes (Leipzig and Berlin, 1gz4), 138ff.;Alfoldi, in Rom. Mitt., L (1g35), 124. 79 Mattingly, V, pl. xxxvrr, 8 and p. 233, also pl. xxxvrr, 11; Alfoldi, Numismatic Chronicle, ser. 5, vol. I X ( ~ g z g )pl. , XVIII, I. Cf. Alfoldi, Rom. Mitt., L (1935)~ pl. XII, 13-14. 80 See, e. g., the Glossa ordinaria, Patr. lat., CXIV, 732; or Alexander Minorita, Expositio in Apocalypsim, ed. Alois Wachtel (Monum. Germ. Hist., Quellen zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters, I [Weimar, 19551)~259, who quotes Ephes. 5:23f., in order t o explain t h e marriage of the Woman Having the Moon under her Feet with Christ Sol iustitiae. Euchologion (ed. Rome, 1873)) 174, also 180.

la, b. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Golden Marriage Belt (see note 49)

2. Paris, De Clercq Collection. Golden Marriage Belt (see note 4)

3. New York, Metropolitan Museum. Golden Belt from Kyrenia, Cyprus (see note 5)

4. Florence, Uffizi Museum. Sarcophagus (see note 10)

5. Rome, Belvedere Museum. Sarcophagus (see notes 11, 37)

6. Rome, Vatican, Porphyry Statue. Diocletian and Maximian (see note 21)

7. Rome, Villa Albani. Sarcophagus Fragment (see note 37)

8. Gold Glass: Amor pronubus (see note 23)

9. Gold Glass : Hercules pronubus (see note 25)

10. Gold Glass : Christus pronubus (see note 42)

11. Nicosia, Museum. Silver Dish with Marriage of David and Michal (see note 45)

21. Feliciter Nubtiis: Theodosius I1 with Valentinian I11 and Licinia Eudoxia (see note 33). 22. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Feliciter Nubtiis: Theodosius I1 with Valentinian I11 and Licinia Eudoxia (see note 33). 23a. Feliciter Nubtiis: Christus pronubus with Marcian and Pulcheria (see note 35). 23b. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Feliciter Nubtiis: Christus pronubus with Anastasius I and Ariadne (see note 35). 24. Medallic Design : Cardinal de Bouillon Blessing Marriage of Dauphin and Marie Anne of Bavaria (see note 47). 25. Medal by G. A. deJRossi: Pope Pius V with Venice and Spain (see note 48). 26. Paris, Dreyfuss Collection. Medallion: Henry IV and Maria de'Medici with Dauphin (see note 59). 27a, b. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Wedding Rings (see note 51). 28. British Museum. Wedding Ring: Christ and St. Mary with Couple (see note 62). All of the above figures are enlarged.

a. Bezel b. Hoop 29a, b. Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Wedding ring (see note 63)

30. Adverctus : Hadrian and Sabina with Osiris and Isis (see note 70). 31a, b, c. Corccordia: Bride and Groom Sacrificing in Front of Statues of Antoninus Pius and Faustina I (see note 75). 32a. Concordia ~ u g g: .Gallienus and Salonina (see note 79). 32b. Concordiae aeterrcae: Septimius Severus radiate, Julia Domna on Crescent (see note 79). 33. Colorcia Caesarea Adiochia: Statues of Gordian and Antioch (see note 76). All of the above figures are enlarged.

35. Marriage of Christ and Church (see note 55) 34. Marriage of Adam and Eve (see note 43) Bible moralisbe

36. Bible moralide: Christ Marrying a Church to a Bishop (see note 56)

37. Munich. Cod. gall. Monac. 16, fol. 35": Saul Manying Michal to David (see note 57)

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[Footnotes] 3

A Byzantine Gold Medallion at Dumbarton Oaks Marvin C. Ross Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 11. (1957), pp. 247-261. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281957%2911%3C247%3AABGMAD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I 4

A Byzantine Gold Medallion at Dumbarton Oaks Marvin C. Ross Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 11. (1957), pp. 247-261. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281957%2911%3C247%3AABGMAD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I 5

A Byzantine Gold Medallion at Dumbarton Oaks Marvin C. Ross Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 11. (1957), pp. 247-261. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281957%2911%3C247%3AABGMAD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I 7

A Byzantine Gold Medallion at Dumbarton Oaks Marvin C. Ross Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 11. (1957), pp. 247-261. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281957%2911%3C247%3AABGMAD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I

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49

The Dumbarton Oaks Collection Berta Segall American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 45, No. 1. (Jan. - Mar., 1941), pp. 7-17. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9114%28194101%2F03%2945%3A1%3C7%3ATDOC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2 50

Petrarch and the Story of the Choice of Hercules Theodor E. Mommsen Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 16, No. 3/4. (1953), pp. 178-192. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0075-4390%281953%2916%3A3%2F4%3C178%3APATSOT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8 77

The Marriage of Zeus and Hera and Its Symbol G. W. Elderkin American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 41, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1937), pp. 424-435. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9114%28193707%2F09%2941%3A3%3C424%3ATMOZAH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z

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A Marble Relief of the Theodosian Period Ernst Kitzinger Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 14. (1960), pp. 17-42. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281960%2914%3C17%3AAMROTT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O Dumbarton Oaks Papers is currently published by Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University.

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A MARBLE RELIEF OF THE THEODOSIAN PERIOD

This study is in substance identical with a paper delivered at the Symposium on "The Dumbarton Oaks Collection: Studies in Byzantine Art" held at Dumbarton Oaks in May 1958. I wish to thank Professor G. Sotiriou (Athens), Professor &I.Gorenc (Zagreb), and Professor K. Wessel (formerly Berlin), for their courtesy in sending me the photographs reproduced in figures 8, 12, and 18 respectively and for granting me permission to publish these prints. Figure 15 is a detail from a negative in the possession of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome, reproduced here thanks to the kindness of Professors F. W. Deichmann and J. Kollwitz.

Ii

N 1952 Mr. and Mrs. Bliss gave to the Dumbarton Oaks Collection a fragmentary marble relief depicting Christ healing a blind man (fig. I ) . ~The object merits a detailed study, partly because of its high artistic quality and partly because it bears so unmistakably the imprint of its art-historical habit at. Before discussing its date and place of origin it will be well to give a description of the relief. The fragment, which is of white (Proconnesian ?) marble, has a height of 26.5 cm. and a width of 28.7 cm. I t is evidently incomplete at the top, where the present edge cuts off part of Christ's halo, as well as on the left and on the right. Yet all three edges are fairly smooth, a fact which suggests that the present size and shape of the relief are not the result of mere accident, but that its edges were trimmed with a tool in order to reduce it for use as a panel, approximately square in shape. Moreover, the condition of these three edges indicates that the trimming took place quite a long time ago. Only at the top of the right-hand edge, where the outline becomes irregular and the surface of the edge is very clean, is there a suggestion of recent breakage. A small piece seems to have been chipped off here subsequent to the original trimming (see fig. 10). The only edge which is authentic and intact is the bottom one. I t consists of a slightly curved frame, about 2 cm. wide, which is raised about 1.5 cm. above the surface of the relief, thus forming a sloping ledge for the figures to stand on. The frame is adorned by a row of big round beads. In the middle of these, just under the figure of Christ, is a small disk with an equal-armed cross in relief. The thickness of the slab-not including the raised frame or the figures which stand out in relief-is approximately 2 cm. No accurate measurement of this dimension is possible because of the extreme roughness of the back of the slab (fig. 11). Christ stands squarely in the center of the fragment. Youthful and beardless, He wears His hair short and combed down smoothly over His forehead. His is the only head in the relief which is surrounded by a halo. He is dressed in a tunic of which the lower hem is visible just above His ankles while the wide sleeve covers His arm down to about His elbow. Over the tunic He wears a pallium, one end of which is draped over His left shoulder and arm, while the other is pulled across His body at the waist and cascades from His left wrist. On His feet the straps of His sandals are distinctly though lightly indicated in relief. Carrying a rolled-up voluwzen in His left hand, Christ turns His head half right and touches with the index finger of His raised right hand the left (or far) eye of the blind man who is seen in profile on His right approaching Him in a stooping position. The invalid is dressed in the short girded tunic which in the late Roman period characterized its wearer as a member of the working class, No. 52.8. Handbook of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Washington, D.C., 1g55), p. 17, no. 41 and p. 33 (ill.). 2*

