Viewing Inscriptions in the Late Antique and Medieval World

282 Pages·2015·18.73 MB·English

by  Antony Eastmond

VIEWING INSCRIPTIONS IN THE LATE ANTIQUE AND
MEDIEVAL WORLD
Inscriptionsconveymeaningnotjustbytheircontentsbutalsobyother
means,suchaschoiceofscript,location,scale,spatialorganisation,letter-
form, legibility and clarity. The essays in this book consider these visual
qualities of inscriptions, ranging across the Mediterranean and the Near
East from Spain to Iran and beyond, including Norman Sicily, Islamic
NorthAfrica,Byzantium,medievalItaly,GeorgiaandArmenia.Although
most essays focus on late antiquity and the Middle Ages, they also look
backatAchaemenidIranandforwardtoMughalIndia.Topicsdiscussed
includerealandpseudo-writing,multilingualinscriptions,graffiti,writing
disguisedasimagesandimagesdisguisedaswords.Frompublictextsset
up on mountainsides or on church and madrasa walls to intimate crafts-
men’ssignaturesbarelyvisibleontheundersidesofpreciousobjects,the
inscriptionsdiscussedinthisvolumerevealtheirmeaningsastextualand
visualdevices.
AntonyEastmondisAGLeventisReaderintheHistoryofByzantineArt
at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. He has written
extensivelyontheartandcultureofmedievalGeorgiaanditsrelationswith
Byzantium. He also works on Byzantine ivories. He is the author of The
GloryofByzantiumandEarlyChristendom(2013),aswellasArtandIdentity
inThirteenth-CenturyByzantium:HagiaSophiaandtheEmpireofTrebizond
(2008)andRoyalImageryinMedievalGeorgia(1998).Hehaspublishedarti-
clesintheArtBulletin,ArtHistory,DumbartonOaksPapersandSpeculum.
HerecentlyheldaLeverhulmeMajorResearchFellowshipduringwhich
heworkedonastudyofculturalinteractionineasternAnatoliaontheeve
oftheMongolinvasions.

