Early Medieval Figure Sculpture from Northeast Turkey

Some Early Medieval Figure Sculpture from North-East Turkey
Author(s): David Winfield

Source: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 31 (1968), pp. 33-72
Published by: The Warburg Institute
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/750635
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SOME EARLY MEDIEVAL FIGURE SCULPTURE FROM
NORTH-EAST TURKEY*
By David Winfield
The sculptures which are the subject of this essay come from a lit
region, and it may perhaps be of help to the reader to introd
with a very brief account of their historical setting.
The eruption and spread of Moslem power throughout the seve
eighth centuries is well known for its determining influence on the h
the Mediterranean world. Less noticed, but no less momentous for
in question, was the spreading of that same power northw
the Caucasus, where an old established Georgian Monarchy cen
Tiflis was broken up and superseded by an Arab Emirate in the mi
of the seventh century. In the resulting reorganization of princip
province of Tao on the south western flanks of the Caucasus emer
ninth century as the dominant Georgian political and cultural cent
by the Iberian branch of the Bagratid family (fig. I). Their territor
over the lower valley of the river Qoruh together with its tributary v
far south as the passes into the highlands of the Anatolian platea
capital was established at Ardanug, which became an active centre
merce of enough importance to gain mention in the De Administrando
From the ninth century onwards, the Bagratids extended their ter
the east and north east until they were powerful enough to defeat
invaders of the eleventh century, and re-establish themselves in th
capital of Tiflis in the course of the twelfth century.'
The Editors wish to acknowledge a necessarily the newest names, but the ones
generous grant from the Marjory Wardrop most likely to be found on a map. In the text
Fund towards the expenses of publishingI have used transliterations of the names
this article. given by Takaishvili and other Russian or
*The following account confines itself toGeorgian travellers.
figural sculpture and is part of a larger The following abbreviations are used in
survey of the monuments of Tao which thethe footnotes to this article:
author hopes to complete under the auspices Baltrusaitis: J. Baltrusaitis, Etudes sur l'art
of the Marjory Wardrop Board for Georgianmidilval en Giorgie et en Armenie, Paris 1929.
Studies at Oxford. The churches mentioned Der Nersessian, Aght'amar: Sirarpie Der
are now all in use as mosques and I am Nersessian, Aght'amar, Cambridge, Mass.
grateful to the Office of the Evkaf, which isI965-
responsible for religious building in Turkey, Goldschmidt-Weitzmann: A. Goldschmidt
for giving me a permit to facilitate my work.
and K. Weitzmann, Die Byzantinische Elfen-
I should also like to acknowledge the cour-beinskulpturen des x.-xiii. Jdts., Berlin 1934-
teous help extended to me by many local Grabar, Sculptures: A. Grabar, Sculptures
officials in the vilayets of Erzurum and Art-Byzantines de Constantinople, Paris 1963.
vin, and the hospitality of villagers who often Takaishvili: E. Takaishvili, Arheologiches-
fed and housed us in our wanderings. kaia Kspeditsia, 1917-go v Juznije provintsii
In north-eastern Turkey, where place Gruzii, Tiflis 1952.
names have frequently changed in the past, 1 For a comprehensive historical and
geographical description of the area see
and are in process of change at the present
time, it is difficult to decide on a satisfactory
N. Marr, Drevnik pojezdki v Savieti'u i Klard-
and consistent nomenclature. In headings zetij,
I (Teksty i Razyskanija po Armjano-
have used the generally known Turkish
Gruzinskoj Filologii vii), St. Petersburg 1911 ;
names with Turkish spelling. These are not
C. Toumanoff, Studies in Christian Caucasian
33
34 DAVID WINFIELD
0 50so 100 miles TIFLI
8/26WK LSEZ BAT

Pqrt& + e
Piz&+
Op'za+
A~f~V~i
AVINa+ ARDAHAN
Dolishan RDAHAN
RIZE ARDA U?
TRABZON PaThal +- +Niakom
YUSUFELI +Ish&n Vank
D6rttkilseK
KARS
OLTU
OskVank+ YEREVAN
UMU?ANE
BAY/BU (Igra .
KE LKIT
j et~
,ulihr,16
Fig. I. Map of North-Eastern Turkey and Souther
Tao was of importance to the Byzantines in

