Identity and Christian-Muslim interaction : medieval art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul area Snelders, B.
Citation Snelders, B. (2010, September 1). Identity and Christian-Muslim interaction : medieval art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul area. Peeters, Leuven. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/15917
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Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). 5. Wall Painting: The Church of Mar Giworgis in Qaraqosh 5.1 Introduction As we have seen in Section 2.6 of the present study, a substantial number of medieval wall paintings have survived at Christian sites in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt. In Iraq, on the other hand, until now, Christian wall paintings were either only attested in the written sources, 1 or limited to some minor fragments. During excavations conducted at a monastic site near Takrit, for example, Iraqi archaeologists discovered the painted image of a saint, possibly dating from as early as the ninth century.2 Considering the limited number and rather fragmentary state of wall paintings uncovered in Iraq so far, the mural which has recently come to light in the ruined Syrian Orthodox Church of Mar Giworgis (St George) in Qaraqosh, a small town that lies on the Mosul plain about 29 km southeast of Mosul, is highly significant. The wall painting discovered is the first relatively well preserved example from the area. During rebuilding activities conducted at the site in 2005, a large painting of the Baptism of Christ was revealed underneath a nineteenth century layer of plaster (p. x). Although the iconography of this Baptism painting is generally in accordance with the common composition of the scene, some of the iconographic details are unusual and appear to be unique in Christian art. In the present chapter, an attempt will be made to explain the remarkable iconography and to provide a dating for the painting on the basis of both iconographic and stylistic analysis. To shed further light on the date, it is important to take into account the wider historical and artistic context of Qaraqosh in general and the Church of Mar Giworgis in particular. The analysis of the iconography of the wall painting will be followed by a discussion of its relevance for the Syrian Orthodox community, especially with an eye to any possible identity related matters. Finally, a preliminary survey will be provided of written sources with references to wall paintings in Syrian Orthodox churches in the Mesopotamian region. Before turning to these matters, however, some general remarks should be made. Due to the present political circumstances in Iraq, it has not been possible to study the church and the painting in situ . Inadequate photographic documentation further hampers a thorough analysis. A series of photographs were taken in October 2005, shortly after the nineteenth century layer of plaster was taken from the wall, and were afterwards published on the internet. 3 More detailed photographs were subsequently made by Harrak, who visited the site in the summer of 2008. Although these photographs are useful for a preliminary iconographic study, a comprehensive stylistic analysis is of course only possible if the wall painting is examined in situ . Moreover, at the time of writing, the painting has not yet been cleaned and the dirty