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The first part of the paper discusses the written testimonies about the history of the cult of the holy fathers of Sinai and Raithou at St. Catherine’s monastery and the visual represen tations of these saints in East Christian art. The Sinai icons in question are then analysed in two ways. First, the choice of figures of the saints in the upper registers of the icons is considered. On the other hand, the iconography of the forty Sinai and Raithou martyrs is studied in greater detail. It is shown that representations of the celebrated holy monks were used to paint their “portraits”. A shorter version of the paper was read at the round table “Issues in Sinaitic iconography” (convenors: M. Panagiotidou, M. Marković, N. Fyssas and D. Mourelatos) held as part of the 23rd International Congress of Byzantine studies (Belgrade, 2016): cf. Proceeding of the 23rd International Congress of Byzantine Studies Belgrade, 22–27 August 2016. Round tables, ed. B. Krsmanović, Lj. Milanović, Belgrade 2016, 1341–1347 (http://www.byzinstsasa.rs/srp/ uploaded/PDF%20izdanja/round%20tables.pdf). At this point I would like to express my special gratitude to Julia Gearhart, Director of the Visual Resources and Curator of the Image and Historic Collections of the Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University, who generously helped me with obtaining the photos of the icons from the Monastery of Saint Catherine.

The paper deals with the architectural sculpture of the twelfth century Church of the Holy Virgin at the Studenica Monastery. Its parallels with Italian Romanesque sculpture have long been identified in academic literature, and attention has been drawn to the influence of classical sculpture, mostly in terms of style, which has been attributed to the impact of Byzantine art. The paper demonstrates that all the motifs present in Studenica?s sculptural decoration originate from Romanesque sculpture in the Italian regions of Emilia Romagna and Apulia. Most of them rely on ancient Roman models and the motif known as peopled or inhabited scrolls is dominant among them.

The paper publishes an icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, a Royal Door, and two parts of an epistyle with the Deesis scene. This group of works, which once decorated the iconostasis in the Church of Saint George Mouzeviki (c. 1550-1560) in Kastoria, belongs to the creative opus of the painter Anthony (zographos Antonios), known for his work at Mount Athos (1537-1552). The paper also argues that the frescoes in the Church of St. George, preserved in fragments and in a poor state of repair, can also be attributed to the same artist.

This paper examines Greek-Orthodox ecclesiastical embroidery in Ottoman Constantinople after 1453 until the emergence of the Constantinopolitan School of embroidery. We are well informed about the artistic production that flourished between the last decades of the seventeenth century and midnineteenth century via preserved artifacts and inscriptions bearing the embroiderers? signature. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the production between the fall of Byzantium and the last decades of the seventeenth century is lacking. In this paper, our aim is to evaluate whether the Byzantine artistic tradition continued to live in the Greek Constantinopolitan production. The iconographical and technical analysis of different artifacts will give the answer to this question revealing at the same time the foundation basis of the embroidery of that School.

The article focuses on the artistic transfer of the early printed books from the Cetinje printing shop, between the Mediterranean and the Danube region in the late medieval and early modern period. The master-printer Makarije made these books under the influence of the Italian, German and Slavonic printers operating in Venice. He later traveled throughout Southeastern Europe, spreading their influence to the Wallachian principality. The paper analyzes and compares the decorative elements in these books in order to understand their origin. The migration and the reception of the artistic elements of Makarije?s incunabula allow us to discover artistic dissemination routes.

The paper addresses a recently discovered rock-hewn chapel in the Davitgareji Desert, which has preserved late twelfth-early thirteenth century wall paintings dominated by a cycle of St Demetrios. The cycle, which finds no parallel in Georgia, is remarkable in many regards and raises important questions as to the chronology and geographical spread of such cycles, the provenance of unknown iconographical redactions, the history of the relics of St Demetrios, the function of the chapel dedicated to the saint, and the interaction between Georgian and Byzantine artistic and cultural traditions, in general.

This paper examines church decoration during the Transitional period (ca. 650-850), focusing on unpublished elements from the Fatih Camii (Hagios Stephanos?) in Zeytinba?? (Trilye). Located on the south shore of the Sea of Marmara, the church may be securely dated to the early years of the ninth century. Among the variety of decorative details uncovered during an unauthorized restoration in 1997 are more than a dozen fragments of opus sectile. The variety of these panels expands the corpus of geometric patterns known from the period; in addition, opus sectile seems to have been used both on the walls and the floor.