when they were warring to re-establish and ho
Arab and Persian invaders, and they made
friendship of the Bagratids by giving them
Regular contact between Tao and Byzantium
religious field since the Georgian church, un
and it came under the jurisdiction of the Pa
religious and political contact is worthy of em
ness and lack of close knowledge of a region
historic judgements about it. In the case
centuries, it must be remembered that the pro
tium, the centre of civilization, than was t
successor kingdoms.
The art of Tao has been little studied because the monuments lie in an area
frequently disputed in the past between Russia and Turkey, and the travelle
who wishes to reach churches there must still be prepared for some rough
mountain walks or rides. Plans, drawings, and photographs of some of the
churches appear in Materials for the Archaeology of the Caucasus,2 and there is
one more ambitious publication of six of the churches by Takaishvili.3 This
History, Georgetown 1963, especially ch.et5,les dglises aux confins de l'Atabegat, Paris 1966,
PP. 435-99, The Armeno-Georgian Marchlands;has a comprehensive list of churches and a
id., 'Iberia on the eve of Bagratid rule', map.
Museon, lxv, 1952; id., 'The Bagratids of 2 Uvarov, Materialia po arheologii Kavkaza,
Iberia from the 8th to I Ith centuries', Moscow, vol. iii-iv, I893-94.
Museon, lxxiv, 1961; K. Salia, 'La Tao- 3 E. Takaishvili, Areheologicheskaia Kspe-
ditsia, 1917-go v jujnije provintsii Gruzii,
Klardjethie et ses monastbres', Bedi-Karthlisa,
xi-xii, 1961; xiii-xiv, 1962; I. Zdanevitch,Tiflis 1952.
L'itineraire Giorgien de Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo
SCULPTURE FROM NORTH-EAST TURKEY 35
book, the result of a long expedition made during the year

fortunately not published until 1952, and while it is a valuab
contains some good plans and photographs, it suffers from that
cision to which any account of field material delayed for so long
inevitably be subject.
The present essay is intended as a means of making availa
some important and inaccessible sculpture, and such iconogra
I have cited are intended as introductory material for the stu
tures and not as a definitive placing of them vis-a-vis other Chr
of the period. The earliest known figural carving from Tao
figure of Ashot the Great who died in 830.4 It came from th
church of Opiza now Baicilar Kytii, which stood up a north
valley of the river Imerhevi (fig. I). The church is now in a
but the sculptures of the donation group were removed by t
the end of the First World War and are now preserved in Ti
attempt no description of these figures since I have not see
show Ashot presenting his church to Christ through the int
prophet David.
DOLISHANE
The earliest figure carving now surviving in the region is on th

Dolishane, which stands high on the slopes of the Imerhevi
1500 feet above the river (fig. I). It can be reached by taking t
Artvin road at the bridge where the new road continues down
The old road climbs gently for about a mile, when a steep track
up the cliffs to the right. The village of Dolishane, now Hama
about an hour's walk up this track, and the church stands
(P1. 4a). The founder is carved holding his church in his hands
east face of the drum of the cupola (P1. 4b). The inscription
church identifies him as King Sumbat and reads 'Christ ex
Sumbat'. He is King Sumbat the First who reigned from 937 to
the Byzantine title of Curopalates from 954 until his death.7 T
has unfortunately destroyed much of the stylistic detail of this ca
the head only a small lower portion survives, showing that the fac
frontally and that he wore a short beard indicated by straight
The body, also, is carved in a frontal position, in contrast to th
indicate that he is walking forwards and should be seen fro
position. The only surviving details of his clothing are the na
4 C. Toumanoff, Studies in Christian

pl. 18. Cau-
casian History, pp. 328-29. 7 M. F. Brosset, Rapports sur un voyage dans
5 The cupola was still standing in la1962,
Georgiesee
et dans 1'Arminie, Second rapport,
N. et M. Thierry, 'Notes d'un voyage en
St. Petersburg I849, p. 182. N. Marr,
Georgie Turque', Bedi Karthlisa, viii-ix,
Dnevnik pojezdki v Savsetiju i Klardzeti'v,
p. I83ff.
Paris, I960, p. 28. When I visited the churchC. Toumanoff, The Bagratids of
Iberia,pulled
in I965 the cupola had recently been pp. 33-34. I am indebted to Prince
down because it was unsafe. Toumanoff for checking and translating the
6 Photo in R. Schmerling, Maliye formii v
inscriptions for me.
Arhitekture srednevekovoji Gruzii, Tiflis, 1962,
36 DAVID WINFIELD
linear grooves indicating folds,

