The Wall-Paintings of Saint Constantine at Missochori. New Evidence Concerning Middle Byzantine Nissyros, Greece*

The wall-paintings of Saint Constantine at Missochori. New evidence concerning middle Byzantine Nissyros, Greece* Angeliki Katsioti, Nikolaos Mastrochristos** 4th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Rhodes, Greece UDC 75.052.033(495.86)»11/13» 930.271=14’04 Στους εραστές της Νισύρου DOI 10.2298/ZOG1236065K και στον φύλακα άγγελό της, Оригиналан научни рад Γιώργο Σακελλαρίδη The complex of the churches of Saint Constantine and the Virgin and between the two archangels spreads a frieze Saint Mamas is located at Missochori, close to the capi- of tendrils with palmettes, while on the extrados of the apse tal of the island of Nissyros, Greece. The first church pre- few fragments from a red draped decorative band can still be serves wall-paintings dated to the end of the twelfth cen- seen (Fig. 3). tury, shared donation of two monasteries/churches. The The head of the Christ-child, in the al secco technique, paintings are partly repainted, probably in 1318/1319. probably belongs to a separate, later painting phase. We be- Both the murals and the two inscriptions of the church provide new evidence concerning mediaeval Nissyros. lieve that the poor quality of the plaster from the first phase led to its renovation, probably during the byzantine period. Key words: twelfth century, Byzantine wall-painting, Nis- The painting must have deteriorated due to fungal spread on syros-Greece, inscriptions, 1318/1319. the surface of the rather poor quality plaster, most probably developed because the apse of the church is half-buried on INTRODUCTION the outside, in combination with the high sulphur content in the atmosphere coming from the nearby volcano. All these The church of Saint Constantine1 is located in a ver- factors may have resulted in the extensive destruction of dant slope in the region called Missochori, close to the set- the fresco in the hemicycle, so that today a few fragments tlement of Mandraki, capital of the island of Nissyros. In a only are visible. The space between the throne and the left close and uncertain date, not long after the initial construc- archangel is occupied by a fragmentary inscription in capital tion of the church, a second one, smaller in dimensions was letters, while another miniscule inscription is located in the annexed, probably a chapel dedicated today to Saint Mamas. undecorated surface under the conch and the tendrill motif This has no separate entrance as she shares the same wall, frieze. namely the north, with the church of Saint Constantine thus From the depiction of the Virgin Hodegetria only communicating through a rectangular gateway with the first few faint fragments can be discerned today, in contrast to building. Both churches are single aisled and barrel vaulted the better preserved head and left leg of the Christ and the (Fig. 1), built with rubble masonry and have semicircular apses built within the thick east wall. * We would like to thank our friends and colleagues Anna-Maria Kasdagli, Kalliopi Bairami, Fotini Zervaki, Konstantia Kefala, Ioanna Bi- The church of Saint Constantine still preserves the tha and Prodromos Papanikolaou for the discussions upon the problems of low-height screen while a continuous bench runs along the this study. We also thank our friend-conservator of works of art of the 4th walls of the nave, being interrupted only by the entrance and Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Fotis Sidiropoulos for his observations the doorway of the chapel. The floor of the church is laid concerning the technical features of the paintings. Finally, we are indebted with uneven flagstones. The masonry incorporates numer- and grateful to Mrs. Marica Šuput, the professor of the University of Bel- grade, for the encouragement on publishing the present study. ous ancient and early Christian spolia, and a further number ** [email protected]; [email protected] are stored inside the church (Fig. 2). 1 The church of St. Constantine is mentioned in: S. Kentrēs, Οι The painted decoration is limited to the conch of the εκκλησίες και τα ξωκκλήσια της Νισύρου, Νισυριακά 8 (1982) 79; I. apse of Saint Constantine. Apparently, for obscure reasons, Volanakēs, Βυζαντινές και μεταβυζαντινές τοιχογραφίες της Νισύρου, the walls of the nave and the chapel of Saint Mamas were Νισυριακά 11 (1990) 104–105; A. Katsiōtē, Th. Archontopoulos, Το never painted, although they had received a lime plaster παρεκκλήσιο της οικογένειας των Αρμενόπουλων στη Ρόδο του 12ου αιώνα, in: Ρόδος. 2.400 χρόνια. Η πόλη της Ρόδου από την ίδρυσή της μέχρι την coating. The frescoes of the apse were first mentioned in an κατάληψη της από τους Τούρκους (1523) II, Athens 2000, 381–382. Also v. earlier article discussing the painting of the twelfth century A. Katsiōtē, H. Papavasileiou, Η παλαιοχριστιανική και βυζαντινή Νίσυρος, in the Dodecanese.2 We strongly believe, though, that the in: Νίσυρος. Το νησί του Πολυβώτη, Επτά ημέρες - ένθετο Καθημερινής church and its murals deserve further study in conjunction (Athens 22. 