Apse Mosaics of the Virgin Mary in Early Byzantine Cyprus
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APSE MOSAICS OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN EARLY BYZANTINE CYPRUS by Brooke L. Shilling Vol. I A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland October, 2013 © 2013 Brooke L. Shilling All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The dissertation examines three early Christian apse mosaics preserved in medieval churches on the island of Cyprus. The mosaics of the Panagia Kanakariá at Lythrankomi, the Panagia Angeloktistos at Kiti, and the Panagia tes Kyras at Livadia portray the Virgin Mary as a central figure, representing a significant development after the Council of Ephesos in 431, when she was confirmed as Theotokos (God-bearer). Similar depictions of the Virgin or Virgin and Child would occupy the apse consistently in middle and late Byzantine programs. Despite the notable subject matter and the rare survival of wall and vault mosaics in the Eastern Mediterranean, the group has never been the subject of an extensive inquiry. Part one of the dissertation determines the dates of the apse mosaics using conventional art historical methods and evaluates the original production, decline, and preservation of the mosaics. Part two analyzes and contextualizes the mosaics more fully by concentrating on a set of themes: sacred space and liturgy, metaphor, and intercession. Through these themes, the dissertation explores the prominence of the Virgin Mary in the apse mosaics of Cyprus and investigates the multiple functions of apse decoration in the early Christian period. Prevailing theological interpretations of early Christian apse decoration emphasize the importance of the Virgin for Christology, but overlook other essential functions elaborated here. Additionally, early Byzantine homiletic, hymnographic, hagiographic, and liturgical texts are used to illuminate various aspects of the mosaics and issues of their contemporary reception. Advisor: Henry Maguire Second Reader: Herbert L. Kessler ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In researching and writing the dissertation, I have benefited from the help and support of many individuals and institutions. I am especially grateful to my advisor, Henry Maguire, for taking me on as his last student, for helping to formulate and organize the project, and for giving generously of his time and expertise. My second reader, Herbert L. Kessler, has also been a tremendous influence in my years at Johns Hopkins. His most recent comments and criticisms will make the dissertation a much better book. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee for carefully reading the dissertation and offering valuable suggestions: Nino Zchomelidse, Alan Shapiro, and Richard Jasnow. For her enduring interest and crucial observations at home and abroad, I would like to thank Eunice Dauterman Maguire. The Department of the History of Art and Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University provided four years of funding for the Ph.D. The Sadie and Louis Roth Fellowship and the Adolf Katzenellenbogen Memorial Prize allowed me to travel to conferences, archives, and libraries in London and Athens in the summers of 2006 and 2007, and enabled my participation in the Medieval Greek Summer Session at the Gennadius Library in Athens in 2009. Among the staff at Johns Hopkins, I would like to thank Sally Hauf, Don Juedes, Ann Woodward, and more recently Leslie Bean for help with practical matters. At the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, the people of Eisenhower Express and Interlibrary Loan made it possible to work anywhere in the world. iii The Samuel H. Kress Foundation generously funded a two-year institutional fellowship at the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute in Nicosia from 2009 to 2011. At CAARI, I would like to thank the former director, Tom Davis, the administrator, Vathoulla Moustoukki, and the librarian, Evi Karyda, for making important introductions and supporting the Byzantine library during my tenure. The many students and scholars who came through CAARI provided good company and helpful advice, especially Jill Bierly, Cathy Carigiet, Agata Dobosz, Hedvig Enegren, Sherry Fox, Jody Gordon, Paul Keen, Angelos Papadopoulos, Elizabeth Ridder, Richard Rutherford, Matthew Spigelman, and Ella Young. While in Cyprus, the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus granted access to and permission to photograph various sites. Above all, I would like to thank the Director, Maria Hadjicosti and the Curator of Ancient Monuments, Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou. In the Photographic Archive and Publications Department, I am indebted to Maria Hadjinicolaou, Sofia Hadjizorzi, and Efthymios Shaftacolas for supplying scans of photographs that