DOI article:
Łaptaś, Magdalena: A sphere, an orb or a disc?: the object held by the archangels in the Faras Cathedral wall paintings
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18946#0027
called patera/ which greatly departs from the above-mentioned terminology.
One can ask what the cause of this divergence in terminology is and whether
some other symbol of this object is hidden therein.
It should first be noted that two similar-sounding words, patera and patena,
have in all likelihood been confused. According to the Dictionary of Art Terms
(in Polish) patera is a “shallow, circular bowl with a short handle or stem; in
ancient Greece and Rome, it was richly decorated, made of clay or metal, and
served as a sacrificial dish; in modern times made principally of glass (since
the 16th century) and porcelain (since the 18lh century) and used as a decorative
dish or for serving fruit”.1 * * * * 6 * 8 On the other hand, patena is defined as “a shallow,
circular, liturgical dish used during mass as a container for the Host and for
covering the chalice, made normally of gold-plated silver”. If, correcting this
small mistake, we suppose that the archangels in the Faras paintings are
holding patena in their hands, this means that they fulfilled a liturgical
function in the iconographie program of the Cathedral. It seems however that
the problem will require more detailed analysis.
First of all, it must be remembered that entirely different opinions exist
among the researchers engaged in trying to clarify the function of the object
the archangels are holding. One of the basic studies of literature is the
work done by Percy Ernst Schramm on the subject of attributes such as the
sphere-globe.6 He writes the history of this attribute from ancient times up to
the beginning of the modern era. In ancient Greece, the shape of the sphere,
as an ideal body, corresponded to the heavens surrounding the surface of the
Earth. The sphere was associated as well with God, being the beginning and
the end/ As an attribute of power, the sphere-globe appeared on Roman coins,
held in the hand of the emperor.
In the fourth century A. D., after Christianity became the official religion
of the Roman Empire, the globe was enhanced by the addition of the cross.
Sometimes the figure of Winged Victory accompanied images of the emperor
holding a sphere. Emperors Gratian and Valentiman II were portrayed on the
reverse of Gratian coins holding a sphere, which symbolises the sharing of
power. Hovering in the background and somewhat higher is Victory, spreading
her wings above the heads of the two emperors [Fig. 1]. Over time Victory
was replaced with the image of an angel. The obverse of coins issued during
the reign of Justinian I portray a bust of the emperor, whose upraised right
hand is holding a sphere crowned with a cross [Fig. 2], The reverse of the same
com bears the standing figure of a winged angel holding the very same object
1 Cf for example, K. Michalowski, Faras, malowidta scienne w zbiorach Muzeum Narodowego
w Warszawie, Warszawa 1974, pp. 94, 97; the term patera has been translated into English as
“plate”, cf. idem, Faras. Wall Paintings in the National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw 1974,
pp. 92, 95.
6 Slownik terminologiczny sztuk piçknych (Dictionary of Art Terms), Warszawa 1996, p. 305.
7 Ibid.
8 E E. Schramm, op. cit.
8 Ibid., p. 8.
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One can ask what the cause of this divergence in terminology is and whether
some other symbol of this object is hidden therein.
It should first be noted that two similar-sounding words, patera and patena,
have in all likelihood been confused. According to the Dictionary of Art Terms
(in Polish) patera is a “shallow, circular bowl with a short handle or stem; in
ancient Greece and Rome, it was richly decorated, made of clay or metal, and
served as a sacrificial dish; in modern times made principally of glass (since
the 16th century) and porcelain (since the 18lh century) and used as a decorative
dish or for serving fruit”.1 * * * * 6 * 8 On the other hand, patena is defined as “a shallow,
circular, liturgical dish used during mass as a container for the Host and for
covering the chalice, made normally of gold-plated silver”. If, correcting this
small mistake, we suppose that the archangels in the Faras paintings are
holding patena in their hands, this means that they fulfilled a liturgical
function in the iconographie program of the Cathedral. It seems however that
the problem will require more detailed analysis.
First of all, it must be remembered that entirely different opinions exist
among the researchers engaged in trying to clarify the function of the object
the archangels are holding. One of the basic studies of literature is the
work done by Percy Ernst Schramm on the subject of attributes such as the
sphere-globe.6 He writes the history of this attribute from ancient times up to
the beginning of the modern era. In ancient Greece, the shape of the sphere,
as an ideal body, corresponded to the heavens surrounding the surface of the
Earth. The sphere was associated as well with God, being the beginning and
the end/ As an attribute of power, the sphere-globe appeared on Roman coins,
held in the hand of the emperor.
In the fourth century A. D., after Christianity became the official religion
of the Roman Empire, the globe was enhanced by the addition of the cross.
Sometimes the figure of Winged Victory accompanied images of the emperor
holding a sphere. Emperors Gratian and Valentiman II were portrayed on the
reverse of Gratian coins holding a sphere, which symbolises the sharing of
power. Hovering in the background and somewhat higher is Victory, spreading
her wings above the heads of the two emperors [Fig. 1]. Over time Victory
was replaced with the image of an angel. The obverse of coins issued during
the reign of Justinian I portray a bust of the emperor, whose upraised right
hand is holding a sphere crowned with a cross [Fig. 2], The reverse of the same
com bears the standing figure of a winged angel holding the very same object
1 Cf for example, K. Michalowski, Faras, malowidta scienne w zbiorach Muzeum Narodowego
w Warszawie, Warszawa 1974, pp. 94, 97; the term patera has been translated into English as
“plate”, cf. idem, Faras. Wall Paintings in the National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw 1974,
pp. 92, 95.
6 Slownik terminologiczny sztuk piçknych (Dictionary of Art Terms), Warszawa 1996, p. 305.
7 Ibid.
8 E E. Schramm, op. cit.
8 Ibid., p. 8.
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