Imitation Curtain Depictions from Byzantine Cappadocia

Yıl 2023, , 1025 - 1059, 31.12.2023

Metin Kaya

https://doi.org/10.29135/std.1322960

Öz

By scrutinising examples of imitation curtain patterns on Cappadocian wall paintings, this article aims to comparatively evaluate other curtain imitation compositions seen in Byzantine art. In addition to this, the use of curtains in civil and religious architecture (especially at the entrances of large structures) in the Byzantine Period and the theological importance of imitation curtain patterns in the Byzantine Period are also discussed. Curtains were found in all areas of the Empire, although few have survived. In addition to the positive influences of Old and New Testament texts, religious commentaries called tractates written by Gregorius of Nyssa, one of the Cappadocian Church Fathers, may have encouraged the use of curtain patterns in Christian religious structures. Based on this, the theological explanations of aniconic curtain patterns are also included in our article. The article also aims to prove that this pattern we encounter in Byzantine art is a continuation of Roman art traditions. It is possible to find curtain patterns in a lot of handiwork from the early Byzantine Period. Among the churches of the Byzantine Period in the Cappadocia region, which is our main subject, imitation curtain patterns are primarily seen in wall paintings dating to the 9th - 11th centuries. In this study, we have identified that the only exception to this situation is the example in the apse of Ihlara Bezirana Church (end of 13th century, beginning of 14th century). The pattern was implemented especially in the aniconic ornament of the naos or apse wall paintings of the churches in the region, and it is noteworthy that they were painted as the main motif in a row, forming the border of the figural scenes on the lower parts of the walls (in the areas below the human waist). This study explains the properties of the imitation curtain patterns found in the wall paintings of Cappadocia and compares them in terms of ornamental properties, pattern composition, size, colour scale, and theological roots and development in Byzantine art. In addition, the importance of the curtain pattern, its usage areas and its features in the Byzantine Empire have been explained with examples.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Byzantine Art, Cappadocia, Wall Paintings, Motif, Imitation Curtain

Proje Numarası

21619

Bizans Kapadokyasından İmitasyon Perde Gösterimler

Öz

Bu makale, Kapadokya duvar resimlerindeki imitasyon perde deseni örneklerini ayrıntıyla tanıtarak, Bizans sanatında görülen diğer perde taklidi kompozisyonlarla karşılaştırmalı bir değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bunu yaparken Bizans döneminde sivil ve dini mimaride perde kullanımına ve imitasyon perde desenlerinin teolojik açıdan önemine de yer verilmiştir. Eski ve Yeni Ahit metinleri kadar Kapadokya Kilise Babalarından Nissa’lı Gregorius’un dini yorumları yani risaleleri de perde desenlerinin Hıristiyan dini yapılarındaki kullanımlarını özendirmiş olabilir. Bu anlamda makalemizde perde desenlerinin teolojik açılımlarına da yer verilmektedir. Bizans sanatında karşılaştığımız bu desenin Roma sanat geleneklerinin bir devamı olduğunun da altı çizilmek istenmiştir. Erken Bizans dönemi ile birlikte birçok eserde perde desenine rastlamamız mümkündür. Asıl yazımıza konu olan Kapadokya bölgesi Bizans dönemi kiliselerinde; imitasyon perde desenleri bölgede daha çok 9 - 11. yüzyıla tarihlendirilen duvar resimlerinde görülmektedir. Yaptığımız çalışmalarda, bu duruma tek istisnana Ihlara Bezirana Kilisesi (13. yy. sonu 14. yy. başı) apsisindeki örnektir. Bu desenin bölgede özellikle kiliselerin naos ya da apsis duvar resimlerinin anikonik bezemesinde kullanıldığı tespit edilmiş ayrıca, bu alanlarda duvarların alt kısımlarında figüratif sahnelere sınır oluşturarak, ana motif konumunda ve bir sıra halinde resmedildikleri dikkat çekmektedir. Bu çalışmada Kapadokya bölgesi duvar resimlerinde bulunan imitasyon perde desenleri, Bizans sanatındaki karşılaştığımız diğer örnekleri ile bezeme özellikleri, desen kompozisyonu, ölçü, renk skalası gibi özellikler bağlamında karşılaştırılmış, teolojik kökleri ile Bizans sanatındaki gelişimi örneklerle anlatılmaya çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca, perde deseninin Bizans İmparatorluğundaki yeri, önemi ve kullanım alanları örneklerle açıklanmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Bizans Sanatı, Kapadokya, Duvar Resimleri, Motif, İmitasyon Perde

