DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27365#0044
32
/COJVOG/L4/WC PROGRAMME
The theme of the "Mother of God as the Church" occupies an important piace in
Byzantine iconography. Unfortunately, it has not yet been the subject of separate
study. Nevertheless the main trend in its evolution is dear. In eariy depictions it was
expressed by a simpie comparison between the images of the Mother of God and the
church, as in the miniatures of the 9th-century Chludov Psalter^. Between the 11th
and 13th centuries the interpretation became more refined and less literal. The
Akhtala frescoes are not the only 13th-century painting where the throne of the
Mother of God is likened to a church building. A vivid example may be found in the
miniature from a Psalter in the Public Library in Leningrad (gr. 269, f. 4)30. There an
arch seems to grow from the back of the throne to culminate in the cupola of a
church. An Italian icon in Washington shows a throne in the form of a many-tiered
building that recalls a semi-circular altar apse3l. The surviving examples permit us to
conclude that it was actually in the 13th century that the "Throne-Church" motif
became widespread. It was a time when iconographic interpretations were becoming
more complex and there was an increasing interest in subjects associated with the
Mother of God in the liturgical context. By stressing the link between the Virgin and
the theme of the Church the author of the Akhtala composition was demonstrating a
knowledge of the latest tendencies in Byzantine iconography.
The garments of the Virgin also reflect this theme, with its emphasis on significant
liturgical elements. Two parallel bands of golden colour decorate the edge of her
maphorion and between them are depicted crosses. The cuffs (cp/ma/iAra) of her
chiton are similarly adorned. This traditional motif for Byzantine liturgical garments
became widespread after the Iconoclast epoch and was frequently met in depictions of
epitrachelions and deacons' orarion. The symbolic meaning is easily understood: the
parallel lines refer to the two natures of Christ and the crosses, to his sacrificial
redemption of mankind.
Probably another element in the garments of the Mother of God is also of liturgical
significance. The edge of her maphorion is decorated with pendants spaced at regular
intervals. Such appendages were sometimes depicted on the lower hem of Byzantine
stoles (omophorions and epitrachelions). An early example are the Holy Bishops of St
Sophia in Constantinople; similar tassels may also be found in the garments of the
holy bishops depicted in Akhtala. From the early Byzantine period onwards, this
iconographic motif is also to be found on the garments of the Mother of God and in
some compositions it helps to distinguish her from other holy women (for example, in
scenes of the "Crucifixion ").
There is no need to prove the liturgical nature of this motif. Its origin and
symbolism, on the other hand, remain open to discussion. In our view, the garments
of the Old Testament high priests provide the source, as in the detailed description of
divine revelation from the book of Exodus (28: 31-5):
29 M.V. Schepkina, KAladowkc; pyaRyr; (Miniatures of the Chiudov Book of Psaims),
Moscow, 1977, f. 79, f. 100 v.
39 See Lazarev, /rfortya, pi. 419.
31 !bid., pi. 438.
/COJVOG/L4/WC PROGRAMME
The theme of the "Mother of God as the Church" occupies an important piace in
Byzantine iconography. Unfortunately, it has not yet been the subject of separate
study. Nevertheless the main trend in its evolution is dear. In eariy depictions it was
expressed by a simpie comparison between the images of the Mother of God and the
church, as in the miniatures of the 9th-century Chludov Psalter^. Between the 11th
and 13th centuries the interpretation became more refined and less literal. The
Akhtala frescoes are not the only 13th-century painting where the throne of the
Mother of God is likened to a church building. A vivid example may be found in the
miniature from a Psalter in the Public Library in Leningrad (gr. 269, f. 4)30. There an
arch seems to grow from the back of the throne to culminate in the cupola of a
church. An Italian icon in Washington shows a throne in the form of a many-tiered
building that recalls a semi-circular altar apse3l. The surviving examples permit us to
conclude that it was actually in the 13th century that the "Throne-Church" motif
became widespread. It was a time when iconographic interpretations were becoming
more complex and there was an increasing interest in subjects associated with the
Mother of God in the liturgical context. By stressing the link between the Virgin and
the theme of the Church the author of the Akhtala composition was demonstrating a
knowledge of the latest tendencies in Byzantine iconography.
The garments of the Virgin also reflect this theme, with its emphasis on significant
liturgical elements. Two parallel bands of golden colour decorate the edge of her
maphorion and between them are depicted crosses. The cuffs (cp/ma/iAra) of her
chiton are similarly adorned. This traditional motif for Byzantine liturgical garments
became widespread after the Iconoclast epoch and was frequently met in depictions of
epitrachelions and deacons' orarion. The symbolic meaning is easily understood: the
parallel lines refer to the two natures of Christ and the crosses, to his sacrificial
redemption of mankind.
Probably another element in the garments of the Mother of God is also of liturgical
significance. The edge of her maphorion is decorated with pendants spaced at regular
intervals. Such appendages were sometimes depicted on the lower hem of Byzantine
stoles (omophorions and epitrachelions). An early example are the Holy Bishops of St
Sophia in Constantinople; similar tassels may also be found in the garments of the
holy bishops depicted in Akhtala. From the early Byzantine period onwards, this
iconographic motif is also to be found on the garments of the Mother of God and in
some compositions it helps to distinguish her from other holy women (for example, in
scenes of the "Crucifixion ").
There is no need to prove the liturgical nature of this motif. Its origin and
symbolism, on the other hand, remain open to discussion. In our view, the garments
of the Old Testament high priests provide the source, as in the detailed description of
divine revelation from the book of Exodus (28: 31-5):
29 M.V. Schepkina, KAladowkc; pyaRyr; (Miniatures of the Chiudov Book of Psaims),
Moscow, 1977, f. 79, f. 100 v.
39 See Lazarev, /rfortya, pi. 419.
31 !bid., pi. 438.