DOI Heft:
No. 4
DOI Artikel:Ratkowska, Paulina: An East Christian diptych with the Heortological Cycle
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17160#0113
shallowly drawing its surface with short touches of chisel. Broad folds of garments, seemingly wo-
ven of wool, diagonally go across the bodies, when shown en trois-ąuarts or nearly in profile. These
folds are sometimes curvilinear, performing then their proper task — the accentuation of the
tiurd dimension of body. Single curves stress the roundness of the smoothened and flattened unmo-
<lelled surface of arms, hips and legs, which allows for reading the ultimately logical folding
of draperies. The spatiality of the figures is nevertheless moderated by oblong notches on the
combs of the broadest folds and by sharp incisions into the mass of the relief used in order to
show concavities of drapery. Thanks to these incisions, freauently grouped parallelly, and to
the zigzag pattern of the edges the decorative factor inereases, which goes well with the abstract
tendency of the composition. In a similar way the movements of the figures act, sińce they
are strictly parallel to the surface of the relief. Only a slight pushing apart of Jesus' feet in the
Baptism visually broadens the narrow strip of the ground, on which the figures stand.
The disposition of the ornamental motives, inserted into certain compartments of the left
wing, was laid down by bipartite architectural frame. The acanthus leaf, protruding downward
from the upper edge of compartment, marks with its pointed end the axis of symmetry. The crow-
nings resemble the tables of canons, especially those of the Xth century in Hamilton 246, but have
also sculptural connections, discussed below, which are, in our opinion, more persuasive. A stra-
tification of these parts of the relisf into few shallow, parallel to the background, layers (acan-
thus leaves, archivaults, grillage) enriches decorative effects, while the maximal filling of di-
"visions with ornamental motives deprives the architecture of its functional sense, reducing
it to the role of a geometrical frame. It reinforces the abstract ąuality of the composition. On
the other hand, this „dosage" of the chiaroscuro impressions enhances the gradation of space
between the surface of the relief and the background, with the result of some deepening of
the latter, that is to say, of further accentuation of the protuberancy. The coloristic effects
are noticeable also on the reverses, where the concavities of the border contrast with flatly
caryed ornament with slightly grooved petals, and the cross is accentuated by the oblicme inci-
sion of the surface of its arms, similar to that of Coptic monuments of sculpture15.
The remote reminiscences of antiriue art discernible in the corporeality of the figures, in types
of heads and in position of arms of the Apostles in the loop of the pallium as well as in the dra-
pery style of the diptych, its geometrized two-dimensional composition and ornamentalized
architecture, and the peculiar residual colorism of the protuberant relief betray Asiatic, Oriental
sources of its sculptural style. The diptych seems to be a product of the same art, „qui au Xe
siecle prolongeait certaines pratinues de Fart syrien ou tout au moins reproduisait, en les modi-
fiant aueląuefois des modeles archaiaues d'origine syrienne", which gave birth to Greek Asia-
tic miniatures such as those of Atheniensis 21110.
Remarkable decorative auality of the Warsaw piece, claritas of its composition, the striking
„realism" resulting in abundance and precision of details, and the carver's true mastery in-
duce the modern beholder — despite the advice of the inscription — to admire first of all the
art. This art was not, of course, an individual achievement of the carver, but sprang of the well-
-established artistic tradition of a workshop. To tracę and to determine this tradition il is
necessary to define the place of the Warsaw diptych among preserved Byzantine ivorics.
Compared against the ample materiał, gathered in the publication of Goldschmidt and Weitz-
mann17, our piece intrigues with its originality. Only two works show some similarities to the
15. See e.g. No 130 in Koptische Kunst, Christentum am Nil, Ziirich, 1954, p. 55 and No 98, 99, 100 and 111 in O. Wulff,
Altchristliche und Mittełalterliche Byzantinisćhe and Italienische Bildwerke, I, Berlin 1909, p. 42,45.
16. A. Grabar, op. cit.t p. 260.
17. A. Goldschmidt — K. Weitzmann, Die Byzantinischen Elfenbeinskulpturen des X. — XIII. Jahrhunderts, II, Rdiefs,
Berlin, 1934.
