DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43337#0385
382 I THE WALL PAINTINGS OF AKHTALA MONASTERY
78 Stornajolo C. Miniature delle Omilie
de Giacomo Monaco (Cod.Vat.gr. 1162).
Roma, 1910, tav. 29.
79 PG/ed. Migne.t. 96, col.689.
80 See Lafontaine-Dosogne J. Les repre-
sentations de la Nativite du Christ dans
L'art de I’Orient Chretien // Miscellanea
codicologia P. Masai dicata. Gand, 1979,
pp. 11-21.
fresco would seem to be a visual embodiment of precisely this theo-
logical text, with its specific comparison to the seven-branched cande-
labra. It is easy to trace the symbolic connection between the lamp in
the «Rejection of the Offerings» and the depiction of the young Mary
in the «Presentation in the Temple» (located on the east slope of the
vault) where she is being fed by an angel in the sanctuary. The young
Mary was also portrayed in a special semi-circular niche at the peak
of the stepped sanctuary. These iconographic motifs are related to one
another as the mystic prototype and historical image that tell us of the
Virgins time in the Temple. In this connection we may mention the
12th-century miniature of the «Presentation in the Temple» which de-
picts the figure of a servant hanging lighted lamps undoubtedly sym-
bolising the Virgin in the temple78.
The «Rejection of the Offerings», another miniature from the same
Vatican manuscript of the Homilies of James of Coccinobaphos, pro-
vides further confirmation that this is the correct interpretation of the
Akhtala lamp. This work offers one of the closest iconographic par-
allels to the composition of the Akhtala fresco. In this miniature the
lamp on the steps of the altar is replaced by a stream of light. This
other symbol of the Mother of God was also used in a hymn: «Rejoice,
о light, a source poured out by God, filled with all kinds of holiness
and from which flows the holy of holies, purifying the world from all
uncleanliness»79. The surviving examples allow us to conclude that
the depiction of the symbol of the Virgin above the altar in scenes of
the «Rejection of the Offerings» was quite traditional. The form of the
symbol was not strictly defined but the main content of this icono-
graphic motif remained unchanged.
The symbol of the Mother of God as a lamp makes the disposition of
the scenes of this cycle in Akhtala more comprehensible. The Old Tes-
tament sacrifice is abandoned in the «Rejection of the Offerings»: the
doors are locked and the lamp only prefigures
the future existence of the Virgin within the
Temple walls. In the following scenes of the
«Benediction of the Priests» and the «Presenta-
tion in the Temple» the Old Testament priests
accept the offering of Joachim and Anne. Here
begins the story of the true sacrifice and thus
of the Christian liturgy as well. The image of
78 Stornajolo C. Miniature delle Omilie
de Giacomo Monaco (Cod.Vat.gr. 1162).
Roma, 1910, tav. 29.
79 PG/ed. Migne.t. 96, col.689.
80 See Lafontaine-Dosogne J. Les repre-
sentations de la Nativite du Christ dans
L'art de I’Orient Chretien // Miscellanea
codicologia P. Masai dicata. Gand, 1979,
pp. 11-21.
fresco would seem to be a visual embodiment of precisely this theo-
logical text, with its specific comparison to the seven-branched cande-
labra. It is easy to trace the symbolic connection between the lamp in
the «Rejection of the Offerings» and the depiction of the young Mary
in the «Presentation in the Temple» (located on the east slope of the
vault) where she is being fed by an angel in the sanctuary. The young
Mary was also portrayed in a special semi-circular niche at the peak
of the stepped sanctuary. These iconographic motifs are related to one
another as the mystic prototype and historical image that tell us of the
Virgins time in the Temple. In this connection we may mention the
12th-century miniature of the «Presentation in the Temple» which de-
picts the figure of a servant hanging lighted lamps undoubtedly sym-
bolising the Virgin in the temple78.
The «Rejection of the Offerings», another miniature from the same
Vatican manuscript of the Homilies of James of Coccinobaphos, pro-
vides further confirmation that this is the correct interpretation of the
Akhtala lamp. This work offers one of the closest iconographic par-
allels to the composition of the Akhtala fresco. In this miniature the
lamp on the steps of the altar is replaced by a stream of light. This
other symbol of the Mother of God was also used in a hymn: «Rejoice,
о light, a source poured out by God, filled with all kinds of holiness
and from which flows the holy of holies, purifying the world from all
uncleanliness»79. The surviving examples allow us to conclude that
the depiction of the symbol of the Virgin above the altar in scenes of
the «Rejection of the Offerings» was quite traditional. The form of the
symbol was not strictly defined but the main content of this icono-
graphic motif remained unchanged.
The symbol of the Mother of God as a lamp makes the disposition of
the scenes of this cycle in Akhtala more comprehensible. The Old Tes-
tament sacrifice is abandoned in the «Rejection of the Offerings»: the
doors are locked and the lamp only prefigures
the future existence of the Virgin within the
Temple walls. In the following scenes of the
«Benediction of the Priests» and the «Presenta-
tion in the Temple» the Old Testament priests
accept the offering of Joachim and Anne. Here
begins the story of the true sacrifice and thus
of the Christian liturgy as well. The image of