In previous research the human figures represented in the initials on fol. 26v and 120r of the Miroslav Gospel have been interpreted as personifications of the Year (Annus). However, this view can be challenged based on their iconographic characteristics, the Gospel verses that follow, the place of these verses in liturgical practice and their comparison with relevant visual specimens. The paper proposes a new identification of the shown human figures. The figure in the initial on fol. 26v can be interpreted as an allusion to the Feast of Pentecost, while the image in the initial on fol. 120r could arguably represent the Old Testament patriarch Noah.

The paper discusses unknown frescoes in the narthex of the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery dating from c. 1332 and found during the conservation-restoration works undertaken in 1931. They were discovered above the younger vaults (the cycle of the Passion of Christ) and in the large arched openings on the western side of the narthex, which were walled up in the sixteenth century (cycle of the True Cross, busts and figures of saints). During works on the presentation of the monument in 1932, these frescoes were once again concealed without having been subjected to scholarly research. However, the photographs taken during the conservation works do allow them to be studied. The results of their research have significantly altered the picture of the original wall paintings in the narthex. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst and Grant no. 177032: Tradicija, inovacija i identitet u vizantijskom svetu]

This paper presents the investigation of a scene on the second layer of paintings done around 800 in the Virgin Church of the Monastery of the Syrians (Deir al-Surian) in the Scetis Desert or the Nitrian Desert (Wadi Al-Natrun). In it one can see Saint Colluthos performing a surgical operation on an eye. Also presented are writings dedicated to the saint and his cult and images of him. One can recognise influences of pagan traditions and Christian iconographic patterns and details of contemporary everyday life in the scene. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177036]

The subject of this paper is the staurotheke which is now kept in the treasury of the Dominican monastery in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It originally belonged to the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Ras, Serbia, to which it had been donated jointly by the Serbian King Stefan Uroš II Milutin and Bishop Gregory II of Raška (Rascia). The staurotheke in the shape of a double-armed cross is engraved with illuminating donor inscriptions on the front and back of the handle and a poetical epigram on the sides of the cross. Based on the palaeographical features of the inscriptions and the style of gold work, it has been established that the staurotheke was thoroughly renovated in the mid-sixteenth century but that the content of the inscriptions was faithfully copied from the original. The meaning and function of the staurotheke are discussed in the broader context of the cult of the True Cross in medieval Serbia. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177003: Medieval heritage of the Balkans: institutions and culture]

Church dignitaries were often represented as ktetors in Serbian painting of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, primarily in wall paintings and on icons. The first part of this paper discusses twelve ktetor representations of Serbian patriarchs and metropolitans. By analyzing the ktetoric projects of Orthodox Serbs within the Ottoman Empire, the historical framework and description of every portrait, it explores the questions regarding not only the self-referentiality of the ktetors from the highest circles of the clergy under the Patriarchate of Pec, the patterns and ways they wanted to be represented and remembered, but also the ideological and program context as well. Finally, this two-part study attempts to examine the question of individual and collective identity, imagery and ideas constructing the visual culture of clerical ktetorship in Serbian Post-Byzantine painting.

The paper discusses the appearance of the synthronon, the position of the locus inferior (αρχιερατικός, or δεσποτικός θρόνος, the episcopal throne in the nave, donje mesto) of the Metropolitan of Požega at the Orahovica Monastery, fresco paintings inspired by the purpose of the throne in front of the sanctuary, and the views it incorporated. The synthronon is in fact a series of niches. The locus inferior has not survived; based on the fresco program, the author places it between the southwestern pillar and the southern wall. The fresco decoration of the locus inferior - one of the largest in Serbian art - is both centered on the topoi of the throne program and unique. Christ and the apostles from the apostolic Deisis draw on the teaching about Christ as the eternal leader of the liturgical community and the apostolic roots of the church and the office of bishop; by emphasizing the presence of St. Andronicus and St. Titus beside the seat, the program incorporates the tradition of the apostolic lineage of the church among the Slavs and in the Metropolitanate of Požega. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]

In 1464 Pope Pius II donated a precious relic to the cathedral of Siena, his hometown-the right forearm and hand of St John the Baptist. On that occasion the appropriate document was drawn up-a donation charter. This paper offers a transcription of the Latin text of the charter (furnished with critical apparatus) and its translations into Serbian and English.