99
ven of wool, diagonally go across the bodies, when shown en trois-ąuarts or nearly in profile. These
folds are sometimes curvilinear, performing then their proper task — the accentuation of the
tiurd dimension of body. Single curves stress the roundness of the smoothened and flattened unmo-
<lelled surface of arms, hips and legs, which allows for reading the ultimately logical folding
of draperies. The spatiality of the figures is nevertheless moderated by oblong notches on the
combs of the broadest folds and by sharp incisions into the mass of the relief used in order to
show concavities of drapery. Thanks to these incisions, freauently grouped parallelly, and to
the zigzag pattern of the edges the decorative factor inereases, which goes well with the abstract
tendency of the composition. In a similar way the movements of the figures act, sińce they
are strictly parallel to the surface of the relief. Only a slight pushing apart of Jesus' feet in the
Baptism visually broadens the narrow strip of the ground, on which the figures stand.
The disposition of the ornamental motives, inserted into certain compartments of the left
wing, was laid down by bipartite architectural frame. The acanthus leaf, protruding downward
from the upper edge of compartment, marks with its pointed end the axis of symmetry. The crow-
nings resemble the tables of canons, especially those of the Xth century in Hamilton 246, but have
also sculptural connections, discussed below, which are, in our opinion, more persuasive. A stra-
tification of these parts of the relisf into few shallow, parallel to the background, layers (acan-
thus leaves, archivaults, grillage) enriches decorative effects, while the maximal filling of di-
"visions with ornamental motives deprives the architecture of its functional sense, reducing
it to the role of a geometrical frame. It reinforces the abstract ąuality of the composition. On
the other hand, this „dosage" of the chiaroscuro impressions enhances the gradation of space
between the surface of the relief and the background, with the result of some deepening of
the latter, that is to say, of further accentuation of the protuberancy. The coloristic effects
are noticeable also on the reverses, where the concavities of the border contrast with flatly
caryed ornament with slightly grooved petals, and the cross is accentuated by the oblicme inci-
sion of the surface of its arms, similar to that of Coptic monuments of sculpture15.
The remote reminiscences of antiriue art discernible in the corporeality of the figures, in types
of heads and in position of arms of the Apostles in the loop of the pallium as well as in the dra-
pery style of the diptych, its geometrized two-dimensional composition and ornamentalized
architecture, and the peculiar residual colorism of the protuberant relief betray Asiatic, Oriental
sources of its sculptural style. The diptych seems to be a product of the same art, „qui au Xe
siecle prolongeait certaines pratinues de Fart syrien ou tout au moins reproduisait, en les modi-
fiant aueląuefois des modeles archaiaues d'origine syrienne", which gave birth to Greek Asia-
tic miniatures such as those of Atheniensis 21110.
Remarkable decorative auality of the Warsaw piece, claritas of its composition, the striking
„realism" resulting in abundance and precision of details, and the carver's true mastery in-
duce the modern beholder — despite the advice of the inscription — to admire first of all the
art. This art was not, of course, an individual achievement of the carver, but sprang of the well-
-established artistic tradition of a workshop. To tracę and to determine this tradition il is
necessary to define the place of the Warsaw diptych among preserved Byzantine ivorics.
Compared against the ample materiał, gathered in the publication of Goldschmidt and Weitz-
mann17, our piece intrigues with its originality. Only two works show some similarities to the
15. See e.g. No 130 in Koptische Kunst, Christentum am Nil, Ziirich, 1954, p. 55 and No 98, 99, 100 and 111 in O. Wulff,
Altchristliche und Mittełalterliche Byzantinisćhe and Italienische Bildwerke, I, Berlin 1909, p. 42,45.
16. A. Grabar, op. cit.t p. 260.
17. A. Goldschmidt — K. Weitzmann, Die Byzantinischen Elfenbeinskulpturen des X. — XIII. Jahrhunderts, II, Rdiefs,
Berlin, 1934.
99