ERNST KITZINGER and plain sock-shaped boots (socci ?). He shows much the same facial type as Christ, and although he appears to be even more youthful he would, if erect, be a figure of about the same height. Both his hands reach forward towards the Saviour whose miracle-working arm he seems about to clasp. Actually, however, the blind man's left hand, of which only one finger is visible behind Christ's arm, must be assumed to be holding the top end of the heavy gnarled stick the outlines of which are incised on the empty ground between the two figures. I t is, therefore, his right hand only that reaches out in eager anticipation towards his benefactor, while in his left he carries the stick which supports his stooping body and at the same time serves to guide his steps. Evidently, then, his sight has not yet been restored. Indeed, his eyes seem vacant and without life (fig. 13). On Christ's left and aligned with Him on the same plane is an impressive figure of a companion or witness, which echoes that of the Saviour almost exactly in stance, attire, and position of arms. He is an older man, somewhat shorter than Christ and distinguished by a domed, bald forehead, a drooping moustache, and a long pointed beard. In his left hand, instead of a scroll he holds a scepter in the form of a cross which rests against his shoulder and the top of which extends above his head. Most of the upper part of this scepter, however, is lost owing to the break previously noted, and only one cross-arm remains. The bearded companion's right hand, part of which is concealed by Christ's shoulder, echoes the dramatic action of Christ's right hand; it is raised in an expressive gesture with the palm facing the beholder. Just above this hand there appears the head of another figure, presumably a second witness. Executed in low relief (in keeping with its position in the background), this head is of the same general type as Christ's and the blind man's. I t is shown in semi-profile and its glance is directed not at what Christ is doing, but towards the scepter-bearing figure, thus lending added emphasis to the latter and picking up -by way of counterpoint to the major action portrayed -the secondary and contrary movement initiated by the invalid's eager profile. The body of the background figure must be assumed to be completely concealed behind Christ, but one hand is faint157 visible in the space between the bearded man's head and right hand (fig. 14). I t is executed in very low relief and its action is not altogether clear. So much for the appearance of the relief. About its history, prior to its arrival at Dumbarton Oaks, little is known.2 I t is all the more fortunate that the stylistic character of the carving should be so unmistaltable. The figures, in fact, bear all the characteristics that one finds in sculptures done in Constantinople toward the end of the fourth century, and specifically in the time of Theodcsius I. Consider, for instance, the heads in the imperial entourage on the Theodosian reliefs of the base of the obelisk in the Hippodrome (figs. 2 , 3).3 The collective description of the faces on these reliefs nrhich Kollwitz gives in his exhaustive study of Theodosian sculpture can be applied almost in its entirety i o the head of Christ on our relief (fig. 4). He speaks of the large oval of the face with its softly rounded cheeks and full jaws; of the hair evenly combed downIt was formerly in the collection of Levi Benzion, who is said to have acquired it in Egypt. J. Kollwitz, Ostromische Plastik der fheodosianischen Zeit (Berlin, 1941), pl. 35f.

A MARBLE R E L I E F O F T H E THEODOSIAN P E R I O D

21

ward and forming a gentle wave which covers a large part of the forehead; of the gently ascending brow line and its sudden downward bend at the root of the nose; of the small cavities indicating the pupils; of the rather heavy eyelids outlined by grooves of which the upper ones deepen as they approach the nose; and, finally, of the large ears which are set rather low and are completely unc o v e ~ e dThe . ~ figures in their entirety are equally characteristic products of the period. Their closest parallels are the apostles on the so-called Sarcophagus of a Prince found in Constantinople in 1933 and now in the Archaeological Museum (fig. 6),5 and those on a fragmentary relief from Bakirkoy, also in the same Museum (fig. 5).6 The extremely soft draperies of the latter carving, with their folds lacking definite beginnings and ends and with lights playing gently over the highly polished surface, thus blurring all contours, are particularly similar, though compared with the Bakirkoy figures ours are sturdier and much better defined anatomically. In this respect they are closer to the apostles on the Prince's Sarcophagus who also wear the same type of sandals as Christ and His companion to the right on our relief. All three works have in common another characteristic of Theodosian style, namely, a tendency for figures to lean over slightly. In the light of Kollwitz' detailed study it is not necessary for me to insist on the fact that this soft, smooth, and delicate style which so obviously strives after classical ideals of formal perfection is characteristic of only a short period in Constantinopolitan sculpture, a period which coincides with Theodosius' reign (379-395). Only a few years later, in the reign of Arcadius, forms begin to harden n ~ t i c e a b l ywhile , ~ even the closest known derivatives of the Theodosian style outside the capital, namely, certain sarcophagus reliefs at Ravenna, exhibit different stylistic nuances8 We can say with confidence, therefore, that our marble was carved in Constantinople about the year 390. To our concept of the sculptural style of that period in the capital the relief adds hardly anything new. One feature not previously noticed in other works is the use of incised lines to indicate the most distant objects (cf. especially the stick carried by the blind man). We shall have occasion later to refer to some Western ivory carvings which are products of a phase parallel to, and perhaps to Ibid., p. 119. Ibzd., pl. 46 and p. 132ff. Ibzd., pl. 48 and p. 153ff. 166 and passim. For Ravenna sarcophagi closely related to Constantinopolitan work see ibid., p. 155ff., and especially Kollwitz' more recent study Die Sarkophage Ravennas, Freiburger Universitatsreden, N.F., Heft 21 (Freiburg i. B., 1956), p. off. The sarcophagus of Liberius in S. Francesco, which appears to be the most "Greek" and "classical" in this Ravennatic group, was first thought by Kollwitz to have been drastically restored in modern times (Ostromische Plastik, p. 165, note 5) and is now considered b y him a Renaissance imitation after ancient models (Die Sarkophage Ravennas, p. 6f.; idem, "I1 problema del sarcofago ravennate detto di Liberio," Corsi d i cultura sull'arte ravennate e bizantinu, Ravenna, 11-24 marzo 1956, I1 [Ravenna, 19561, p. 61ff.). G. Bovini, on the other hand, speaks only of the possibility of "qualche ritocco," especially in the faces (Savcofagi paleocristiani d i Ravenna [Cittk del Vaticano, 19541, p. 3 2 ) , and this view seems to be borne out by the more detailed demonstration offered by G. de Francovich in a recent study ("Studi sulla scultura ravennate, I: I sarcofagi," F e l i x Ravenna, 77-78 [August-December 19581, p. gff., esp. p. 12ff.; ibid., p. zoff., a stylistic analysis in which both the Constantinopolitan affinities of this sarcophagus and the features differentiating it from work done in the Eastern capital are duly stressed).

Ibid., p.

22

ERNST KITZINGER

some extent influenced by, Theodosian art in Constantinople, and in which the same device is used.8a While the dating and attribution of the Dumbarton Oaks fragment pose no particular difficulty, we face much harder problems when trying to visualize and define the object of which it formed a part and the setting for which that object was made. Our principal guide in exploring these questions is the lower edge of the relief with its curved outline and its series of beads. The existence of this frame indicates that the relief cannot have stood vertically. Though it conceivably might be part of a roundel inserted in a wall in an upright position, a much more natural supposition is that it was placed horizontally. There exists, in fact, a whole class of marble slabs of the kind we are presuming in this instance. The class is well known and has been studied r e ~ e a t e d l y . ~ New examples turn up from time to time.1° The more complete ones leave no 8a Cf. e. g., K. Wessel, "Eine Gruppe oberitalischer Elfenbeinarbeiten," Jahrbuch des deutschen archaologischen Instituts, 63/64 (1948/49), p. I I I ff., esp. pp. I 17, 120. E. Michon, "Rebords de bassins chr6tiens orn6s de reliefs," Revue biblique, n. s., XI1 (1915)) p. 485 ff.; XI11 (1916), p. 121 ff. (survey of all pieces known a t that time). G. A. S. Snyder, "The so-called Putealin the Capitoline Museum a t Rome," Journal of R o m a n Studies, XI11 (1923),P. 56ff. E. Thomas, "Bruchstiick einer friihchristlichen Marmortischplatte mit Reliefverzierung aus Csopak," Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 111, 3 (1955), p. 261 ff. (with an incomplete list of examples compiled evidently without knowledge of Michon's basic survey). 10 I append here a list of additional pieces which have come to my attention and which are not mentioned in any of the studies quoted in footnote 9: Antioch - Antzoch-on-the-Orontes I : T h e Excavations of 1932 (Princeton, London, and The Hague, 19341, P. 4 9 f and fig. 4. Athens - D. I. Pallas in 'Apxa~ohoyl~t 'Eqqprpis (1930), p. goff. (two fragments, from Arcadia and Melos, in Byzantine Rluseum). Chicago - Bulletin of the A r t Institute of Chicago, XVII, 4 (1g23), p. 38f. E. Michon in Bulletin de l a Socie'te' Nationale des Antiquaires de France (1923))p. 17off. (fragment, allegedly from Mesopotamia, in Art Institute). Crimea - Ottet of the Imperial Archaeological Commission ( ~ g o z )p., 37f. and fig. 60 a, b. E. Michon in Bulletin de la Socie'te' Nationale des Antiquaires de France (1920), p. 253ff. (two fragments found outside church in excavation in Chersonese). Hama - H. Ingholt, Rapport pre'liminaire sur sept campagnes de foz~illesd H a m a e n Syrie (1932-38) (Copenhagen, 1940), p. 137f and pl. 42, 2. Herakleion (Crete) - A. Orlandos in Byzantinisch-Neugriechische Jahrbucher, VI (1928), p. 160ff. (two fragments from Gortyna in Museum). Istanbul - Two recently acquired and unpublished fragments in the Museum, knowledge of which I owe to Dr. C. A. Mango; one shows a recumbent figure beneath a tree, the other parts of two animals. Jerusalem - Two unpublished fragments in the Palestine Archaeological IlIuseum, knowledge of which I owe to Prof. H. Ingholt; one depicts animal fights, the other a satyr and a maenad. Nea Anchialos - G. A. Sotiriou in 'Apxatohoyl~fi'Eqqp~pis (192g), p. 102 and fig. 137, top left. Pallas, ibid. (1g30), p. 94f and fig. 4. Kew York - Two pieces, both unpublished, were on the art market in 1958; one, allegedly from Egypt, is a complete, sigma-shaped slab with a relief border depicting a sea thiasos; the other is a fragment of a curved border depicting a head in profile and a hunting scene. Nicosia - A. H. S. Megaw in K y p r i a k a Grammata (1956), p. 171 and fig. 4 ; T h e Swedish C y p r u s Expedition, IV, 3 (Stockholm, 1956)) p. 103f. and pl. X I X , 3 (fragment from Salamis in Cyprus Museum; I owe the references to Mr. Megaw). VI (1948), p. 18ff.and fig. 15. Rhodes-A. K. Orlandos,'Apx~iov~ L j v~wlavrrvtjvpvqpeiwv ~fis'EhhaGo~, Varna - F. Gerke, Der Tischaltar des Bernard Gilduin in Saint Sernin in Toulouse, Mainz. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur. Abhandlungen der geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse (1958)~no. 8, pp. 457, 464 and figs. 9, 10. Vienna - R. Noll, V o m Altertum z u m Mittelalter, exhibition catalog (Vienna, 1958)) p. 24, nos. I and 2 (two fragments-one from Sirmium, the other of unknown provenance-in the Kunsthistorische Museum; I owe knowledge of these pieces to Dr. 0. Demus).