The paper discusses a group of twelve unpublished Russian icons depicting the Great Feasts which make up a selfcontained heortological-liturgical cycle and are kept at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in the Judean Desert. These icons can be dated to the period 1548-1608, which saw the establishment of dynamic ties between the Palestinian monks of Slavic origin (primarily Serbs) and Russia.

Woodcut illustrations published in the Octoechos (Tone 5-8) in Cetinje in 1494 have long been the focus of researchers because of their exquisite workmanship. However, due to the lack of historical data, the questions regarding their sources and authors remain unsolved. Their complex style and composition indicate a dual origin: intertwining of the traditional Orthodox Serbian iconography with the new Venetian Renaissance motifs. This paper points to the city of Dubrovnik as a possible place of origin of some elements of illustrations, and seeks their authors among the local painters and goldsmiths. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177001: Predstave identiteta u umetnosti i verbalno-vizuelnoj kulturi novog doba]

Explanation of the purpose of early Christian martyria as places of collective memory is a complex of many different circumstances and meanings and must be observed in accordance. First of all, martyria are architectural monuments dedicated to the martyrs, historical evidences of the martyrial death of those who suffered for Christ - this is a simple explanation of their real meaning. Yet, their social role is even more important than their historical role - martyria continuously transferred an idea of Salvation among the people, becoming thus the places of collective memory. But what happen when the martyr?s relics are ?usurped? by one wealthy family? This paper aim to shed some light on what could have been the real purpose of one such example, the martyrium attached to the basilica on the necropolis in Jagodin Mala in Naissus (modern Nis).

The paper deals with the chronology of the construction of the Studenica monastery and the historical context of Stefan Nemanja’s founding act. The study focuses on the data provided by early hagiographies of Stefan Nemanja, particularly on the information that the Serbian Grand Župan issued a chrysobull for the monastery, as well as the reference to his title of samodržac (autokrator). The emergence of Constantinopolitan influences during the construction of the monastery Studenica is associated with the political relations between the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos and Stefan Nemanja. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177032]

The themes in the sanctuary decoration at Markov Manastir (Christ Emmanuel, Virgin Orans, Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles), whose peculiar iconographic elements reveal the mysteries of the Holy Trinity and the archpriesthood of Christ in the liturgical and theological context of the fourteenth century, are discussed in this paper. The remains of the text in the leitourgikon held by Christ the Archpriest have been re-examined. It seems plausible to assume that the inscription or a part of it referred to the opening dialogue of the anaphora. The iconographic peculiarities of individual items carried in the Great Entrance procession, modelled according to the structure of the archieratical Divine liturgy, have been reconsidered. It has been established that the way in which the large aer was carried, and its place in the procession escorting the Eucharistic gifts - which was very close to the holy offerings - followed the iconographic tradition of the Heavenly Liturgy in the dome, while the evidence for its shape and size can be found in a somewhat later liturgical source - the Patriarchal liturgical Diataxis of Dimitrios Gemistos. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177003: Medieval heritage of the Balkans: institutions and culture]

Based on the results of the archaeological research of the oldest horizon of the katholikon of Žica Monastery, this paper brings the hypothesis that the initial model for its spatial arrangement was the main church of the Archbishopric of Kalocsa. Documented by the historical arguments that give the indirect validation, this hypothesis is considered from the perspective of cultural interactions which left a mark on the artistic creations of liminal geographical and historical zones of the Christian world during the twelfth and thirteenth century. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177015: Hriscanska kultura na Balkanu u srednjem veku: Vizantijsko carstvo, Srbi i Bugari od IX do XV veka i br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]

The paper deals with the origins of the portable altar - the Byzantine antimension. Altaria portatilia were mentioned in literary sources since the seventh-eighth centuries. The sources also evidence their indispensable role related to liturgical rites, especially during military campaigns. The earliest known Byzantine antimension dates from the twelfth century. It is part of the Guelph Treasure, held by the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin. Originally, portable altars were mainly made of wood but over time, textile fabrics prevailed over this hard material. Their iconographic decoration has from the beginnings been related to their liturgical function.

Along with the usual inscription that contains the title of the scene, depictions of the Dormition of Holy Virgin in the art of the Palaiologan period abound in texts inscribed on open books carried by holy bishops or scrolls held by the hymnographers and prophets included in the composition. Inscriptions can also be found in the episodes that sometimes accompany the central representation of the Virgin Mary's death. This paper seeks to compile the most typical examples of such inscriptions, identify their hymnographic and liturgical sources and offer iconographic interpretations.