Viewing Inscriptions in
the Late Antique and
Medieval World
Editedby
Antony Eastmond
CourtauldInstituteofArt,UniversityofLondon
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
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(cid:2)C CambridgeUniversityPress2015
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permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Viewinginscriptionsinthelateantiqueandmedievalworld/editedbyAntonyEastmond
(CourtauldInstituteofArt,UniversityofLondon).
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-09241-9(hardback)
1.Inscriptions–History–To1500. 2.Visualcommunication–History–To1500.
3.Civilization,Ancient–Sources. 4.Civilization,Medieval–Sources. 5.Mediterranean
Region–Antiquities. 6.MiddleEast–Antiquities. I.Eastmond,Antony,1966–
cn77.v54 2015
(cid:3)
929.5–dc23 2014032617
isbn978-1-107-09241-9Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurlsfor
externalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublicationanddoesnotguaranteethat
anycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
(cid:2)
CONTENTS
Illustrations pagevii
Contributors xiii
Acknowledgements xvii
Introduction:ViewingInscriptions 1
AntonyEastmond
one. Inscriptions,RoyalSpacesandIranianIdentity:
EpigraphicPracticesinPersiaandtheAncientIranianWorld 10
MatthewP.Canepa
two. PrayersonSite:TheMaterialityofDevotionalGraffiti
andtheProductionofEarlyChristianSacredSpace 36
AnnMarieYasin
three. ErasureandMemory:AghlabidandFatimid
InscriptionsinNorthAfrica 61
JonathanM.Bloom
four. TextualIcons:ViewingInscriptionsinMedieval
Georgia 76
AntonyEastmond
five. Pseudo-Arabic‘Inscriptions’andthePilgrim’sPath
atHosiosLoukas 99
AliciaWalker
six. ArabicInscriptionsintheCappellaPalatina:
Performativity,Audience,LegibilityandIllegibility 124
JeremyJohns
seven. IntercessionandSuccession,Enlightenmentand
Reflection:TheInscriptionalandDecorativeProgrammeof
theQaratayMadrasa,Konya 148
ScottRedford
v
vi Contents
eight. RememberingFernando:MultilingualisminMedieval
Iberia 170
TomNickson
nine. DisplayingtheWord:WordsasVisualSignsinthe
ArmenianArchitecturalDecorationoftheMonasteryof
Noravank‘(14thcentury) 187
IoannaRapti
ten. WritteninStone:CivicMemoryandMonumental
WritingintheCathedralofSanLorenzoinGenoa 205
StefaniaGerevini
eleven. Place,SpaceandStyle:Craftsmen’sSignaturesin
MedievalIslamicArt 230
SheilaS.Blair
Afterword:Re-ViewingInscriptions 249
AntonyEastmond
Index 257
(cid:2)
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. InscriptionsandrockreliefofDariusI(522–486BCE),
Bisotun,Iran. page15
2. ViewoftheGateofAllLands,Persepolis,Iran.Createdby
XerxesI(486–465BCE). 18
3. DetailoftheOldPersianinscription(center,abovethewing)
flankedbytheElamiteandBabylonianversionsonthe
interiorofthenorthernwalloftheGateofAllLands,
Persepolis,Iran. 19
4. CultFoundationofAntiochusIII,Laodicea-in-Media. 21
ʿ
5. TheKa ba-yeZardosht(foreground)withapartialviewof
thesitesofShabuhrI’sParthianandGreekinscriptions
(lowercoursesofmasonry)withanAchaemenidtomband
Sasanianreliefinthebackground.Naqsh-eRostam,Iran. 27
ʿ
6. SasanianstuccopanelfromUmmaz-Za atir(nearCtesiphon)
withPahlaviletterspossiblyformingamonogramofMiddle
Persianabzud(‘increased’).Museumfu¨rIslamischeKunst,
Berlin. 29
7. JubileeDoors,St.JohnLateran,Rome. 37
8. InsitusectionofgraffitiattheMemoriaApostolorumtriclia. 42
9. Philae,TempleofIsis/ChurchofSt.Stephen,southwallof
hypostylehall,westsideofentrance,withinsc.nos.205–14. 43
10. Graffiti-coveredplasterfragmentsfromtheMemoria
Apostolorumtriclia. 45
11. a.GraffitiwallattheshrineofSt.Felix,Cimitile-Nola.
b.Drawingofgraffitionleftportionofgraffitiwallatthe
shrineofSt.Felix,Cimitile-Nola. 47
12. Resafa,BasilicaoftheHolyCross,detailofgraffitiwall
fragmentBinsitu. 49
13. ReconstructiondrawingoftheinterioroftheCryptofthe
PopesinthecatacombofCallixtus,Rome. 50
14. ReconstructiondrawingoftheentranceoftheCryptofthe
PopesinthecatacombofCallixtus,Rome. 51
vii
viii Illustrations
15. Resafa,BasilicaoftheHolyCross,planwithlocationof
graffitiwallandmartyriumindicated. 53
16. Carvedstoneplaquesetintheeastfac¸adeoftheGreat
MosqueofSfax,recordingtherestorationofthemosquein
378H/988CE. 63
17. CarvedmarbleslabtotheleftofthemihrabintheGreat
MosqueofKairouan. 65
18. Kairouan,GreatMosque,Qubbatal-Bahu,interior. 67
19. Sousse,GreatMosque,replacementinscriptionoverportal. 69
20. Mahdia,GreatMosque,portalshowingemptyentablature. 70
21. InscribedmarbleplaquefoundintheZawiyatal-Gharyaniyya
atKairouan.Raqqada,MuseumofIslamicArt. 71
22. Kumurdocathedral(Javakheti,Georgia).Eastfac¸ade,964. 77
23. Kumurdocathedral(Javakheti,Georgia).Southporch,main
tympanum.Inscriptionsnos.1&2,964. 80
24. Kumurdocathedral(Javakheti,Georgia).Southporch,main
tympanum.Inscriptionsnos.1&2,964. 81
25. Ishkhanicathedral(Tao-Klarjeti,nowinTurkey).Oratory
chapel,northdoor.InscriptionofGurgen,kingofKartli,
994–1008. 83
26. Parkhalicathedral(Tao-Klarjeti;nowinTurkey).South
fac¸ade,inscriptionatarcadelevel,c.970. 86
27. Kumurdocathedral(Javakheti,Georgia).Southporch,
Festivalinscriptions,964toearlyeleventhcentury. 90
28. Kumurdocathedral(Javakheti,Georgia).Southporch,
Festivalinscriptions,964toearlyeleventhcentury. 91
29. IconofStSymeontheyoungercommissionedbyAntoni,
bishopofIshkhani,c.1015. 93
30. Viewofthesouthwalloftheeastendofthenorthchurch
showingcloisonne´ brickswithpseudo-Arabicpatterns,
MonasteryofHosiosLoukas,Byzantine,ca.961,Phokis,
Greece. 103
31. Detailofthestringcourseintheexteriorapsewallofthenorth
churchshowingcarvedpseudo-Arabicpatterns,Monasteryof
HosiosLoukas,Byzantine,marble,ca.961,Phokis,Greece. 105
32. Reconstructiondrawingofthetemplonscreenofthe
tenth-centurynorthchurch,MonasteryofHosiosLoukas,
showingpseudo-Arabicmarblecarving. 107
33. Generalviewofthebemaandapseofthecryptinthe
katholikon(southchurch),MonasteryofHosiosLoukas,first
halfoftheeleventhcentury. 111
34. Detailofthepseudo-Arabicpatterninthenorthimpostblock
flankingthebemaofthecryptinthekatholikon(south
church),MonasteryofHosiosLoukas,fresco,1040s. 113