A MARBLE R E L I E F O F T H E THEODOSIAN P E R I O D

23

doubt that we are dealing with marble table tops having a plain surface and a broad raised border adorned with figure reliefs and rimmed with beads (fig. 8). The subject matter of the reliefs in many instances is secular; mythological scenes, hunts, animal fights, pastoral and marine subjects all occur frequently. But there are also numerous instances in which the themes are biblical; witness, for instance, a fragmentary piece from Sbeitla which shows a sequence of scenes familiar from the iconography of catacomb frescoes and Early Christian sarcophagi, namely, the Raising of Lazarus, Noah's Ark, the Ascension of Elijah, Adam and Eve, and David with his sling.ll In the majority of Christian examples of these table tops we find similarly disjointed sequences of biblical events whose common denominator is their relationship to the idea of salvation or of divine intervention on behalf of those in peril; the kind of subject so familiar from the art of the catacombs. As in the latter, Old Testament subjects by far predominate.12 Indeed, the Raising of Lazarus which appears on the fragment from Sbeitla is very nearly the only Gospel scene so far known on these table borders, aside from the Dumbarton Oaks fragment now under discussion.l3 I have said that the common characteristic of this whole class of table tops is the raised relief band with beaded rim. In shape, however, there is no uniformity. While some examples are circularll* others have the so-called sigma shape15 known from many pictorial representations of late classical and early Christian times to have been one of the most common shapes of dining room tables. No example is known to me of a table top of this class that is definitely square or rectangular. I t must be borne in mind, however, that the vast majority of known examples consist of fragments. Many of them are curved, while others are straight. Usually it is not possible to decide whether the straight fragments come from a rectangular or a sigma-shaped table, while in the case of curved fragments there is usually uncertainty as to whether the slab, when complete, was sigma-shaped or round. In the case of our fragment at Dumbarton Oaks we are obviously faced with this latter uncertainty. The reconstruction drawing (fig.7), which I owe to the kindness of Mr. R. L. Van Nice, has been based on the assumption that the slab was circular, but the sigma shape is equally possible. Before enquiring into the possible use of our object some features should be mentioned which distinguish it from the general run of specimens of the class to which I have referred. By and large the sixty odd known examples of these table tops with relief borders are remarkably uniform, so that in-so-far as our Michon, Revue biblique (1915)~p. 502 ff.and pl. I, I. A. Merlin in Revue tunisienne (1g17), p. 279ff. from the Old Testament subjects already mentioned in connection with the piece from Sbeitla one finds the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace, the Sacrifice of Isaac, Daniel in the Lions' Den, and the story of Jonah. l 3 The Raising of Lazarus occurs once more on a fragment in the Museum of Istanbul. This fragment depicts, in addition, a scene interpreted by Mendel as the Parable of the Figtree (G. Mendel, Catalogue des scztlptures grecques, romaines et byzantines, I1 [Constantinople, 19141, p. 430ff., no. 655; Michon, O P . cit. [1g15], p. 525ff., no. 15; pls. 11, 111). 14 E. g. Michon, op. cit. (1915), p. 520ff.,no. 11 = our fig. 8 (Athens, from Thera); Snyder, op. cit., p. 56 and pl. I (Rome); also the slab in Rhodes referred to in note 10supra. I n these instances the circle is fully, or almost fully, preserved, so that there can be no doubt about the original shape. l5 E. g. the slabs from Hama and in New York referred to in note 10supra. Cf. also a sigma-shaped slab from Salona in Zagreb (Michon, op. cit. [1g15], p. 509ff., no. 5 ; see our fig. 12 and infra, p. 2 7 f . ) . l1

l a Aside

ERNST KITZINGER piece differs from them it is in effect unique. This is especially true of its size. With a relief band 26.5 cm. wide-and evidently not entirely complete at that the border was almost twice as wide as the borders of these table tops normally are. On the basis of the curvature of the rim, Mr. Van Nice has computed the total diameter of the presumed circular slab as having been about I m. 80, while normally the diameters of these circular slabs range from about I m. 10 to I m. 40. Another feature that sets our piece apart is the character of the beading. In the vast majority of cases this consists of the classical bead-and-reel motif ; in some of beads only which, however, are small and somewhat elongated.16 I know of only one fragment presumed to have belonged to a table top which has a beaded rim comparable to ours, namely, a piece in the Art Museum in Budapest. Of the figure frieze of this object only an animal remains.17 A third point which is distinctive is the roughness of the edge and back of our slab (figs. g and 11). I t is true that in many instances the publications of the table tops of our class do not permit us to judge what the sides and the backs look like. But in those cases where a judgement is possible the backs are reasonably or entirely smooth.18In our case it is inconceivable that the slab was exposed to view in the manner of an ordinary table top supported by legs or a solid base. I t must have been embedded in some fashion. How exceptional it is in this respect obviously cannot be judged without subjecting all the members of the group to a scrutiny such as cannot be carried out on the basis of published materials. In trying to determine the purpose which our slab may have served we must avoid what would almost certainly be a fallacious premise, namely, that all the table tops of the same type, let alone this exceptionally large and splendid piece with its distinctive features, could have been put to only one use.lgThe finds are l6 Michon, op. cit., 1915, p. 515, no. 8 and pl. I , 2 ; 1916, p. 124, no. 2 1 ; p. 126f., no. 2 2 ; p. 140, no. 34. Snyder, 09. cit., pl. 11, no. 1812.Also the pieces in Chicago and Varna quoted supra in note 10. l7 A. Hekler, Die S a m m l u n g Antiker Skulpturen, Museum der bildenden Kiinste in Budapest (1929) p. 147, no. 143. For the same type of beaded rim in metalwork see i n f r a , note 20. l8 I n several instances publications include drawings of profiles and these invariably show the back to have been carefully finished; cf. P. Sticotti, Die romische Stadt Doclea in Montenegro, Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Schriften der Balkankommission, Antiquarische Abteilung, VI (Vienna, 1g13), col. 1 5 2 , fig. 93, and the publications of pieces in Athens and Herakleion referred to in note 10 supra. The pieces in New York referred to in the same note also have smooth and carefully worked backs, as I was able to ascertain personally, thanks to the kindness of the owners. G. Rlendel describes the backs of two of the pieces in the Museum of Istanbul as "soigneusement dressee" (op. cit., 11,nos. 654 and 655, pp. 426, 430); that of a third as "dressee, non polie" (ibid., no. 485, p. 169). Michon characterizes the backs of a number of pieces in Paris as "simplement dresske" (op. cit. [1g15], p. 515, no. 8 ; p. 517, no. g ; p. 539, no. 18; [1916], p. 136, no. 30). 1Q Most scholars who have discussed the possible uses of these table tops have based their theses on this premise, a t least so far as the examples with Christian subjects are concerned. 0. Wulff suggested that they have to do with the agape (Konigliche Museen z u Berlin. Beschreibung der Bildwerke der christlichen Epoche. Altchristliche, mittelalterliche byzantinische u n d italienische Bildwerke, I [Berlin, 19091, p. 11, no. 21); Mendel seems to have thought that both the pagan and the Christian examples were connected chiefly with the cult of the dead (op. cit., 11, p. 425ff., especially, p. 42gf.),while Michon, the first to attempt a systematic survey of the whole material, came to the conclusion that all of these objects, regardless of whether the subject matter of their reliefs was pagan or Christian, were used in churches as basins for liturgical ablutions (op. cit. [1g16], p. 146ff., especially p. 163ff.). Sotiriou, on the other hand, has interpreted the slabs---especially, but not exclusively, those adorned with biblical subjects-as table tops used in the prothesis and this interpretation has been adopted also by other Greek scholars (Sotiriou, in 'Apxalohoy~~fi 'Eqqwpi~[1929], p. 233f., I d e m , Guide d u