are available nowhere else. Also at the Department of Antiquities, Fryni Hadjichristophi and Eleni Procopiou shared information about unpublished and ongoing excavations. At the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation, I offer special thanks to the Director, Ioannis Eliades, for providing photographs of the repatriated Kanakariá mosaics and permission to handle, inspect, and photograph the smaller mosaic fragments. At the University of Cyprus, I would like to thank Demetrios Michaelides, who sorted through Megaw’s personal papers on my behalf before they were available for consultation; Maria Parani, who invited me to give a paper at the interdepartmental colloquium in Byzantine Studies; and Panagiotis Agapitos, who made valuable suggestions on that iv occasion. Also in Cyprus, I would like to thank Nikolas Bakirtzis for his hospitality and advice, and the many caretakers, whose names I do not know, for providing special access to local museums, churches, and archaeological sites. Archival and photographic collections outside of Cyprus also made essential contributions to the dissertation. Current and former staff members at the Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC supplied digital copies of high-quality color transparencies and allowed me to examine the Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks Fieldwork Records and Papers. At the Dumbarton Oaks library, I would like to thank Deb Brown. Nicholas Orchard facilitated access to Hawkins’ slides at the Slide Library of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and Amalia Kakissis facilitated access to Megaw’s papers and photographs at the British School at Athens. I am especially grateful to Alexander Alexakis, Stratis Papaioannou, Jeffrey Rosenberg, and Michael Sullivan for teaching me ancient and medieval Greek. Despina Christodoulou helped me with modern Greek. Ingela Nilsson and Charles Stewart invited me to give papers in Sweden and Cyprus respectively. At Johns Hopkins, I am grateful for the friendship, encouragement, and insights of my fellow graduate students, especially Doron Bauer, Laura Blom, Rachel Danford, Andrea Olsen Lam, Jamie Magruder, Ruth Noyes, Riccardo Pizzinato, and Meredith Raucher. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues Rebecca Dubay and Naomi Pitamber, the latter in particular for engaging a mukhtar in Turkish at a most critical time. For timely advice and support, I am grateful to Richard Anderson, Leslie Brubaker, Annemarie Weyl Carr, v Madeline Caviness, Robin Cormack, Maria Georgopoulou, John Hayes, and Judith Herrin. On a personal note, I would like to thank my family, especially my parents, Michael and Renée Shilling, and also my brothers and sister-in-law, Hale, Reid, and Meredith, for a lifetime of sustenance and confidence, even as they must have wondered what I was doing all this time. Along with my family, my friends Monica West Porter and Sara Rothleder provided welcome distractions from the dissertation. Finally, I am forever indebted to my husband, Paul Stephenson, who found me in a basement and helped me climb to a much better room on the twelfth floor. I would never have undertaken the dissertation without him, nor would it have taken the same form without his intellectual engagement and expert advice. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page . i Abstract . ii Acknowledgments . iii Table of Contents . vii List of Figures . ix Introduction . 1 Part I: The Apse Mosaics . 8 Chapter 1: The Apse Mosaic at Lythrankomi . 9 1.1 History and Naming of the Site 1.2 Architectural Context 1.3 Wall Paintings 1.4 Description of the Mosaic 1.5 Early Photographs 1.6 Conservation 1.7 Materials and Technique 1.8 Evidence for Dating a. Apostle Border b. Intermediate and Outer Borders c. Landscape d. Lyre-Backed Throne e. Vertical Inscriptions f. Conclusion Chapter 2: The Apse Mosaic at Kiti . 85 2.1 History of the Site 2.2 Architectural Context 2.3 Description of the Mosaic 2.4 Early Photographs 2.5 Restoration 2.6 Materials and Technique 2.7 Evidence for Dating a. Inhabited Acanthus Border b. Outer and Lower Borders c. Light Effects: Radiating Cross and Translucent Orbs d. Archangels’ Inscriptions e. Η ΑΓΙΑ ΜΑΡΙΑ f. Conclusion vii Chapter 3: The Apse Mosaic at Livadia . 160 3.1 History of the Site 3.2 Architectural Context 3.3 Description of the Mosaic 3.4 Early Photographs and Conservation 3.5 Materials and Technique 3.6 Evidence for Dating a. The Mid-Seventh Century as Terminus Ante Quem b. Rising Scale Pattern c. The Orant Virgin d. Conclusion Part I: Conclusion . 204 Part II: The Apse Mosaics in Context . 209 Chapter 4: Sacred Space and Liturgy . 210 4.1 The Apse 4.2 The Real Presence of the Virgin: The Projecting Footstool and the Mandorla 4.3 Angels with Peacock-Feathered Wings Chapter 5: Metaphor . 255 5.1 The Fountain of Paradise 5.2 Metaphors of the