In this paper, the monastery of Prisklabetza (Πρισκλάβητζα) in Prilep, mentioned as the endowment of Michael Glabas Tarchaneiotes in the shortened version of the History by George Pachymeres, is identified with the monastery of Treskavac near Prilep. This conclusion is supported by the similarity between the names of the two monasteries, the composition with a ktetor in the porch of the main entrance to Treskavac, and the nature of construction works carried out in the monastery between 1280 and 1320. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]

The paper is focused on the issue of the original content and structure of a heavily damaged iconographic whole in the narthex of the Mileseva monastery church. A careful examination of the surviving material and contemporary analogies seeks to elucidate the unknowns and dilemmas surrounding the adopted solutions. The analysis of the content of the frescoes on the side walls should clarify the role of the Last Supper and the Washing of the Feet within the small group of scenes whose underlying theme was the Passion of Christ. The findings concerning the relationship between these scenes and a seemingly inexplicable combination of solutions on the west wall corroborate the assumption that the whole was conceived as a system of counterparts. Some observations substantiate the recently advanced hypothesis that the now gone east wall of the narthex featured, above the door to the naos, a Crucifixion scene as an integral and especially emphasized component of the cycle. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br.177003: Srednjovekovno nasleđe Balkana: institucije i kultura]

The paper analyzes the iconography of the images on the seals and coins of the Byzantine Doukas dynasty (1059-1078). It points to the iconographic motifs the Doukas emperors introduced or reintroduced into Byzantine sphragistics and numismatics. What is especially highlighted is the power of the Byzantine imperial ideology of the divine origin of emperorship which played a prominent role in the iconography of the imperial seals and coins of the Doukas dynasty. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177015: Hriscanska kultura na Balkanu u srednjem veku: Vizantijsko carstvo, Srbi i Bugari od IX do XV veka]

The article deals with the issue of physical appearance of the saintly images in Byzantine painting and the manners of its conception. In that regard, the paper offers categorization of the portraiture in which different saints receive distinctive aesthetic code appropriate to their type of ?attractiveness?.

The late antique literary biography of Alexander the Great known as Pseudo-Callisthenes’ Alexander Romance was remarkably popular reading both in Byzantium and in the West in the middle ages. This literary work was also translated into Serbian Slavonic. Two extensively illustrated manuscripts of the “Serbian Alexandride”, and one decorated with only a few drawings are known. The paper discusses the iconographic features of the oldest of the known manuscripts, the so-called Belgrade Alexandride, which is commonly dated to the second half or the end of the fourteenth century. The research is particularly focused on the costumes of the depicted figures. The findings of the research suggest that the iconographic solutions of the miniatures are of Byzantine origin and that earlier views suggesting West-European influences on their shaping are not founded. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177032: Tradicija, inovacija i identitet u vizantijskom svetu]

This paper presents the most important conclusions regarding the architecture and wall paintings of the New Metropolis (Church of St. Stephen) in Nesebar, adopted during the recent restoration works in this church, which were financed by the Leventis Foundation.

This paper deals with the bearings of the structure preserved in the floor beside the southwestern support of the dome in the Studenica katholikon, and on the dado rail of that pilaster. From the appearance of the bearings, their position in the space, and the writer Theodosius’ account describing the place where the grand župan Stefan Nemanjic stood during the liturgy, the author concludes that this refers to the bearings of the ruler’s throne, which had a loggia-like form. A series of features indicates that the installation was prepared before the painting of the main church and then installed afterwards. The text on the scroll of Saint Sabas the Sanctified testifies that it influenced the concept of the neighbouring fresco-ornament. Written sources (from the thirteenth and fourteenth century) maintain that the idea in the fresco painter’s mind was the role of the principle of ascetism in medieval images of the ideal monarch. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]

This paper presents the iconographic program of frescoes in the Church of the Annunciation in the monastery of Gradac, in which there were a number of hitherto unrecognized sections that have now been identified. It publishes the pre served inscriptions on the frescoes, as well as the texts on the scrolls of the hierarchs in the altar space. Finally, it presents observations about the typical program features of the wall painting in the Gradac church, which have not been previously considered in research. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177036: Srpska srednjovekovna umetnost i njen evropski kontekst]

The paper deals with architecture of the one of the most significant churches in the Prilep region that was built in the years around 1280 as a foundation of John, the megas chartoularious of the West. The main focus is on the typological concept of the church, and its’ unique combination of a two-domed and two-storeyed structure. In the survey the particular elements of the church structure are elaborated with a reference to the most striking structures that bear such elements in the architecture of the Byzantine sphere of influence.

