--KAPAK ARAÞTIRMA kopya - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

lication, which could be adequate to organize the revolution caused by St Polyeuktos’
in the frame of a kind of natural development of Constantinople art. The sudden appearing
of new forms and uncommon decorations forces us, on the contrary, to admit
that there is an obvious difference with all the previous elements. Elsewhere I have carefully
considered its origin and the similarities in the field of Sasanian sculptures,
which the architect who created the decorations in St Polyeuktos’ knew in a direct
and deep way 26. Today I want to emphasize, as an example of the revolution of the
forms, the introduction in Constantinople of the basket capital (Fig. 2), with a round bottom
and a square top which immediately became very popular: it was a step that cannot
be disregarded both in the coeval and subsequent production 27.
The basket capital was an extraordinary invention which spreads from Constantinople
over the whole Mediterranean basin. The traditional terminology and syntax are
upset by the ornamentation in St Polyeuktos’: let’s consider the transformation of the
Lesbian kymation with ovoli and lancets with their points down we can see an example
of it in the entablature and in the fastigium of St Sophia of the Theodosian period
(404-415) (Fig. 3) where the ovoli are edged and the lancets have their points down 28,
according to the usual scheme. In the hypotrachelium of the capitals of pillars (Fig. 4)
and columns in St Polyeuktos’ 29 it appears completely modified, instead, and shows
arched links at the bottom among isolated ovoli and flowers.
The glorious production of Constantinople, however, does not completely represent
all the events of the Greek-Constatinopolitan world. In Nicaea, the present İznik,
not so far from the Capital, it is possible to see Constantinopolitan works 30, works of
imitation 31, works made in Nicaea by Greek-Constantinopolitan workers. Among these
I want now to mention a basket capital (inv. n.1901) 32 (Fig. 5), a slab with three panels,
decorated on both faces (inv. n.751) 33, and an ambo parapet now housed in the
Staatliche Museen in Berlin (inv. n. 3239) 34; they are all works dating to the 6th century.
We can also date to the second half of the 6th century both faces of the slab with
three panels (inv. n. 705) 35 (Figs. 6, 7). In this slab, and in other slabs from Tracia 36,
from St Demetrio’s in Thesaloniki 37, from İznik (inv.4785) 38 and from Yakacık in Bitinia
today in the Archaeological Museum in İstanbul 39 (Fig. 8) we can notice with new layo-
26 About the whole topic see Russo, in La Persia e Bisanzio, pp. 737-826.
27Also for the earlier bibliography see Barsanti, EAM, IV, pp. 204-205, 213-214; EAA. Secondo Supplemento 1971-
1994, I, pp. 871-873; and Kramer, in Spätantike und byzantinische Bauskulptur, pp. 47-48, pl. 11, 8-12; p. 52, pls. 12,
16-17 and 13, 18.
28 A.M. Schneider, Die Grabung im Westhof der Sophienkirche zu ‹stanbul, Berlin 1941, pls. 17, 2; 19, 1 and 2; 21, 1
and 2; 22, 1, 2, 3.
29 The pillar capitals are shared between the Archaeological Museum of İstanbul and the so called Acritan pillars in Venice.
Among the pillar capitals of the Archaeological Museum of İstanbul there is also the capital found in 1978 at Edirnekapı
in the town (inv. n. 78. 32) and published by N. Asgari, Arkeoloji ve Sanat, 1, 2 (1978), pp. 14-17, figs. 1-2.
The surviving capital of column, with the shown pattern is in the Archaeological Museum of Barcelona and it has been
recognized by Harrison, DOP, 27 (1973), pp. 297-300, figs. 1-2. I found at Ravello another small capital of column,
a capital of a window, with a pattern very close (not identical with it, also because of room problems) in the hypo-trachelium,
capital published in Russo, in Quaeritur inventus colitur, pp. 673-695, figs. 1-3.
30 For example Russo, Bizantinistica, serie seconda, 4 (2002), pp. 2-3, figs. 10-11 (inv. nn. 194, 209, 277; 181, 192, 265,
278, 286); pp. 4-5, fig. 17 (inv. n. 665).
31 For example ibid., p. 3, fig. 13 (inv. n. 714).
32 Ibid., pp. 5-6, fig. 18.
33 Ibid., pp. 9-10, figs. 35-36.
34 Ibid., pp. 9-10, fig. 37.
35 Ibid., pp. 6-8, fig. 23-24.
36 E. Tsimpides Pentazos, AEphem, 1973, Chron., p. 35, pl. LFi (Traianoupolis); D. Pallas, Les monuments paléochretiens
de Grèce découverts de 1959 à 1973, Città del Vaticano 1977, p. 132, fig. 85d.
37G.A. Soteriou, He basilike tou Haghiou Demetriou Thessalonikes, Athenai 1952, p. 174, pl. 51a (9 th c.); Ulbert, Studien
zur dekorativen Reliefplastik des östlichen Mittelmeer-raumes, pp. 60-61, cat. n. 167, pl. 39 (8 th c. beg.); IstMitt,
19-20 (1969-70), pp. 349, 357, n. 36 (8th c. beg.); Russo, Bizantinistica, serie seconda, 4 (2002), pp. 7-8, fig. 25 (6 th
c. second half).
38 Ibid., pp. 7-8, figs. 26-27 (6 th c. second half).
39 Cm. 72 hx77 widex9 thick; marble. Published especially by Ulbert, Studien zur dekorativen Reliefplastik des östlichen
Mittelmeerraumes, pp. 51, 63, cat. n. 12, pl. 35 (8 th century). Ulbert did not know where this slab was found; but we
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