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so numerous and so widespread that we are evidently dealing with what is basically a common type of utensil in the late classical world, though by far the greater part of the examples comes from the Eastern rather than the Western half of the Mediterranean. The type, as has long been recognized, originated in pagan metalwork. These marble slabs with their decorations are, in fact, large scale imitations of sumptuous silver platters.20The fact that there are more examples with pagan and secular subjects than with Christian ones suggests that these tables had been in common use before the type was adopted by the Church. If, however, we cannot be sure that all tables of the same type served the same purpose-or that all tables of different types served different purposes-it will be necessary to cast our net rather wide and consider in broad terms the uses to which tables were put in Christian contexts. I n doing so it will soon become apparent that, for our particular piece at least, certain uses are much less likely than others, even though it will not be possible to conclude in completely unambiguous fashion what its original setting was and what purpose it actually served. Since, as we have seen, the iconographic repertory of the tables with biblical friezes is that of the catacombs and early sarcophagi-and in this respect our fragment with the scene of Christ healing a blind man is no exception-it is natural to think first of sepulchral uses. Tables of various sizes and shapes, including the circle and the sigma, occur, in fact, quite frequently in early Christian funerary contexts. They may form actual covers or housings of tombs, as is frequently the case in Sa10na,~land in a number of instances in North Africa,22 musee' bytantin d'Athdnes [Athens, 19321, p. 34; J. ill. Barnea, To ~ a h a r o ~ p ~ o - r l a v r9uotamfip1ov ~bv [Athens, 19401, p. 129; A. K. Orlandos, 'H ~ W ) \ ~ ( J T E Y OT~ ~ ~ ~ I o x ~ ~ Upaotht~fi,11 T I ~ V I K T [Athens, ~ 19541, p. 486ff.). E. Thomas, on iconographic grounds, suggests more specifically a connection with the rite of the blessing of the offerings (op. cit., p. 271). 20 A. Xyngopoulos in 'Apxalohoyr~fi' E ~ q ~ a p i(1914), s p. 77ff.; Snyder, op. cit., p. 59ff., especially p. 6j. I t is interesting to note that in metalwork of the fourth century one frequently finds a heavy beaded border substituted for the classical bead-and-reel (W. Griinhagen, Dev Schatzjund von Gross Bodungen [Berlin, 19541, p. 39). I n this respect, too, the sculptors of marble table tops followed suit, as our fragment and that in Budapest show (see supra, note 17). 21 E. Dyggve, History of Salonitan Christianity (Oslo, 1951), p. 105ff. and fig. V, 21ff. The potentially great usefulness of this book is impaired by the fact that the text is written in all but unintelligible English. 2 2 I n North Africa the Christian funerary monument in form of a table is based on a strong pagan tradition of long standing; cf. W. Deonna, "Mobilier dklien, I : Tables antiques d'offrandes avec kcuelles et table d'autel chrktien," Bulletin de covrespondance helle'niqzte, LVIII (1934)~p. ~ f f . ;especially p. ~ z f f and . p. 76ff. I n many instances the mensa was not found in. sitzt, so that the physical relationship between i t and the tomb is difficult to determine, but the funerary purpose is frequently attested by inscriptions (see the references given by Deonna, op. cit., p. 77, note 2; also F. Cabrol and H. Leclercq, Dictionnaive d'arche'ologie chre'tienne et de liturgie, I , col. 82gf.). At Tipasa, on the other hand, there is a whole series of mensae which are most intimately connected with tombs, the latter being encased in them in such a way that a banquet could be held directly on top of the burial. While some of these mensae were thought a t one time to have been tables for the agape into which sarcophagi were subsequently inserted (St. Gsell, Les monuments antiques de I'AlgLvie, I1 [Paris, 19011, pp. 332f., 336f.), more recent investigators believe that these tombs were built in the form of tables from the outset (E. Albertini and L. Leschi, "Le cimetihre de Sainte-Salsa 9. Tipasa de Mauretanie," Acaddmie des inscrifitions et belles-lettres: Comptes-rendus [1g32], p. 77ff., especially p. 81f.; for further examples see Bulletin arche'ologique [1941-42], p. 35jff.). This conclusion is borne out also by analogous finds in Spain (see next footnote). Other North African mensae, though associated with the cult of relics and martyrs rather than with actual burials, may still be called sepulchral in a wider sense (cf. Cabrol and Leclercq, op. cit., I, col. 828f., with further references).

ERNST KITZINGER Spain,23and elsewhere,24or they may be placed beside the tomb.25Their purpose may have been to serve for liturgical banquets commemorating the dead (particularly martyrs), or for the agape, or for ordinary funeral feasts. More frequently they seem to have been used simply to deposit offerings of food and drink for the departed.26But most of these tables are on a much smaller scale than that from which our fragment must have come. This is true not only of those that are physically separated from the grave. Even when the mensa is an integral part of the tomb the actual top is usually quite small. For instance, in the case of one of the large wzensa tombs at Tipasa for which full data are available, the sunken sigma-shaped top-as distinct from the sloping surfaces around it which served as a kline for the banqueters-had a width of only I m.27In the cemeteries of Salona, on the other hand, we find a number of marble slabs shaped like table tops and apparently of considerable size. But these are oblong and preserved in such fragmentary condition that the dimensions attributed to them in the reconstruction drawings cannot be accepted as completely certain.28No example is known to me of a circular or sigma-shaped grave cover or graveside table of a scale comparable to that of our piece. J. Serra Vilarb, Excaoacio.rtes e n la necvo$olis romano-cvistiana de Tarragona, Junta superior de excavaciones y antiguedades, 93 (Jladrid, 19281, p. 63ff., tomb no. 129, an example analogous to those a t Tipasa (see preceding footnote), i. e., with the sarcophagus encased in a large semicircular masonry block which served as a couch for the reclining banqueters and in the midst of which the table itself was embedded (see especially fig. 25 on p. 64). Other examples are referred t o in Serra Vilarb's ensuing report (no. 104 [Madrid, 19291, p. j8ff.). While it appears that in all instances of similar mensae a t Tipasa in which any trace of the original surface of the table top remains that surface consisted of an inscription in mosaic (Albertini and Leschi, op, cit., p. 82f.; B u l l e t i ? ~arche'ologique [1941-421, p. 3jjff.), in the case of tomb no. 129 a t Tarragona the table itself is an inscribed marble slab. The top end of this slab repeats the semicircular outline of the masonry block in which it is embedded (Serra-Vilarb, 09. cit., no. 93, pl. L I I , ~ ) T . heoretically our fragment a t Dumbarton Oaks could have come from a slab of similar shape and could have been used in an exactly similar manner. 2 4 Under the general heading of "mensae ri2avtyrum and agape tables" Barnea discusses a number of slabs from the Greek East which come from funerary contexts and show cavities suggesting that they were used for depositing food job. cit., p. jjff. and figs j and 8 ; cf, also Orlandos, op. cit., 11,p. 48off.). 25 Cf. a wzensa in the Rotunda a t Tipasa adjoining an arcosolium (0.Grandidier, "Deux monuments funhaires 9. Tipasa," Atti del 11congvesso internazionale di archeologia cristiana [Rome, 19021, p. 51 ff., especially p. 72f. and figs. S and 9). Similar structures exist in the catacombs of Malta (E. Becker, M a l t a Sottevranea [Strasbourg, 19131, p. 112 ff. and pl. x ~ s f f . )Small . plates of glass, terracotta or stucco embedded in masonry plinths are frequently found in positions near tombs in the Roman catacombs (A. AI. Schneider, "Mensae oleorum oder Totenspeisetische," Homische Quartalschrift, XXXV [1927], p. 287ff. and pls. s ~ v - X V I I I) t. is possible that many of the table slabs from the cemeteries of Salona were in positions near tombs rather than on the tombs themselves; this may be particularly true of small uninscribed slabs that are indistinguishable from ordinary domestic utensils (cf., e. g., Forschungen i?z Salona, 111,p. 47, no. H/13; also Avchaeologia Jugoslavica, I [1954], p. 65, no. 10, and figs. 8-10). For Eastern examples of what appear to have been graveside tables cf. Barnea, 09. cit., p. 57ff. (Melos and Constantza), with further references. 26 Dyggve, History of Salo?zitan Christianity, p. 11off.; Schneider, op. cit.; cf, also i d . in Gesammelte Aufsatze zur Kultzcrgeschichte Spauiens, ed. b y H . Finke,V (Niinster i. W., 193j),p. 79f., and F. J. Dolger in Gnomon, I1 (1926), p. 228f. 27 Gsell, op. cit., p. 336 (the measurements given for this same tomb by J.-B. Saint GCrard in B u l letin arche'ologique [1892], p. 480 and repeated in part b y Leschi, ibid. [1938-401, p. 425, are clearly erroneous). The sigma-shaped top of the mensa described by Gsell, op. cit., p. 332f., is of similar size, judging b y the scale of the plan, ibid., fig. I 50. The corresponding feature of the mensa in the Rotunda (note 2 j, supva) measures only 75 x 80 cm. (Grandidier, op. cit., p. 72), while the marble slab embedded in tomb no. 129 a t Tarragona (note 23, supra) has a width of only 73 cm. 28 Dyggve, History of Salonitan Christianity, fig. V,28. Forschungen in Salona, 11, p. 91 ff., fig. 54ff.; 111, pl. 8, figs. H/I-H/Io. The slab ibid. H / j and p. 37, fig. 52f. (cf. History of Salonitan Christianity, fig. V,29), which is almost complete, lacks a funerary inscription and seems to have belonged to the altar of the basilica a t Marusinac (Fovschungen, 111, p. 46).