The paper deals with the members of the groups of painters engaged in painting the upper bays of the narthex (second half of the fourth decade of the fourteenth century) and the porch (before 1346) of St. Sophia in Ohrid, as well as the work of the members of those groups of painters in later monuments in Ohrid, in Ljuboten and the Monastery of King Marko.

This paper, as the second in a series with the same name, represents a continuaton of attempts at studying the destroyed parts of the wall painting of the Ascension church in Žiča on the basis of old research documentation, primarily drawings and photographs.

The paper deals with the wall paintings in the Church of St. Nicholas tes Rhodias near Arta. Many scenes and individual figures are identified for the first time, and the majority of inscriptions on the frescoes are deciphered. A significant part of the text consists of a detailed analysis of the iconographic program, with particular emphasis on the iconography and style of certain depictions, which are seldom encountered in Byzantine wall painting, or possess specific features. The findings suggest that the decoration should be dated in the second half of the thirteenth century.

The paper deals with the iconographical type of saint Theodore Stratelates and saint Theodor Teron facing each other. The author focuses on its appearance, its flourishing, as well as its diffusion, which is seen mainly in the area of Macedonia and in the Balkans.

This paper analyses one of the most representative monuments of Byzantine painting in Calabria. It is the church in the town of Stilo, known as Cattolica. It is believed to date from the last quarter of the tenth or the beginning of the eleventh century. After a brief historiographical and architectural analysis of the building, the author considers the chronological and stratigraphical problems of the frescoes preserved inside the church. In this process, he pays particular attention to the Byzantine layers of fresco painting that were done from the end of the tenth to the end of the thirteenth century. An in-depth analysis of the frescoes from the first phase of decoration from the end of the tenth or the beginning of the eleventh century has produced valuable results that could lead to collecting fresh data about possible artistic contacts and the routes along which the models traveled between southern Italy and the countries of the Byzantine cultural circle.

The paper deals with the early Christian site found in the village of Doljani, near the ancient city of Duklja (Doclea). The findings are commented on and drawings are attached. The proximity of the city of Duklja is taken into account, and the possible influence of Ravenna during its Byzantine period.

The paper deals with a cycle depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin, in the middle zone of the narthex of the Church of the Annunciation in the Monastery of Gradac. The identification of the scenes is possible owing to the preserved fragments of the wall-painting and by comparing them to those in similar monuments. Special attention is devoted to the iconographic analysis of the cycle, and numerous analogies are highlighted between the Gradac compositions and the relevant scenes in important contemporary and slightly later Byzantine churches.

The Missal MR 166 from the Metropolitana Library, Zagreb, written in Beneventana script and dating back to the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, has long been considered a Dalmatian product, similar to the coeval illuminated manuscript in Beneventana script preserved in the Trogir Cathedral and originating in Zadar. Nevertheless, later studies - specifically based on the textual features of the manuscript - showed that it is undoubtedly a Southern Italian product, and a significant testimony of the uninterrupted book circulation that existed on both sides of the Adriatic for three centuries roughly from the eleventh to the thirteenth, thus influencing the activity of the Benedictine scriptoria on the Dalmatian coast. On the basis of the study that makes it possible to define more closely the group of manuscripts that make up the 'corpus of the illuminated manuscripts from Dalmatia', the paper aims to support the Southern Italian origin of the Missal by means of a critical analysis of the theories put forward so far about the 'typically Dalmatian' features of its Initialornamentik.

The paper is dealing with two unpublished icons from the Byzantine museum of Kastoria: Royal door with the Annunciation (nr. 434; ca. 1400) and St. Nicholas with scenes of his Life (nr. 39; the end of 14th century).

The paper analyses the creative approach in the configuration of compositional schemes depicting the Passion scenes in several painted ensembles from the 14th century in terms of the stylistic nuances of their execution. Starting from the interaction of structural components of the pictures, it gives insight into the artistic qualities of the scenic arrangement of the represented motifs.