7. 2001) 6; A. Katsioti, From the Early Christian Period to with the accompanying inscriptions. Modern Times, in: Islands off the Beaten Track. An Archaeological Jour- ney to the Greek Islands of Kastellorizo, Symi, Chalki, Tilos and Nisyros The conch of the apse is decorated with the figure of (catalogue), Athens 2011, 320–321; S. Orsarēs, Οι τοιχογραφημένοι ναοί the Virgin Enthroned, of the Hodegetria type, flanked by της Νισύρου (unpublished essay), Thessaloniki 2012, 30–32. two archangels dressed in imperial costumes. Underneath 2 Katsiōtē, Archontopoulos, op. cit., 381–382. 65 ЗОГРАФ 36 (2012) [65–74] Fig. 1. Nissyros, Churches of Saints Constantine and Mamas. View from the southwest two flanking archangels. The archangel on the right side of the Virgin is wearing an ankle-length orange-red divitision with sewn bands visible on the left upper arm, the hem decorated with a series of asymmetrical, square and arched panels (Fig. 4). The panelled loros draped around the torso over this is encrusted with pearls and the squares are filled with X-shaped patterns in alternating red and white. A combination of both is used for the epimanikon. On his feet the angel is wearing pointed red shoes also encrusted with pearls. In his right hand he holds and orb painted with a cross mounted on two steps accompanied by the arcronyms Ι(ησούς) Χ(ριστός) Υ(ιος) Θ(εού)3 and in his left a scepter. Fig. 2. Nissyros, Saint Constantine. Inside view of the church The second archangel, in a better state of preservation than the first, broadly shares the iconographic features men- The depiction of the archangels dressed in imperial ap- tioned above (Fig. 5). He also has an elongated figure; the parel and the loros costume and holding the imperial insignia, long curly hair covering the ears is tied at the nape of the namely the orb and the scepter-labarum, has a long tradition neck. The orb in his right hand shows only the cross, be- in art since the early Christian era. Their iconography, either cause the letters may have flaked off. His apparel preserves imitating the imperial one, or influenced by the personifica- the scroll embroidery on the broad superhumeral which is tions of Rome – Constantinople or the Victories on the con- edged round the neck with a double row of pearls, just like sul tablets, has already been the subject of a thorough study,9 the edge of his cuff. The design of his panelled loros varies along with the symbolic significance this tradition acquired slightly and its underside, showing on the right arm, is deco- during the Middle Byzantine period, particularly from the 10 rated with a scroll motif and edged with a pattern in pearls. A ninth century onward. In the Nissyros church the painter repeated S motif is prominent on the divitision. copies his prototypes and distorts them; the way the loros is draped round the torso and shoulders and the complete misunderstanding of the underside of the richly decorated THE ICONOGRAPHY loros on the hand holding the orb in the angel to the Virgin’s The depiction of the Virgin Hodegetria escorted by the 3 For the acronym v. Ch. Walter, The Iconography of Constantine the Great, Emperor and Saint, Leiden 2006, 163, with references. archangels in the conch of the apse is a very popular sub- 4 4 Ch. Ihm, Die Programme der christlichen Apsismalerei vom vier- ject during the middle byzantine period; this is borne out ten Jahrhundert bis zur Mitte des achten Jahrhunderts, Wiesbaden 1960. from the mural decoration of the bema, where it prevailed 5 This theme was popular throughout the Byzantine Empire; v., re- throughout the Byzantine Empire and beyond its frontiers.5 spectively, for Cappadocia, C. Jolivet-Lévy, Les églises byzantines de Cap- Although few examples have survived from the mural deco- padoce. Le programme iconographique de l’abside et de ses abords, Paris 1991, 14, 65–66, 92, 93, 116, 131, 201, 256, 287, 291, 301, 303, 332–333, ration of that period in the Dodecanese, it is believed that and, for the Greek mainland, S. Pelekanidēs, Άγιοι Ανάργυροι Καστοριάς, this subject would have been one of the most favoured. Two in: S. Pelekanidēs, M. Chatzēdakēs, Καστοριά, Athens 1984, 30, fig. 7. rather contemporary examples must be mentioned here, the 6 H. Kollias, Οι τοιχογραφίες, in: Οι Θησαυροί της Μονής Πάτμου, conch decoration in the chapel of the Virgin at Patmos,6 ed. Α. Δ. Κομίνης, Athens 1988, fig. 11, 12. 7 Katsiōtē, Archontopoulos, op. cit., 380, pl. 155a. which has been dated between 1176 and the end of the 8 For the Dodecanese island group v. Th. Archontopoulos, Ο ναός twelfth century, and the decoration in the cave church of the της Αγίας Αικατερίνης στην πόλη της Ρόδου και η ζωγραφική του ύστερου Virgin at Evlos7 near Lindos, dated to the late twelfth – early μεσαίωνα στα Δωδεκάνησα (1309–1453), Athens 2010, 83–84.

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