Destekleyen Kurum

İ.Ü. BAP Birimi

Proje Numarası

21619

Teşekkür

Başta derginiz Editör Kurulu olmak üzere, emeği geçen herkese teşekkür ederim. Saygılarımla.

Kaynakça

• Andrews, J. (2007), Crossing Boundaries: Byzantine and Western Influences in a Fourteenth-Century Illustrated Commentary on Job. J. Lowden and A. Bovey (Ed.), Under The Influence, The Concept of Influence and the Study of Illuminated Manuscripts, 111-119, Turnhout: Brepols.
• Angelidi, C. (2013), Designing Receptions in the Palace (De Cerimoniis 2.15). A. Beihammer, S. Consatantinou and M. Parani (Ed.), Court Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in Byzantium and the Medieval Mediterranean, 465-485, Leiden – Boston: Brill.
• Avery, M. (1925). The Alexandrian Style at Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome, The Art Bulletin, 7, 131-149.
• Bakalova, E. et. al. (Ed.). (2003), Ossuary of The Bachkovo Monastery, Plovdid: Pygmalion Publishers.
• Batterham, D. (2012). The World of Ornament, Köln: Taschen.
• Belting, H. and Naumann R. (1966). Die Euphemia Kirche am Hippodrom zu Istanbul und Ihre Fresken, Berlin: Gebr Mann.
• Bolman, S. E. (2006a), Veiling Sanctity in Christian Egypt: Visual and Spatial Solutions. S. E. J. Gerstel (Ed.), Threshold of Sacred, 73-106, Washington: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
• Bolman, S. E. (2006b). Late Antique Aesthetics, Chromophobia, and the Red Monastery, Sohag, Egypt, Eastern Christian Art, 3, 1-24.
• Bordi, G. (2021), La mediazione dell’ornamento. Vela dipinti nella Roma altomedievale. F. Marazzi, M. Cuomo (Ed.), La Pittura Parıetale Aniconıca E Decorativa Fra Tarda Antıchità E Alto Medioevo Territorio, tradizioni, temi e tendenze, 77-104, Roma: Volturnia Edizioni.
• Bustacchini, (1984). Ravenna Mosaics Monuments and Environment. Ravenna: Cartolibreria Salbaroli.
• Ćirić, S. J. (2018), For The Entrance To The Tent Make A Curtaın: Ornaments, Curtains And Passages In Early Byzantine Sacred Context. M. Rakocija (Ed.), International Symposium of Byzantologists Nis and Byzantium XVI, 221-232, Nis: Cultural Center of Nis.
• Cooper, J. E. and Decker, M. J. (2012). Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadocia. New York: Springer.
• Cormack, R. (1989), Byzantine Cappadocia: The Archaic Group of Wall Paintings. R. Cormack (Ed), The Byzantine Eye Studies in Art and Patronage, 19-36, London: Variorum Reprints.
• Dinçer, P. S. (2019). Erken Bizans Dönemi Resimli Dini El Yazmaları (Early Byzantine Illuminated Theological Manuscripts), Art-Sanat, 12 (Temmuz 2019), 385-420. Accessed: 15 January 2023. doi: 10.26650/artsanat.2019.12.0005.
• Epstein, A. W. (1986). Tokalı Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington D.C. : Dumbarton Oaks Studies 22.
• Ermiş, Ü. M. (2004), İzmir ve Manisa Çevresindeki Orta Bizans Dönemi Templon Arşitravları. A. Erkmen (Ed.), Bilim Eşiği, 76-98, İstanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları.
• Evangelatou, M. (2019). Textile Mediation in Late Byzantine Visual Culture, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 73, 299-354.
• Gonosová, A. (1991). Katapetasma. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Vol. 2, 1113). Khazdan A. P. (Ed.), New York – Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Gervers, V. (1977). An Early Christian Curtain in The Royal Ontario Museum. V. Gervers (Ed.), Studies Textile History In Memory of Harold B. Burnham, 56-81, Toronto: Alger Press.