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There exists, theoretically, the possibility that our fragment may have come not from a mensa tomb or graveside table, but from a sigma-shaped tomb stele. Stelai of this shape have been found in Egypt.29Presumably the type developed from mensa tombs or graveside tables, and in some instances there is actual evidence of a slab which must originally have been a table top having been put to secondary use as a stele by providing it with an i n s ~ r i p t i o nThe . ~ ~change-over from table top to stele, however, almost certainly involved from the beginning a change from a horizontal to a vertical position and, as we have seen, a vertical position is practically out of the question in our case. Parenthetically, a remark may be added here on a famous sigma-shaped ~ ~ concurrently, on a fragment of what appears to slab from Salona (fig. 1 2 ) ) and, have been an almost identical companion piece now in Vienna.32Among all the slabs with border reliefs it is these two that could be imagined most readily in a vertical position. They differ from all other objects of this class known to me in that they show the figures with their feet placed "centripetally," i.e. inward rather than outward. This implies at least a weakening of interest in the functional role of a table top, the decoration of which would be -and was -normally designed to be viewed by the persons surrounding it.33The Coptic sigma-shaped stelai, on the other hand, which presumably were intended for a vertical 29 M. Cramer, "Ein Beitrag zum Fortleben des Altagyptischen im Koptischen und Arabischen," Mitteilungen des deutschen Institztts fur agyptische Altertumskunde in Kairo, VII (1937)) p. 119ff., especially p. 122f. (with further references) and pl. zoff. Ibid., p. 1 2 2 f . and pl. 21 b ; also C. Schmit's "Sachtrag," ibid., p. 126f. with pl. 22 b. Dr. Cramer surely was rash in claiming that these table slabs re-used as tomb stelai must originally have been altars. The sigma shape is one of the common forms of tables in general, and, as we have seen, tables were widely used also in funerary contexts (see supra, notes 21-28). Table tops from cemeteries, especially when broken, were ready-made material for re-use as tomb inscriptions. A fragment of a table slab with relief border in the Hermitage in Leningrad also bears a-presumably secondary-Coptic inscription (Michon, op. cit. [1916], p. 134f., no. 28), but I have not been able t o ascertain whether this is of a funerary character. 31 J. Strzygowski, "Le relazioni di Salona coll'Egitto," Bullettino di archeologia e storia dalmata, XXIV ( I ~ o I )p., 58ff. Idem, "Der sigmaformige Tisch und der alteste Typus des Refektoriums," Worter und Sachen, I ( ~ g o g )p., 7off., especially p. 74f J, BrunSmid, "Kameni spomenici hrvatskoga narodnoga muzeja u Zagrebu," Vjesnik hruatskoga arheoloikoga druJtva, N.S., X (1908-g), p. 14gff., especially p. 213f. Michon, op. cit. (1g15), p. 509ff. and fig. 6. A. Riicker, "Uber Altartafeln im koptischen und den iibrigen Riten des Orients," Ehrengabe deutscher Wissenschaft, dem Prinzen Johann Georg z u Sachsen z u m 50. Geburtstag gewidmet (Freiburg i. B., 1920), p. 209ff., especially p. 214 and fig. 8. J. Braun, Der christliche Altar, I (Munich, 1g24), p. 278, note 46. Cramer, op. cit., p. 124 and pl. 22 a. Forschungen in Salona, I11 (1939), p. 47 and fig. 55. E. Condurachi, in Ephemeris Daco-Romana, I X (1940), p. ~ f f . e, specially p. 56f. and fig. 14. Barnea, op. cit., p. 134 and fig. 31. Dyggve, History of Salonitan Christianity, p. 107 and fig. V, 31. Orlandos, op. cit., p. 486 and fig. 447. Thomas, op. cit., p. 267, no. 32. A. A. Barb, " M e n s a Sacra: The Round Table and the Holy Grail," Journal of the W a r burg and Courtauld Institutes, X I X (1956), p. 4off., especially p. 44 and pl. 8 b. Gerke, op. cit. (supra, note I O ) , p. 465. 32 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Inv. I 360; Noll, op. cit., p. 24, no. 2 ("find spot not known"). Cf. supra, note 10. I n scale, subject matter, and style there appears to be complete identity between the pieces in Zagreb and Vienna, though there may be some slight difference in the beaded border. The figure on the fragment in Vienna, as distinct from all those on the Zagreb relief, is haloed. 33 Superficially the arcades opening inward, as we find them on the Zagreb and Vienna pieces, resemble the scalloped borders without reliefs so commonly found on table tops (see, e. g., infra, notes 46, 56,58). But the decoration of the Zagreb and Vienna slabs is really a relief band of the kind characteristic of the table tops studied by Michon, who quite properly included the Zagreb piece in his survey. There is one other known member of that class showing figures under arcades (Michon, op, cit. [1g16], p. 134f., no. 28), but in this case the arcades open outward and the figures are placed accordingly, so that they stand upright from the point of view of the beholder a t the table's edge. In this respect, then, the reliefs a t Zagreb and Vienna are entirely exceptional.

ERNST KITZINGER position, show their decoration arranged "centripetally," like the Salona and Vienna relief slabs.34 From our enquiries so far we conclude that the Dumbarton Oaks fragment is not likely to have come from a sepulchral context. The extraordinarily large size, in conjunction with the curved shape, in effect rules out its use either as a tomb cover or as a graveside table; the size in conjunction with the horizontal position its use as a stele. This, of course, does not exclude the possibility of sepulchral use for other related slabs, especially since the main obstacle is the exceptional size of the Dumbarton Oaks piece. We turn from the cemetery to the church, where one naturally thinks first of all of the table of the main altar. This, however, in the vast majority of early churches where any evidence still exists was of oblong shape.35To what extent sigma-shaped slabs were used for altars in the early Christian period is difficult to decide. There are well known examples in Coptic Egypt which are particularly interesting to us because in some cases they are embedded in masonry blocks, a position for which our piece with its rough edge and back would be well suited.36But it is not known whether this type of altar in Egypt goes back to early Christian times. Strzygowski long ago suggested that it does.3' He recognized the sigma shape as being traditionally associated with ordinary dinner tables and therefore considered it a normal shape to adopt for the Christian altar, the eucharistic service being originally intended as a commemoration of the Last Supper. Actually, the Coptic altars could be derived more plausibly from North African mensa tombs,38especially since the masonry block supporting the altar slab usually contains an opening which, originally a t least, may well have been intended for a relic.39Thus these Coptic altars would 3 4 Cf., e. g., Cramer, op. cit., pl. zoc, where the base of the cross in the apex of the arch is clearly on the inside. 35 See in general Braun, op. cit., p. 245ff.; Barnea, op. cit., p. 127f.; Reallexikon fiir Antike und Christentunz, I (Stuttgart, 1950), col. 334ff,, especially col. 342; Orlandos, op. cit., p. 442ff. For Greece 'Epqpspi~(rgzg), p. 230; and for the general area of Palestine, Father cf. also Sotiriou in 'Apxa~ohoyl~?) Bagatti's compilation of measurements of the supports of altars excavated in various churches (B. Bagatti "Gli altari paleo-cristiani dellapalestina," Studii Biblici Franciscani Liber A n n u u s , VII [1956-571, p. 64ff., especially, p. 71). While the exact size and shape of the slabs which these supports carried may In some instances be uncertain it is obvious that in the great majority of cases the altar was a transverse oblong. For the sigma-shaped slabs discussed by Father Bagatti see i n f r a , note 58. 36 A. J. Butler found two sigma-shaped altar slabs in the churches of Old Cairo ( T h e Ancient Coptic Churches of E g y p t , I [Oxford, 18841, pp. 118, 221f.; cf. 11,p. 7f.), H. G. Evelyn-White a larger number in the monasteries of the WBdi'n Natrun ( T h e Monasteries of the W d d i ' n N a t r u n , Part 111: T h e Architecture and Archaeology [Kew York, 19331, pp. 62, 71, 79, 93, 103, 117, 153, 203; cf. p. 18). According to Butler, stone slabs, when they occur a t all on Coptic altars, are usually embedded in the masonry block that forms the body of the altar (op. cit., 11, p. 7f. and fig. 2, ii; see also I , p. 118). Cf. also Strzygowski in Wiivter u n d Sachen, I , p. 72f., and Cramer, op. cit., p. 120 and fig. 4. Evelyn-White, however, in several instances refers to the marble slab noncommittally as "covering" the substructure (op. cit., pp. 18,93, 117, 153, 203). Only in one case does he say unequivocally that the slab mas "inlaid in the upper surface of the masonry" (p. 79). In another case where he found this arrangement it was due t o a modern reconstruction (p. 103 with note I ) . In two instances he says explicitly that the slab overlapped the substructure (pp. 62, 71; cf. also Riicker, 09. cit., fig. 5). 37 Strzygowski in Worter ulzd Sachen, I , p. 70ff., especially pp. 73ff. and 78. See also Cramer, op. cit., p. 119ff. and Barnea, op. cit., p. 13off. 38 Cf. supra, note 22 (Tipasa). 39 Butler, op. cit., 11, pp. 5, ~ z f f .Evelyn-White, op. cit., p. 17f., also refers to these openings, but denies that they could have been used for relics.

