--KAPAK ARAÞTIRMA kopya - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı
--KAPAK ARAÞTIRMA kopya - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı
--KAPAK ARAÞTIRMA kopya - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı
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lication, which could be adequate to organize the revolution caused by St Polyeuktos’<br />
in the frame of a kind of natural de<strong>ve</strong>lopment of Constantinople art. The sudden appearing<br />
of new forms and uncommon decorations forces us, on the contrary, to admit<br />
that there is an obvious difference with all the previous elements. Elsewhere I ha<strong>ve</strong> carefully<br />
considered its origin and the similarities in the field of Sasanian sculptures,<br />
which the architect who created the decorations in St Polyeuktos’ knew in a direct<br />
and deep way 26. Today I want to emphasize, as an example of the revolution of the<br />
forms, the introduction in Constantinople of the basket capital (Fig. 2), with a round bottom<br />
and a square top which immediately became <strong>ve</strong>ry popular: it was a step that cannot<br />
be disregarded both in the coeval and subsequent production 27.<br />
The basket capital was an extraordinary in<strong>ve</strong>ntion which spreads from Constantinople<br />
o<strong>ve</strong>r the whole Mediterranean basin. The traditional terminology and syntax are<br />
upset by the ornamentation in St Polyeuktos’: let’s consider the transformation of the<br />
Lesbian kymation with ovoli and lancets with their points down we can see an example<br />
of it in the entablature and in the fastigium of St Sophia of the Theodosian period<br />
(404-415) (Fig. 3) where the ovoli are edged and the lancets ha<strong>ve</strong> their points down 28,<br />
according to the usual scheme. In the hypotrachelium of the capitals of pillars (Fig. 4)<br />
and columns in St Polyeuktos’ 29 it appears completely modified, instead, and shows<br />
arched links at the bottom among isolated ovoli and flowers.<br />
The glorious production of Constantinople, howe<strong>ve</strong>r, does not completely represent<br />
all the e<strong>ve</strong>nts of the Greek-Constatinopolitan world. In Nicaea, the present İznik,<br />
not so far from the Capital, it is possible to see Constantinopolitan works 30, works of<br />
imitation 31, works made in Nicaea by Greek-Constantinopolitan workers. Among these<br />
I want now to mention a basket capital (inv. n.1901) 32 (Fig. 5), a slab with three panels,<br />
decorated on both faces (inv. n.751) 33, and an ambo parapet now housed in the<br />
Staatliche Museen in Berlin (inv. n. 3239) 34; they are all works dating to the 6th century.<br />
We can also date to the second half of the 6th century both faces of the slab with<br />
three panels (inv. n. 705) 35 (Figs. 6, 7). In this slab, and in other slabs from Tracia 36,<br />
from St Demetrio’s in Thesaloniki 37, from İznik (inv.4785) 38 and from Yakacık in Bitinia<br />
today in the Archaeological Museum in İstanbul 39 (Fig. 8) we can notice with new layo-<br />
26 About the whole topic see Russo, in La Persia e Bisanzio, pp. 737-826.<br />
27Also for the earlier bibliography see Barsanti, EAM, IV, pp. 204-205, 213-214; EAA. Secondo Supplemento 1971-<br />
1994, I, pp. 871-873; and Kramer, in Spätantike und byzantinische Bauskulptur, pp. 47-48, pl. 11, 8-12; p. 52, pls. 12,<br />
16-17 and 13, 18.<br />
28 A.M. Schneider, Die Grabung im Westhof der Sophienkirche zu ‹stanbul, Berlin 1941, pls. 17, 2; 19, 1 and 2; 21, 1<br />
and 2; 22, 1, 2, 3.<br />
29 The pillar capitals are shared between the Archaeological Museum of İstanbul and the so called Acritan pillars in Venice.<br />
Among the pillar capitals of the Archaeological Museum of İstanbul there is also the capital found in 1978 at Edirnekapı<br />
in the town (inv. n. 78. 32) and published by N. Asgari, Arkeoloji <strong>ve</strong> Sanat, 1, 2 (1978), pp. 14-17, figs. 1-2.<br />
The surviving capital of column, with the shown pattern is in the Archaeological Museum of Barcelona and it has been<br />
recognized by Harrison, DOP, 27 (1973), pp. 297-300, figs. 1-2. I found at Ra<strong>ve</strong>llo another small capital of column,<br />
a capital of a window, with a pattern <strong>ve</strong>ry close (not identical with it, also because of room problems) in the hypo-trachelium,<br />
capital published in Russo, in Quaeritur in<strong>ve</strong>ntus colitur, pp. 673-695, figs. 1-3.<br />
30 For example Russo, Bizantinistica, serie seconda, 4 (2002), pp. 2-3, figs. 10-11 (inv. nn. 194, 209, 277; 181, 192, 265,<br />
278, 286); pp. 4-5, fig. 17 (inv. n. 665).<br />
31 For example ibid., p. 3, fig. 13 (inv. n. 714).<br />
32 Ibid., pp. 5-6, fig. 18.<br />
33 Ibid., pp. 9-10, figs. 35-36.<br />
34 Ibid., pp. 9-10, fig. 37.<br />
35 Ibid., pp. 6-8, fig. 23-24.<br />
36 E. Tsimpides Pentazos, AEphem, 1973, Chron., p. 35, pl. LFi (Traianoupolis); D. Pallas, Les monuments paléochretiens<br />
de Grèce décou<strong>ve</strong>rts de 1959 à 1973, Città del Vaticano 1977, p. 132, fig. 85d.<br />
37G.A. Soteriou, He basilike tou Haghiou Demetriou Thessalonikes, Athenai 1952, p. 174, pl. 51a (9 th c.); Ulbert, Studien<br />
zur dekorati<strong>ve</strong>n Reliefplastik des östlichen Mittelmeer-raumes, pp. 60-61, cat. n. 167, pl. 39 (8 th c. beg.); IstMitt,<br />
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<br />
c. second half).<br />
38 Ibid., pp. 7-8, figs. 26-27 (6 th c. second half).<br />
39 Cm. 72 hx77 widex9 thick; marble. Published especially by Ulbert, Studien zur dekorati<strong>ve</strong>n Reliefplastik des östlichen<br />
Mittelmeerraumes, pp. 51, 63, cat. n. 12, pl. 35 (8 th century). Ulbert did not know where this slab was found; but we<br />
196