• Goodenough, E. R. (1953). Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period 1-2. New York: Pantheon Books.
• Guidobaldi A. G. and Claudia, B. (2009). Le porte e gli arredi architettonici in bronzo della Santa Sofia di Costantinopoli. A. Lacobini (Ed.), Le porte del paradise: Arte e tecnologia bizantina tra Italia e Mediterraneo, 93-94, Roma: Campisano Editore.
• Grishin, A. D. (2008), The Backovo Ossuary Frescoes of 1074-83, (Doktora Tezi), The Australian National University Philosophy, Canberra.
• Haug, A. (2022). Wall Surfaces as Interfaces: The First Pompeian Style, Arts, 11 (1), 1-20.
• Jerphanion, G. D. (1931). La Chronologie Des Peintures De Cappadoce, Échos d’Orient, 30, 5-27.
• Jørgensen, L. B. ( 2020), Textiles from a Late Roman / Byzantine Ecclesiastical Centre at Abu Sha’ar, Egypt. M. Mossakowska-Gaubert (Ed), Egyptian Textiles and Their Production: ‘Word’ and ‘Object’ (Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods), 49-59, Nebreska – Lincoln: Zera Books.
• Kalas, V. (2006). The 2004 Survey of the Byzantine Settlement at Selime-Yaprakhisar in the PeristremaValley, Cappadocia, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 60, 271-293.
• Kalas, V. (2007). Cappadocia’s Rock-Cut Courtyard Complexes: A Case Study for Domestic Architecture in Byzantium. L. Lavan, L. Özgenel, and A. Sarantis (Ed.), Housing in Late Antiquity, 393-414, Leiden – Boston: Brill.
• Kaya, M. (2020). Reflection of the Islamic and Sassanid art on the Aniconic Decoration of Byzantine Wall Paintings in Cappadocia. M. Rakocija (Ed.), Niš And Byzantium Eighteen International Symposium The Collection Of Scientıiıc Works XVIII, 339-346, Nis: Cultural Center of Nis.
• Kaya, M. (2021), Kapadokya Bölgesi Duvar Resimlerinde Kutsal Anlam Taşıyan ve Apotropaik Etkili Motifler (Motifs With Sacred and Apotropaic Meanings on the Wall Paintings of Cappadocia Region), Art-Sanat Dergisi, 16, 409-435, Accessed: 25 July 2021. doı: 10.26650/artsanat.2021.16.0014.
• Koroli, A. (2020). Textile Production in The Papyri: The Case of Private Request Letters. M. Mossakowska-Gaubert (Ed.), Egyptian Textiles and Their Production: ‘Word’ and ‘Object’ (Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods), 116-127, Nebreska – Lincoln: Zera Books.
• Kostof, S. (1972). Caves of God. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Levy, C. J. (2005). Eglises Retrouvees de Başköy (Cappadoce), Deltion of The Christian Archeological Society, 26, 93-104.
• Levy, C. J. (1991). Les Eglises Byzantines De Cappadoce, Le Programme Iconographie de l’apside et de ses Abords. Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
• Levy, C. J. (2015). La Cappadoce Un Siècle Après G. De Jerphanion I-II. Paris: Geuthner.
• Levy, C. J. (2017). Bezirana Kilisesi (Cappadoce). Un Exceptionnel Decor Paleologue en teres de Rum. Nouveau temoigage sur les relations entre Byzance et Le Sultanat, Zograf, 41, 107-141.
• Lidov, A. (2014a). The Temple Veil as Spatial Icon Revealing an Image –Paradigm of Medieval Iconography and Hierotopy, Ikon, 7, 97-108.
• Lidov, A. (2014b), Creating The Sacred Space: Hierotopy as a New Field of Cultural Histoy. L. Carnevale, C. Cremonesi (Ed.), Spazi e percorsi sacri. I santuari, le vie, i corpi, 61-89, Padova: Libreriauniversitaria.it.