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29

be an instance where a form connected with the cult of martyrs and relics was adopted for ordinary church use.40But even this derivation is purely hypothetical. J. Lassus claims that sigma-shaped altar tables, as well as oblong ones, were in use in early churches in Syria, but his arguments are based on inference only.41Fragments of a plain, sigma-shaped slab found in a small church on the island of Samos are thought to have belonged to the altar of that church,42 other sigma-shaped table but again the evidence is not c o n c l ~ s i v eNumerous .~~ slabs have been found in or near churches in many different regions, but in no case is it at all certain that they were in use as altars-or, at any rate, as main altars-and in some instances there is definite evidence to the contrary.44 The existence of circular altar slabs is even harder to prove. A J. Butler found one in a small chapel in Old Cairo,45but again there is a question of its age. In Besanqon a circular marble slab with a scalloped border has served as a high altar in mediaeval and post-mediaeval times, but we cannot be sure that this was its original destination or, for that matter, that it dates back to the early Christian period at all. Even though the type of table top with a scalloped border is ancient, it also exists in numerous mediaeval imitation^.^^ Altogether, then, there hardly seem to be sufficient grounds to interpret our fragment as coming from the main altar of a church. But churches contained other tables than that of the main altar. There may have been secondary altars, though these were infrequent at best in the early 40 Cf. for this process in general A. Grabar, Martyrium (Paris, 1946), passim; and, with particular reference to grave mensae and altars, Rucker, op. cit., p. 211ff., and Dyggve, op. cit., p. ~ogff.Strzygowski's theory concerning the origin of the Coptic sigma-shaped altar had at first been also confined , 63f.). to the sphere of the martyrium (Bullettino di archeologia e storia dalmata, XXIV [ I ~ o I ]p. 4 1 J. Lassus, Sa?zctuaires chre'tiens de Syrie (Paris, 1947), p. 200ff. a2 \ A'. Wrede, "Vom Misokampos auf Samos," Athenische Mitteilungen, LIV (1929), p. 65ff., especially p. 73, fig. 6, and p. 74. A. M. Schneider, "Samos in fruhchristlicher und byzantinischer Zeit," ibid., p. 96ff., especially p. 108f.; cf. also the reconstruction ibid., p. 96, fig. I. 13 The exact find spot of the fragments is not indicated, and one wonders whether they should not rather be attributed to some other table in the church. The actual traces on the floor of the chancel would seem to fit better an altar of the normal oblong shape (M7rede,op. cit., p. 71, and the plan, Beilage XXXI). 4 4 See infra, notes 48-50 (Sbeitla), 54 (Sabratha), 55 (Tebtunis), and 58 (many examples). 4Wp. cit., I , p. 228. 46 See the recent study by Gerke on the altar of Saint Sernin in Toulouse (for a full reference see supra, note 10, ipropos of the fragment from Varna) and further literature cited in that study. Ch. Rohault de E'leury argued that the slab in Besanqon had been an altar from the outset and attributed it to the seventh century though his illustration is captioned "10th century" (La Messe, I [Paris, 18831, p. 16off. and pl. 51). H. Leclercq also considered it an altar of an early date (Cabrol and Leclercq, Dictionnaive, 11, I [Paris, 19101, col. 824f.). Braun, however, thought that it was made in the early eleventh century (op. cit., p. 246ff. andpl. 42), and more recently P. de Pal01 has also called it mediaeval ("El baptisterio de la basilica de Tebessa y 10s altares paleocristianos circulares," Ampurias, XVII-XVIII [1955-561, p. 282ff., especially p. 284). The early dating, on the other hand, has found a tentative advocate in A. A. Barb (op. cit., p. 42f. and pl. 5 b), who, in line with his theory on the origin of the Holy Grail, is altogether inclined to accept rather readily-probably too readily-potential evidence of the early and widecpread use of circular slabs-particularly those with lobed borders-as altars for the eucharistic service (see also infra, note 57, ipropos of Tebessa). In Gerke's study the Besanqon altar figures as a Romanesque work intimately related to early Christian antecedents; in regard to the latter, however, no clear distinction is made between altars and other kinds of tables (op. cit., p. 464f.). Certainly the Besanqon slab-even if it is mediaeval, as it may well be-owes both its shape and lts decoration to an early Christian model. But whether that model was an altar is a t least doubtful (see also infra, note 58).

ERNST KITZINGER period with which we are ~oncerned.~' There certainly were tables on which the faithful deposited their offerings, and others for different liturgical purposes. Excavations of early Christian basilicas have provided ample evidence of such additional tables. One, at least, of the table tops with figure reliefs-and it is these, of course, which interest us primarily-can be safely claimed to fall into this category. I refer to the example from Sbeitla, now in the Bardo Museum at Tunis, which has already been m e n t i ~ n e dThis . ~ ~ fragmentary piece comes from the excavation of a church in the nave of which another stone slab was found. I t is this second slab -oblong in shape-which in all probability was part of the main altar.49The fragments with the biblical frieze, on the other hand, were found, not in the nave, but above what remains of the walls of a small apse that belonged to the baptistery behind the main apse of the church.50 It is tempting to assume that the Sbeitla slab when complete was a sigmashaped table top which would have fitted neatly into the small apse adjoining the font. Aside from this example only very few of the table tops with relief borders come from controlled excavations. At Chersonese in the Crimea two fragments were found in the immediate precincts of a church, as the Sbeitla fragments were, but since no trace of the altar was observed there is no way of concluding definiteIy whether they did or did not form part of the altar.51 On the other hand, there is a number of undecorated table slabs -oblong, circular, or sigmashaped-which have been excavated on church sites and were clearly used not as altars but in some other liturgical capacity. Thus the annexes and the atrium of Basilica A in Nea Anchialos have yielded fragments of several table slabs, including some with the characteristic scalloped borders,52and these are quite distinct from those belonging to the altar of the church.53The same is true of a sigma-shaped table found in the Justinianic basilica a t the forum of Sabratha. In this church, too, the altar was of the normal oblong shape, and Dom Leclercq has suggested that the additional table may have been used for offerings.54Two other instances are particularly interesting because of the fact that table tops were found in sitzb in positions which rule out the possibility of their having been altars for the ordinary eucharistic service. One is in a church at Tebtunis where a sigma-shaped slab was found embedded in the floor in front of the entrance to the right-hand chapel of a tripartite sanctuary (fig. 17). One's C f . Braun, op. cit., p. 3 6 8 f f . ; Reallexikon fur Antike und Christenturn, I , col. 3 4 7 f . See supra, n o t e I r. 4 9 Merlin, op. cit., p. 266. 5 0 Ibid., p. 279; c f . t h e plan, fig. I (before p. 265). 51 For references see supra, note 10. 5 2 G. A . Sotiriou, "Ai X ~ I O T I U V I K UOiiPa~ ~ T?S O ~ o m a h i a ~ ,'"A p x a l o h o y ~ ~'qE q q p ~ p i (~1 9 2 9 ) ~ p. ~ff., especially p. I O I f . and figs. 135 and 136. Fig. 136 also includes some similar fragments found entirely outside t h e context o f t h e church. There was also a fragment w i t h relief (fig. 137, t o p l e f t ; c f . supra, n o t e r o ) , b u t i t is n o t stated whether it was found within t h e precincts o f t h e church. 5 3 For t h e slab o f t h e altar see ibid., p. 26 and fig. 25 o n p. 24. 5 4 Cabrol and Leclercq, Dictionnuire, XV, 2 ( 1 9 5 1 )col. ~ 19j j f . and fig. I 1048 (s.v. "Table d'oblation"). C f . J . B . W a r d Perkins and K. G. Goodchild, " T h e Christian Antiquities o f Tripolitania," Archaeologia, L X X X X V ( 1 g j 3 ) , p. ~ f f .especially , pp. 15, 6 5 f . Barb's interpretation o f t h i s slab, which measures I . jo x 1.46 m. and is .14 m. t h i c k , as a portable (sic)altar is hardly convincing (op. cit., p. 5 6 , note. 29). 47 48

A MARBLE R E L I E F O F T H E THEODOSIAN P E R I O D

31

natural inclination in this case would be to consider it as a table for the offerings. The excavator, however, rejects this possibility (because, so he says, the place where offerings were deposited was elsewhere in the church) and instead suggests that this was the place where the neophytes stood when receiving While the question must remain open in this case, our second example is quite unambiguous. Excavations carried out a few years ago in the baptistery of the great basilica at Tebessa have revealed that the bottom of the font was formed by a circular slab with a scalloped border (fig. IG), a slab of the type familiar from marble tables such as the one at B e s a n ~ o n I. t~ has ~ been suggested, if only very tentatively, that there may have been a profound symbolic intent in this rendering of the place of baptism as a giant platter or table.57 The problem merits further study. In any case, however, the Tebessa font affords a striking illustration of the fact that marble table tops were employed in early Christian churches for fittings other than the altar or, for that matter, the table for offerings. One wonders whether other table slabs, and especially slabs of circular or sigma shape, which have come to light -often in indubitably Christian contexts-in many parts of the Mediterranean world have not been interpreted too readily as altars.58

"

G. Bagnani, "Gli scavi di Tebtunis," Bollettino d'avte, XXVII (1933), p. 119ff., especially p. 124f. and p. 128, fig. 11. 56 E. Seree de Roch, "Tebessa (Theveste): Le baptisthe de la basilique," Libyca: Arche'ologie Epigraphic, I (1953), p. 288ff. fl Palol, op. cit., p. 286. Barb's suggestion t h a t the slab, which was subsequently covered with a layer of cement, was placed a t the bottom of the font only "for.. .careful hiding. . a t a sacred place" (op. cit., p. 55, note 26) is surely untenable and explicable only by the author's desire to vindicate it as an altar table. 5 8 Bagatti, op. cit., p. 66ff., refers to a number of sigma-shaped slabs, with or without scalloped borders, excavated on ecclesiastical sites in Palestine (for Mount Kebo cf. also S. J. Saller, T h e Memorial of Moses on M o u n t Xebo [Jerusalem, 19411, p. 291 ff. and pls. 60,3 and 126, where additional examples are described and illustrated), Kone of these were found in sitzs and the original use is uncertain in every instance. The same is true of a circular slab with lobed border found in t h e ruins of a church a t Delos (Ecole francaise dlAthi.nes: Exploration arche'ologique de Delos, S V I I I [Paris, 19381, p. 62f. and pl. 27, no. 192; cf. Bulletin de correspondance helle'niqzre, LVIII [1934], p. 84ff. and figs. 59-60); of a fragment with a lobed border found a t Hippo (Libyca: Archkologie-Epigraphic, I [1953], p. 215f., figs. I and 2) ; and apparently also of a sigma-shaped slab in "Church KO. 5" a t Leptis Magna (R. Bartoccini, in Rivista di archeologia cristiana, VIII j19311, p. 52; Ward Perkins and Goodschild, op. cit., p. 33), though Dom Leclercq (Dictionnaive, XV, 2, col. 1956) claims-I have not been able to ascertain on what authority-that a t Leptis iliagna a fragment \\-as found in situ in the pavement (in which case it might be a "floor table" comparable to that a t Tebtunis). I n the case of sigma-shaped tables found in houses, albeit not far from churches, a t Ephesos (Jahreshefte des osterreichischen archaologischen Institutes in W i e n , XXVI [1930], Beiblatt, col. 40 and fig. 18) and Stobi (Glasnik Hrvatskog Zemaljskog Mzszeja [1942!, p. 488, fig. 29) it is altogether uncertain whether they may be interpreted as ecclesiastical furnishings. I t must always be borne in mind that the same types of tables were in use in indubitably secular contexts (cf., e, g., Antioch-on-the-Orontes, 11: T h e Excavations of 1933-36 [Princeton, London, and The Hague, 19381, pl. 21, no. 226 and p. 178). Therefore, when the nature of the building t h a t yielded the find is uncertain, as seems to be the case, for instance, in respect of the example from Donnerskirchen (A. A. Barb in Jakreshefte des osterreichischen archaologischen Institutes, X X X I X [1952], Beiblatt, col. 5 ff.), one cannot claim with any assurance that the slab was in Christian use a t all (see also Gerke, op. cit., p. 466, note I ) . A sigma-shaped slab from Rubi, near Egara, on the other hand, leaves no doubt in this regard since it bears on the edge a Christian inscription (J. Vives, "Un nuevo altar romano-cristiano en la Tarraconense," Analecta Bollandiana, LXVII [1949], P. 401 ff.; P. de Palol Salellas, Tarraco Hispanovisigoda [Tarragona, 19531, p. 33ff. and pl. XIII). But, since the inscription records an individual's private prayer, one may doubt whether the stone could have been intended as an altar in a church. Mention should be made also of an unpublished sigma-shaped table with a lobed border in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, knowledge of which I owe to the kindness of Mr. W. Forsyth. Here again Christian use is certain since the lower frame is adorned with four