within alternative folds indicati
hand, holding the church, is not
and it is clear that the sculpto
connection between the king an
holding the model. Of the church
but the model seems to have app
church than does the king to a h
The origin for the combined fron
found in Sassanian and more dist
convention adopted into Byzantin
a long history. A notable feature
block of stone has been cut away
figure and his model. Both figure
surface in very high relief, but by
is only cursorily executed in sh
interest is that Sumbat is alone a
a figure to whom he might be pre
the masonry of the drum that fur
The remaining figures at Dolis
transept, (P1. 5a) are the Arch
inscriptions, and the head and shou
frame. Above the window runs t
in longevity',7 and the figures and
for the window. On the left sid
(P1. 5b). He holds the imperial in
costume which usually clothes the f
because the sculptor was unawar
be wearing a tunic of some heav
punch-holes; the only decoration
at an angle slightly off from the
grooved fold-lines which more or
around the shoulders and elbow
downwards. The cloak has a simi
of this hem are indicated in a tria
Ornamental cuffs are indicated a
The wings are outstretched, with t
lines following the curves of the
detail surviving is a part of one eye
hole mark as for the jewelling of
gular plaque the decoration of w
To the right of the window is th
insignia. The figure apparently
except that there is a disc-like ob
right-hand side. Next to him are
circular frame, but all stylistic d
for some simple grooved lines in
outline of the circular frame.
While the simple low relief technique used to articulate the su
sculptures is paralleled by that used in the representation o
figures around the south transept window do not stand out
the flat surface as does the figure of Sumbat. Both of the Ar
are too damaged for comparison about the form of them to
orbs or globi are represented as flat discs with a punch-hole
over them. This type of disc representation of the orb appear
the Archangel Michael from the church of Oshki, to be des
(P1. 8) and a pair of Archangels in the tympanum of the north
minda hold staves which terminate with crosses, and orbs i
curious oval shaped objects.8 A Byzantine example is on an un
the Archangel Michael from Iznik,9 now in the Archaeologi
Istanbul. Another is on the Berlin ivory, perhaps representin
of Leo VI in 886, where an attendant archangel carries a
A later and Romanesque example is the disc-like orb held
Swabia as portrayed on his tomb slab at Merseburg, datin
From Russia there is a twelfth century example on the facade
at Yuriev Polskoi where the archangels accompanying the D
represented as discs.12 None of these examples has any further
with the reliefs at Dolishane, except the Berlin ivory, which
punch-hole technique for the representation of jewels. Near
Dolishane technique is commonly used in the sculptures
exterior of the Armenian church of Aght'amar on an island
but the archangels who appear on the south facade hold scr
insignia and bear no stylistic relation to the Dolishane figure
gular fold arrangement of the hem of the Archangel Michae
leled in a representation of him at Oshki, and in a figure of
Baptist from the same place, as will be seen below (Pls. 8
contemporary Byzantine example is the cloak of Eudocia
Romanus and Eudocia now in the Cabinet des M6dailles in Paris.14 Similar
triangular arrangement of folds is not uncommon in Byzantine reliefs fr
the mid-eleventh century onwards.15
The head and shoulders of a figure within a circular frame is too damag
to allow of any stylistic comparison except in the general form of it. There a
Armenian examples of bust-length figures within circular frames dating from
the sixth and seventh centuries at Ptghavank',16 and a number of tenth
century examples on the walls at Aght'amar.17 In Russia they appear, in t
twelfth century, on the facades of the cathedrals of Saint Dimitri at Vladimi
8 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxvii, no. 126. in many of the plates.
9 Now in the Byzantine room of the 14 Goldschmidt-Weitzmann, pl. xiv, no.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum, no. 4208.34-
10 Goldschmidt-Weitzmann, vol. ii, pl. 15 R. Lange, Die Byzantinische Reliefikone,
xxxv, no. 88b. Recklinghausen 1964, pls. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 13.
11 H. Busch, B. Lohse, H. Weigert, 16B. M. Arutionian, S. A. Safarian,
Romanische Plastik, Frankfurt am Main I961, Pamiatniki Armjanskogo Zodchestva, Moscow
pl. 20. 1951, pl. 23. S. der Nersessian, Armenia and
12 N. Voronin, Vladimir, Bogolioubovo, the Byzantine Empire, Cambridge, Mass.
Souzdal, ruriev Polskoi, Moscow 1965, pl. 124. 1945, pl. x, 1.
13 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, has examples 17 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar.
38 DAVID WINFIELD
and of Saint George at Yuriev P

