Middle Byzantine Aesthetics Of Power And The Incomparability Of Islamic Art: The Architectural Ekphraseis Of Nikolaos Mesarites
The Palace Revolt of John Komnenos by Nikolaos Mesarites, an author of the middle Byzantine period , contains a passage that briefly describes an Islamic-style building, the Mouchroutas, which was part of the imperial palace complex in Constantinoples. Scholars typically treat the passage as a descriptive document upon which to base hypothetical reconstructions of the Mouchroutas. While the archaeological potentials of the ekphrasis are unusually rich, a focus on these aspects of the text has obscured other possible interpretations, in particular its significance as a record of the Byzantine reception of Islamic art. The building marks an intriguing instance of artistic emulation in the midst of a predominantly adversarial political relationship. The kiosk tiles are executed in mināʾī, a highly refined overglaze technique of polychrome painting more commonly found in ceramic vessels. Keywords: Byzantine aesthetics; ekphrasis; Islamic art; John Komnenos; Mouchroutas; Nikolaos Mesarites
Edinburgh Research Explorer Brick Muqarnas on Rum Saljuq buildings
Although the majority of architectural muqarnas compositions constructed during the R ū m Saljuq period in Anatolia are in stone, there is a small and poorly understood corpus of brick muqarnas to be found in central and eastern Anatolia. This paper focuses on the earliest examples, dating from the last quarter of the sixth / twelfth century to the end of the first quarter of the seventh/ thirteenth century. The aim is to document the surviving examples as well as trace their connection to each other and their Iranian ante-cedents. The corpus of brick muqarnas is spread across an array of structural types, including minarets, tombs, a palace and a hospital. The use of brick muqarnas can be seen on both brick and
The Ivory Scepter of Leo VI: A Statement of Post-Iconodastic Imperial Ideology
The Byzantine emperor's claim to divine rule was reinforced through public ceremonial, and the regalia with which he adorned himself for these occasions were a vital part of the image of imperial authority. A unique item of the regalia is preserved in the ivory scepter top that originally belonged to the Emperor Leo VI (886–912) (Figs. 1–2).1 The conjunction of images and inscriptions carved on the scepter provides an unusual key to the intellectual process underlying the object and enables us to reconstruct fairly precisely the scepter's function in the context of public ceremonial. These issues are critical in relation to this object, but they have thus far been ignored by those who have discussed the scepter finial.2