-

.

32

ERNST KITZINGER

Let us return to the table to which the fragment at Dumbarton Oaks belonged. In the light of what has been said it seems likely that this great disk or slab was associated with some secondary piece of church furniture rather than with an altar. The example at Tebessa is particularly suggestive. The extremely large size of our piece is a serious obstacle to any reconstruction envisaging it in an elevated position, but would cause no difficulty if one imagines it embedded in the floor. While reliefs as delicate as those of our fragment and as sacred in subject matter -would hardly have been put on the open floor, in the manner of the table at Tebtunis, they might well have been fitted into an enclosure such as that of the Tebessa font. We may also recall once more the example at Sbeitla, where the table slab with its Christian reliefs may have been inside the small apse adjoining the font. Our search has not furnished us with a definite solution to the problem of the use of our slab, let alone of the whole class of related slabs. Our conclusions may be summed up by stating that in this specific case its use either in a sepulchral context or as a main altar in a church is extremely unlikely. The best possibility is that the fragment comes from a table used for offerings or in connection with the rite of baptism, and it may well be that this "table" was embedded in the pavement rather than in a raised plinth. The history of the class of marble tables to which our fragment belongs remains to be written. The Dumbarton Oaks piece is without doubt not only the largest but also artistically the most outstanding of all. One might, therefore, be tempted to put it at the beginning of the whole series. But this would certainly be a mistake. Normally, these marble tables with relief borders are attributed to dates ranging from the late third to the fifth century.59While an exact chronology remains to be established, there are certainly many, at least among the pieces with secular iconography, that are earlier than ours. One must, therefore, conclude that the Constantinopolitan artist of the late fourth century who lambs flanking a Chi-Rho. But this piece was acquired in the art market (allegedly i t came from Rome) and the possibilities of its use within a Christian context are manifold. This table is interesting also because its decoration comprises most of the elements that occur on the slab a t Besan~on(see supra, note 46). Assuming that the latter is mediaeval its source of inspiration must have been a slab such as that in New York, which is certainly of early date. The problem of early Christian original versus mediaeval copy remains to be studied also in regard to sigma-shaped tables a t Mettlach and Vienne (Barb in Journal of the Wavbztrg and Courtauld Institutes [1956], pl. 6 b, c ; Braun, op. cit., p. 159 with pl. 14, and p. 248), but in any case neither can be claimed with any certainty as an altar. 59 Xyngopoulos attributed the example from Thera (our fig. 8) to the first quarter of the fourth century, mainly on the strength of a comparison of one of the heads adorning the rim with coin por[1g14], p. 83; cf. also ibid., p. 263f.). Snyder questioned the validity 'Eqqp~pi~ traits ('Apxa~ohoy~~fi of this argument without, however, putting forward a substantially different view; for the pieces he discussed he tentatively suggested dates ranging from the late third to the early fourth century (Journal of Roman Studies [1923], pp. 65, 68). Michon reviewed the opinions expressed by previous writers on a number of individual pieces and concluded that, while many of the slabs adorned with pagan subjects may be attributable to the fourth century, and in some instances perhaps to the third, those with biblical subjects are not likely to be earlier than the fifth century (op. cit. [1916], p. 166ff.). Sotiriou drew a similar distinction between secular and biblical pieces, but suggested that both series were 'Eqqp~pi~ produced mainly within the fourth century ('Apxa~ohoy~~fi [1929], p. 233f.). More recently E. Thomas assumed for the whole group much wider time limits ranging from the third to the sixth or even seventh century (op. cit.-supra, note 9-p. 274). A systematic investigation of the problem would have to take into account the silver vessels with analogous relief bands, some of which can be dated a t least approximately. The type certainly was well established by the late fourth century.

A M A R B L E RELIEF OF THE T H E O D O S I A N PERIOD

33

fashioned our table conformed to a well-established type current all over the Eastern Mediterranean area; but only to create a wholly exceptional piece, presumably for one of the great churches of the Imperial capital. If any further evidence were needed for the attribution of our relief to Constantinople, it could be found in the iconographic analysis. The scene represented on our fragment is probably that narrated in John g : ~ f f .the , episode in which Christ, with clay made with His spittle, anoints the eyes of a man born blind and tells him to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam, whereupon he gains sight. Among the numerous similar episodes in the Gospels this and the scene at Bethsaida related by Mark (8:zz-26) are the only ones which involve Christ touching the eyes of a single blind man. Of the two, John's story is by far the more celebrated. Other possibilities would be the events told in Matthew 9: 27 and 29, 30, but these would presuppose that there was originally a second blind man to the left where the relief is now broken. Although, as we have seen, the fragment is incomplete on the right side too, the group of four figures preserved is so well balanced that one would like to assume that no further figures ever formed part of this scene. I t is the impressive figure of the bearded "witness" to the right which at once attracts our attention. I n sarcophagus reliefs, where the subject is very common, these "witnesses" are usually anonymous and nondescript. The earliest instances in which they can be identified occur in sixth-century Greek miniatures, specifically in the Gospels of Rossano and Sinope, in which the Healing of the Blind, like most other scenes, is accompanied by figures of Old Testament prophets bearing scrolls which are inscribed with appropriate quotations from their writings.60On the basis of these examples the "witnesses" in stone and ivory reliefs depicting the Healing of the Blind and other miracles have also sometimes been identified as prophets.61 In our case, however, this identification is ruled out by the fact that the figure carries a scepter in the shape of a cross. The person most commonly provided with this attribute is the Apostle Peter.62The facial features of the figure on our relief, however, are definitely not those of Peter but of Paul, whose bald head and long beard emerge as unmistakable personal characteristics at a quite early period-witness, for or some of instance, the so-called Prince's Sarcophagus from Con~tantinople~~ the early fifth-century sarcophagi from Ravenna (compare figs. 14 and 15). The prominent featuring of the Apostle Paul-certainly most unusual in a scene from the Gospels depicting a miracle of Christ-must be considered a characteristic of Constantinopolitan art of precisely the period to which our relief belongs. Paul was the first apostle to receive individual characterization 60 Rossano Gospels: A. hIuiioz, I1 codice purpureo d i Rossano (Rome, 1go7), pl. XI. Sinope Gospels: A. Grabar, Les peintures de Z'e'vange'liaire de Sinope (Paris, 1948), pl. IV. 61 E. Capps, Jr., "An Ivory Pyx in the Museo Cristiano and a Plaque from the Sancta Sanctorum," A r t Bulletin, I X (1926-27), p. 331ff., especially p. 333f. and note 24. 6 2 M. Lawrence, T h e Sarcophagi of Ravenna, College Art Association Study No. 2 (1g45), p. z4f. with further references. 63 Kollwitz, Ost~omischePZastik, p. 14of. and pl. 47, I and 2 ; our fig. 6.