• Magdalino, P. (1987). Observations on The Nea Ekkllesia of Basil I, Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik, 37, 51-64.
• Magdalino, P. (2007). Studies on The History and Topography of Byzantine Constantinople. Aldershot, Hampshire: Variorum Collected Studies Series.
• Maguire, E. D. (2019). Curtains at the Threshold, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 73, 217-243.
• Maguire, E., Maguire H., And Flowers, M. J. D. (1989). Art and Holy Powers in the Early Christian House. Urbana and Chicago: Universtiy of Illinois Press.
• Mango, C. (1972). The Art of the Byzantine Empire 312-1453: Sources and Documents 16. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
• Mango, C. (1991). Nea Ekklesia. Alexander P. Khazdan (Ed.), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Vol. 2, (1446). New York – Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Mango, C. and Ertuğ A. (1997). Hagia Sophia: A Vision for Empires. Istanbul: Ertuğ Kocabıyık Yayınları.
• Marchionibus, M. R. (2021), Il Dio Ineffabile: Fulgide Cromie, Geometrie E Labirinti Sacri. F. Marazzi, M. Cuomo (Ed.), La Pittura Parıetale Aniconıca E Decorativa Fra Tarda Antıchità E Alto Medioevo Territorio, tradizioni, temi e tendenze, 311-346, Roma: Volturnia Edizioni.
• Matejčić, I. (2014). Euphrasiana, cathedral in Poreć. Pula: Region of Istria.
• Osborne, J. (1992). Textiles and Their Painted Imitations in Early Medieval Rome, Papers of the British School at Rome, 60, 309-351.
• Ousterhout, R. (2017). Visualizing Community, Material Culture And Settlement in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library And Collection.
• Papastavrou, H. (1993). Le Voile, Symbole de l’Incarnation: Contribution à Une Étude Sémantique, Cahiers Archéologiques, 41, 141-168.
• Parani, G. M. (2019). Curtains in the Middle and Late Byzantine House, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 73, 145-164.
• Parani, G. M. (2003), Furniture and Furnishing. M. G. Parani (Ed.), Reconstructing The Reality of Images: Byzantine Material Culture and Religious İconography 11th-15th Centuries 41, 159-194. Leiden – Boston: Brill.
• Restle, M. (1967). Byzantine Wall Painting in Asia Minor I. Shannon: Irish University Press.
• Stephenson, W. J. (2014). Veiling the Late Roman House, Textile History, 45 (1), 3-31.
• Taş, E. (2021). Türk Tezyinatında Perde (Curtains In Turkish Decorative Art), SEFAD, 45, 271-294.
• Terry, A. (1986). The “Opus Sectile” in the Eufrasius Cathedral at Poreč, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 40, 147-164.
• Terry, A. (1988). The Sculpture at the Cathedral of Eufrasius in Poreč, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 42, 13-64.
• Thierry, M. and Thierry, N. (1963). Nouvelles Églises Rupestres de Cappadoce. Paris: Librairie C. Klincksieck.
• Thierry, N. (1995). De La Datation Des Eglises De Cappadoce, Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 88, 419-455.
• Thierry, N. (2002). La Cappadoce De l’antiquité Au Moyen Âge, Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale, 48,  113-134.
• Thomas, T. K. (2007), Coptic and Byzantine Textiles Found in Egypt: Corpora, Collections, and Scholarly Perspectives. R. Bagnall (Ed.), Egypt in the Byzantine World, 300-700, 137-162, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Thomas, T. K. (2019). The Honorific Mantle as Furnishing for the Household Memory Theater in Late Antiquity, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 73, 355-388.