of the heads and shoulders of figu
the history of Byzantine art.
It remains to remark upon the p
to each other. The curious isolat
noted, but it perhaps becomes le
the sculptures around the south
be established by the similar insc
if we allow this connection then
inscription must perform the fu
The figure in the circular frame
from whom the Bagratids clai
suggested by the representation of
by the fact that David acts as the
tures from the nearby monast
window form part of a decorativ
lettering as a decorative architect
churches of Saint Polyeuctos, Sa
Lips in Istanbul.
O?K VANK
The church at Qamli Yamaq K6yii, better known as Ogk Vank or Oshki,
lies in a tributary valley whose waters flow into the river Tortum from the
west not far above the headwaters of the lake. It can at times be reached by
Land-Rover, but more often the visitor must be prepared for a two hour walk
up from the main valley, since the track is only a stream bed and is often
blocked by rocks. This church is the most richly decorated building of the
region, both in quantity and quality of the sculptural decoration, and a local
saying recognizes this: 'Go to Ighan for its views! Go to O~k for its fine decora-
tions! and go to Haho if you want a place to live!' (figs. I, 2; P1. 6, a, b) 19
The church was built between the years 958 and 966 and its history and
date are authenticated by inscriptions and by the sculpture of the donors.20
The Donation relief is on the exterior wall of the south-east chapel, (P1. 7a, b)
and it portrayed Bagrat, Eristav of the Eristavs, and his brother David,
Magistros and later Curopalates of Tao, offering their churches to Christ
through the intercession of the Mother of God and of John the Baptist. The
inner trio thus formed a Deesis composition, flanked by the brothers holding
their churches. All that now appears to survive are the figures of John the
Baptist and one donor (P1. 7a, b) on the eastern side. The three figures to the
west have been covered by a storage shed built up against the church, to which
I was unable to gain access. The figures are too damaged to be of much use for
a comparative stylistic analysis, excepting the clothing of the Mother of God.
The fold lines of her cloak, if not strikingly similar to other carvings decorating
18 Voronin, Vladimir, pls. 28, 112, I15- 20 Takaishvili, discussion of the inscriptions
19 Takaishvili, p. 90. The version given bypp. 57-66; plate of the whole door compo-
Takaishvili includes Parhal, which it praisessition pl. 54-
for its water.
5 o 5 iO ,5 l2Onlrs
0n iS p e
Columli with fig
Fig. 2. Oik Vank (
the church, are at

donor figure on
although it is imp
perhaps representi
are much more elo
There are three p
first is the associa
the square haloes o
hand donor.
The combination of a true Deesis with a donor composition is not a com-
mon occurence in Byzantine art. An earlier example in mosaic, having
nothing in common except the subject and lacking the figure of the Baptist,
is the donor figure of Leo the Wise over one of the doors from the narthex into
the naos of Saint Sophia in Istanbul.21 Two later painted examples are in
Cyprus, at Paphos where Saint Neophytos had himself painted in prostration
at the feet of the holy figures,22 and at Galata in the church of the Panagia
Theotokos.23 A more common type of donor composition includes the Mother
21 T. Whittemore, The Mosaics of St. Sophia23A. and J. Stylianou, 'Donors and

Dedicatory inscriptions in the painted
at Istanbul. First preliminary report, Oxford
1933, pl. xii. churches of Cyprus', Jahrbuch der Oesterreich-
22 C. Mango, E. J. W. Hawkins, 'The ischen Byzantinischen Gesellschaft, ix, I96O, p.
Hermitage of Saint Neophytos', in Dumbarton117.
Oaks Papers, xx, 1966, fig. 94.
40 DAVID WINFIELD
of God between the donor and t

Mother of God is logical since she
inclusion of John the Baptist to
Judgement with the donation.
The square haloes for the secul
Byzantine art proper, but there
appear in the wall paintings of
appear in the sixth or seventh c
Demetrius at Salonica, but thes
haloes may equally be regarded a
forms an architectural background
art of western Europe there are at
is the Carolingian church of Sain
where there is a wall painting
church.27 A second is on the altar
the archbishop, Angilbert.28 A
Rome where Pope Leo IV is port
The salient feature of the costu
with its bold decorated pattern
circles, with their stylized fleurs-
shallow relief and must repres
court garments with an overall
sixth century in the Ravenna m
Byzantine
Two
period, as at Ljubostin
examples nearly contemporary
Eudocia on an ivory of Roman
Medailles,31 and by the Empress
logion of Basil II.32 The patterns
figure appear to have no parall
possibly derive from Persian motif
The head of the figure is too d
headgear, but there does appear t
torque, around his neck. The use
to antiquity.33 To the Byzantine
24 Paul A. pl. 17b.