34

ERNST KITZINGER

in the art of the capital, while Peter still remained in the anonymous group of Christ's disciples, witness again the Prince's Sarcophagus.64 On the strength of Kollwitz' studies it seems very probable that the composition in which Christ gives the Law to Paul-a composition found on the sarcophagi of Ravenna and strikingly different from the well-known Roman representations of Christ giving the Law to Peter-goes back to a Constantinopolitan m0de1.~5According to Kollwitz one should resist the temptation of seeing in this exaltation of the Apostle of the Gentiles a "political" gesture whereby the New Rome demonstrated its independence vis-a-vis the Old.66He suggests that the prominence given to Paul in the art of the capital is simply due to the important role played by the readings from his Epistles in the liturgy, to his travels and activities in that general area, and to the fact that he was the teacher of the church par ex~ e l l e n c eWhile . ~ ~ all this is certainly true it does not apply to the Theodosian period more than to any other. The fact that in our relief Paul appears -quite exceptionally-in a miracle scene from the Gospels shows to what length artists in late fourth-century Constantinople went in the "cult" of the Saint. One must reckon with a special vogue and ought to seek an explanation that would apply specifically to this particular phase in Constantinopolitan history. I t may be pointed out in this connection that it was precisely during the last decades of the fourth century that Old Rome began to concentrate on the person of the Apostle Peter as sole founder and first occupant of the Roman see,68 and that during this same period the church of Constantinople showed an increasing determination to settle its own affairs without Western interference. This latter tendency first became clearly manifest in connection with the Council of 381 convoked by Theodosius I and intended at first as a purely regional gathering.69In these circumstances there may well have developed in the imperial capital a trend to "play down" Peter in favor of Paul who was not as definitely identified with a specific see and so was better able to stand for the universal church. I t certainly was not a question of opposing to the claim of apostolicity put forward by the see of Old Rome a corresponding claim on behalf of New Rome, where the whole issue of apostolicity had not at that time assumed any great i m p o r t a n ~ eBut . ~ ~ it may have been felt desirable in the capital to find means of stressing the law and the doctrines that governed the life of the entire church, to which all sees were equally subject, and of which the emperor in Constantinople considered himself the chief guardian. Of that law and of these doctrines Paul had been the first great exponent and his figure could well serve 64 Ibid., p. 141. I t is curious, on the other hand, that during the same period Epiphanius of Cyprus should have known of a distinctive type used by artists for St. Peter and of two different types for St. Paul; cf. IP, -pk7,.4i~* I\ lc?ap~avos. This, it is true, is almost a repe-

tition of the text; but it does confirm the spellings Kalzartikeinos and B d i a s tarchalzos which have been repeatedly questioned, and it establishes that these were titles conferred on the sons of the kings of Bulgaria; not their proper names.' The second example is of greater interest. The table of contents of Book I1 (Bonn ed., p. 513) lists, amongst others, the following titles: 41. "Ooa ~ 1 6 7Qv q &Aha{ipwv. 42. 'Y~6pvqpa i v u~vr6pcp7 8 v Pao~kuo&rrrov@aol?dwv Ev 3 6 ~ ~ f p~y&Aq i ~ a Ei ~ N X E U T ~ T Kovo~aw1vovrr6kl J &TO TOG p ~ y a h o u ~ a E~UEPEUT&TOU l Kal &yiou Kwvo~av~ivou.I n the Lipsiensis, however,

only the beginning of chapter 41 is preserved and chapter 42 is entirely missing; according to Reiske's note (I, 641; 11, 754), one or more folia were lacking at this point. In reality the lacuna is quite considerable. Our manuscript has more of chapter 41 than the Lipsiensis (fol. 224V); it also contains three 6 Bibliography in Moravcsik, Byzantinotuvcica, 2nd ed. 11, (Berlin, 1958), p. 148, S.V.

~ a v & p -KE~VOS, r~ and p. 107, S.V. $ovhfa~. 7 Thus G. BalaSEev in Izv. Russk. Arkheol. Inst. v Konst., 1V/g (18gg),p. 219, has suggested that Boulias was a proper name.

f&@+w-aaa* e

Sf-

I. Codex Chalcensis S . Trinitatis (125)133, fol. 39'

2. Codex Chalcensis S . Trinitatis (125)133, fol. 67"

A NEW MANUSCRIPT OF T H E DE C E R I M O N I I S folia (126, 212, 214bis) that must surely belong to the lost chapter 42. These are written in the form of a chronicle with the names of the emperors in the margin. Folio 212 covers the period from Zeno to Phocas, folio z14bis from Heraclius to Tiberius Apsimar, and folio 126 from Alexander to Romanus 11. We may postulate the loss of one folio giving the story from Constantine I to Zeno, and probably two from Tiberius Apsimar to Alexander. We present here reproductions of two pages of our ms to serve as palaeographic

249

specimens. Figure I (fo1.3gr),ifzc.6 66 . r r a ~ p l & p x . r l s des. T+ . r r p a ~ . r r o o i ~ w ,corresponds to Bonn edition, zoz,,-203,~; figure 2 (fol. 6 7 V ) , containing the scholion we have discussed, corresponds to 680,~-681,~ (inc. ~ 6 x a sEra .rijs j ~ e ~ k Tp ~aE ~I V O T ~ T O Sdes. , ~b K O I V ~ VTOO h a o O ) . Unfortunately, most of the other folios are less legible than those reproduced. Permission to study the Chalki codex having been granted to Dumbarton Oaks, the authors of this note hope to publish a full investigation of this manuscript as soon as circumstances allow it.

The Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Studies in Byzantine Art: Report on the Symposium of 1958 Sirarpie der Nersessian Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 14. (1960), pp. 251-252. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-7546%281960%2914%3C251%3ATDOCSI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2 Dumbarton Oaks Papers is currently published by Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University.

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http://www.jstor.org Sun Mar 9 08:06:17 2008

THE DUMBARTON OAKS COLLECTION. STUDIES IN BYZANTINE ART Report on the Symposium of 1958

T

H E programs of the symposia held in previous years at Dumbarton Oaks concentrated on a fairly restricted period or a particular manifestation of Byzantine civilization considered from the point of view of history, theology, literature, and art. The symposium of 1958, which was directed by the present writer, was devoted to the Dumbarton Oaks Collection; the fine arts, therefore, formed the focal point of the papers. Such a program had been under consideration for some time, and this seemed the appropriate year for presenting it as a tribute to the founders of Dumbarton Oaks, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary, for they had assembled a large part of the Collection before it was conveyed to Harvard University, and they continue to take an active interest in it. The program, though concentrated in a single field, covered a longer span of time than had been the case in previous years, ranging, as it did, from the period prior to the foundation of Constantinople down to the Palaeologan age. For obvious reasons architecture, monumental mosaics, and paintings were excluded from the studies; nor was there any attempt to consider all the categories of works of art represented in the Collection. Such a comprehensive program, presented in the relatively short time at our disposal, would have had, perforce, a somewhat superficial character. I t was more important to select a few characteristic works or groups of objects in the Collection and, with these as a point of departure or concentration, to illustrate a particular aspect of Byzantine art or a special trend in the religious thought of the period. The first paper, read by the present writer, served as a general introduction. I t traced the growth of interest in Byzantine art, the gradual appreciation of its aesthetic qualities, and the formation of private and public collections, and it called attention to the impor-

tance of the objects in the field of the minor arts. This was followed by two lectures which are published in this volume. In the first, Ernst H. Kantorowicz showed, through the study of a marriage belt and a marriage ring, how Byzantium took over the themes of Roman imperial imagery and adapted them to a Christian context. In the second, Ernst Kitzinger drew attention to the importance of a fragmentary marble relief, showing Christ Healing a Blind Man, as a document of Christian narrative art in Constantinople in the period of Theodosius I. A lecture by Marvin Ross on "SeventhCentury Byzantine Jewelry" presented a method of investigation based on grouping by "treasures" the objects which are scattered in various collections, in order to determine the centers of production and expansion. The evidence furnished by the coins found with these objects made it possible to date them more accurately. The classical survival, considered in the second and third papers, also formed the central theme of the lecture by Kurt Weitzmann published in the present volume. The continued use of mythological subjects on silver plates and on ivories was shown to be but one of the manifestations of the classical tradition that influenced religious iconography. Conversely, mediaeval form was imposed on mythological representations, and occasionally Christian context modified mythological scenes. In his lecture on "The Art of the Historiated Ampullae from the Holy Land," AndrC Grabar discussed the reliefs on those phials from an artistic point of view rather than as examples of religious imagery. Comparisons with imperial medallions and their imitations in works of jewelry revealed the unity of subject and form proper to different series of objects which were produced in the same or in related techniques.

SIRARPIE DER NERSESSIAN

The lectures described above dealt primarily with works of the Early Christian period. Certain aspects of the religious art of the Middle Byzantine period were discussed in the lecture on "Two Images of the Virgin," by the present writer, which is published herewith. The two final lectures, also included in this volume, were devoted to the Palaeologan period and brought out the characteristic traits of the artistic revival during this last phase of Byzantine history. In his study of "Two Palaeologan Miniature Mosaics," Otto Demus showed that although religious art returned to earlier models, it rendered them with a new anddifferent emphasis. Secular art, on the other hand, and in particular palatine art, was more open to outside influences, and this point was discussed by AndrC Grabar in connection with an ivory pyxis in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. This brief summary of the papers read during the symposium shows the wide range of its topics, each one of which dealt with some major trends or aspects of Byzantine art and Byzantine thought. Among the many points of interest that emerged from these discussions, one in particular deserves especial attention, namely, the pre-eminence of Constantinople. These studies, undertaken independently of one another and based on different groups or categories of objects, led

us back, in almost every instance, to the capital city as the source of production or inspiration. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, and occasionally even now, the leading role in the formation of Christian art was attributed to Rome. In violent reaction against these theories, Strzygowski opposed the Orient to Rome, transfening the creative center further east in his successive studies. Other scholars like Ajnalov, Millet, and Morey stressed the importance of the great cities of the East, in particular Alexandria and Antioch. The prestige of these centers of Hellenistic and late Classical culture tended to overshadow the role played by Constantinople and its share in the elaboration and development of Christian art. Through the discovery of new works and, even more, through the reevaluation of those that had been known for a long time, though assigned to other centers, we now have a clearer picture of the artistic production of the capital. Without denying the importance of Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor in the collective effort of the Early Christian period, scholars have become aware of the dominant role played by Constantinople throughout the centuries. As early as the fourth century, and especially from the sixth century on, Constantinople was the fountainhead which provided the ideas as well as the forms of Imperial andChristian imagery.