• Uyar, B. T. (2021), Carving, Painting, and Inscribing Sacred Space in Late Byzantium Bezirana Kilisesi Rediscovered (Peristrema-Cappadocia). V. Marinis, A. Papalexandrou and J. Pickett (Ed.), Architecture and Visual Culture in the Late Antique and Medieval Mediterranean, 207-222, Turnhout: Brepols Publishers.
• Uyar, B. T. and Peker, N. (2011), Güzelöz – Başköy ve Çevresi Bizans Dönemi Yerleşmeleri 2009. A. N. Toy, C. Keskin (Ed.), 28. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 1, 283-302, Ankara.
• Uyar, B. T. and Peker, N. (2012), Güzelöz – Başköy ve Çevresi Bizans Dönemi Yerleşmeleri 2010. A. Özme (Ed.), 29. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 2, 251-266, Ankara.
• Uyar, B. T. and Peker, N. (2013), Güzelöz – Başköy ve Çevresi Bizans Dönemi Yerleşmeleri 2011. A. Özme (Ed.), 30. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 2, 147-156, Çorum.
• Uyar, B. T. and Peker, N. (2014), Güzelöz – Başköy ve Çevresi Bizans Dönemi Yerleşmeleri 2012. A. Özme (Ed.), 31. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 2, 110-119, Ankara.
• Virdis, A. (2021), La decorazione aniconica sul soffitto della “chiesa rupestre” di S. Andrea Priu in Sardegna. F. Marazzi, M. Cuomo (Ed.), La Pittura Parıetale Aniconıca E Decorativa Fra Tarda Antıchità E Alto Medioevo Territorio, tradizioni, temi e tendenze, 267-284, Roma: Volturnia Edizioni.
• Vryzidis, N. and Papastavrou, E. (2021). Notes on the Sanctuary Curtain: Symbolisms and Iconographies in the Greek Church, Cahiers balkaniques, 48, 91-122.
• Volbach, W. F. (1969). Early Decorative Textiles. (Translated by Yuri Gabriel) London and New York: Paul Hamlyn Publishing.
• Walter, C. (1993). A New Look at the Byzantine Sanctuary Barrier, Revue des Études Byzantines, 51, 203-228.
• Wilpert, J. (1916). Die römischen Mosaiken und Malereien der Kirchlichen Bauten vom IV. bis - XIII. Jahrhundert 4. Freiburg: Herdersche Verlagshandlung,
• Yalçın, A. B. (2001), Anadolu’da Orta Bizans Dönemi Mimari Plastiği ve Bilinmeyen Bir Örnek. S. Alpaslan (Ed.), V. Ortaçağ ve Türk Dönemi Kazı ve Araştırmaları Sempozyum Bildirileri Kitabı, 549-562, Ankara.
• “One Of The Most Significant And Best-Preserved Archaeological Sites İn Italy, Recognised As A UNESCO World Heritage.” Brixia Roman Archeological Area. Accesed 26.05.2022. https://www.bresciamusei.com/en/museums-and-venues/brixia-roman-archaeological-area/
• Accesed 3.03.2022, https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.1162
• Manuscript - Vat.gr.1162
• Accesed 15.04.2023, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b53019392c/f161.item
• Accesed 14.10.2022, https://the-past.com/feature/brescia-wings-of-victory/
• Accessed 26.01.2023, http://cojs.org/wall-painting-torah-shrine-flanked-menorahs-jewish-catacomb-villa-torlonia-rome-4th-century/
• Accessed 22.02.2023, https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-glossary/curtain/
• Accessed 22.02.2023, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2026&version=NIV
• Accessed 22.02.2023, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010&version=NIV
• Accessed 10.05.2023, https://www.doaks.org/resources/textiles/images/maguire-images/maguire-fig02.jpg