Cosmologic Representations on the Late Antique Mosaics from Bulgaria

Abstract

The article traces the cosmologic structure and its separate components, reflected on the Late Antique mosaic pavements from the ancient provinces of present-day Bulgaria. Distinguished are three basic historical periods of development. The observations reveal that these lands were receiving ready cosmogonic structure’s schemes after the act of cosmogony from the big artistic centers of Italy, Greece, Asia Minor and North Africa. For several reasons, the cosmologic structure and the components of the Late Antique mosaic pavements from Bulgaria are not full, but limited and adapted, with many missing figural representations in the mosaic pavements and the tomb wall paintings, differently to the Western and the Eastern Mediterranean. This is considered a kind of proto-iconoclasm, due to the influence of heresies and the concrete historical, religious and artistic development. The joyful picture of the Christian Universe changes and disintegrates after the Justinianic period, and the previous Order and Harmony, including the place of each sphere and cosmologic element, is already not fixed, but in free mixture with other figural and symbolic images. The old cosmologic picture comes to its logical end and is replaced by a new one after the beginning of 7th century.

Keywords

• Cosmological elements
• Late antique church and house mosaic pavements
• missing figural representations
• heresies

Bulgaristan’daki Geç Antik Çağ Mozaiklerinde Kozmolojik Temsiller

Abstract

Bu makale, günümüz Bulgaristan’ının antik vilayetlerinde bulunan Geç Antik Çağ mozaik döşemelerine yansıyan kozmolojik yapının ve onun ayrı bileşenlerinin izini sürmektedir. Üç temel tarihsel gelişim dönemi ayırt edilmiştir. Gözlemler, bu toprakların kozmogoni eyleminden sonra İtalya, Yunanistan, Küçük Asya ve Kuzey Afrika’daki büyük sanat merkezlerinden hazır kozmogonik yapı şemalarını aldığını ortaya koymaktadır. Çeşitli nedenlerden dolayı, Bulgaristan’daki Geç Antik Çağ mozaik döşemelerinin kozmolojik yapısı ve bileşenleri, Batı ve Doğu Akdeniz’den farklı olarak, mozaik döşemelerde ve mezar duvar resimlerinde birçok eksik figürlü temsil ile tam olmayıp, sınırlı ve uyarlanmıştır. Bu durum, dine aykırılıkların ve somut tarihsel, dini ve sanatsal gelişimin etkisiyle bir tür proto-ikonoklazm olarak kabul edilir. Hıristiyan Evreninin neşeli resmi Iustinianus döneminden sonra değişir, parçalanır ve her kürenin ve kozmolojik unsurun yeri de dahil olmak üzere önceki Düzen ve Uyum zaten sabit değildir, ancak diğer figüratif ve sembolik imgelerle serbestçe karışır. Eski kozmolojik resim mantıksal olarak sona erer ve 7. yüzyılın başından sonra yerini yeni bir tanesine bırakır.

Keywords

• Kozmolojik unsurlar
• Geç antik kilise ve ev mozaik döşemeleri
• eksik figürel temsiller
• dine aykırı düşünceler.

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