Underwood, The Kariye Dja
New York 1966, 28
vol. i,
Schrade, ibid., pp.
pl. 59. 45-48. See
Underwood 'The 29Josef Lieball, Die
Deesis Leoninischen Fresken
Mosaic inin the K
Djami at der Unterkirche
Istanbul', in von San Clemente in Rom,
Studies in Hon
Albert Mathias Friend, Vienna n.d., fig. Jr., opposite p. 16.
Princeton
pp. 254-60. 30 S. Radoj6id, Portreti srpskih vladara u
25 M. I. Rostovtzeff, A. 1934,
srednjem veku, Skoplje R.pl. Bellinger,
xxiii, no. 33.
Hopkins, C. B. Welles, 31 Goldschmidt-Weitzmann,
The Excavations pl. xiv, no.
Dura-Europos, Sixth Season, New Haven 34-
1936, pls. xlvii, xlviii. 32 W. Nyssen, Das Zeugnis des Bildes im
26 A. Grabar, Byzantium from the death offriihen Byzanz, Freiburg 1962, pl. opposite
Theodosius to the Rise of Islam, London 1966, p. 98.
pl. I43. 33 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopddie, for its
27H. Schrade, Vor- und Friihromanische pre-Byzantine history.
Malerei, Cologne I958, pp. 25-6, fig. 2,
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relief (p. 38) (Oshki)
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b--O
sides (pp. 45f.) south
with a cape; it appears in the sixth century in a mosaic of s
attendants upon Justinian in San Vitale at Ravenna.34 A Geo
from a donor sculpture of the seventh century is to be found
fagade of the church of the Holy Cross at Djvari. It is quite diff
from the Ogk example and seems to bear little relation to it.3
representation of a ceremonial collar appears to be limited to
military saints, among whom Saints Sergios and Bacchos are n
depicted as wearing one.36 Since David bore the title of Magis
brother had no Byzantine title, we may tentatively identify this
easternmost figure as David, while the left-hand one, now
disappeared, would be Bagrat, the Duke of Dukes.
The remaining figure sculpture on the exterior walls of the ch
of one small and primitive figure of a bowman, five standing fi
and the head and shoulders of Saint Simeon, the Stylite.
The bowman is on the lintel stone of the window of a room above the
south-east chapel (P1. I I a). He is part of a short frieze with three animals, on
of which he is about to shoot, and below the window are two or three animals
The two centre animals on the lintel confront each other with a tree in the
background, and the horns suggest that they are meant to be deer or wild
goats. Even allowing for the very weathered state of the stones, it is clear that
the mason who carved them was working in a primitive tradition unrelated
to the more sophisticated figural carving of Oik. The simple style of this
relief is represented in other animal carving, probably by the same mason, on
the east and north fagades of the church; there are other carvings of animals
alone or hunting each other, around the base of the dome and on the west
fagade. The hunter with bow and arrow appears among the sculptures of
other Georgian and Armenian churches, and reliefs showing scenes of the chase
are usually said to derive from Sassanian hunting friezes.37 There are numbers
of examples of Byzantine representations of hunting scenes and among them
archers, such as in the capital of a chancel screen from Izmit (Nicomedia),
which is now in the Istanbul Museum, dating, according to Professor Grabar,
from the sixth century.38 A second example, from the eighth century, is on a
water stoup from Crete, which has hunting scenes.39 A Byzantine ivory from
Brussels shows an archer kneeling on one knee, in a similar position to the
Trebizond.
34 A. Grabar, Byzantium, pl. 17I.7'
35 W. Z. Djobadze, 'The Sculptures on the 37 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, pp. 25-26;
eastern faCade of the Holy Cross of Mtzkheta',P1. 4 shows a kneeling archer in the same
Oriens Christianus, xliv, I960, pp. 18-21. Dr.position as the Oshki example. Miss Der
Djobadze discusses the use of the aw"vlaxouNersessian follows Strzygowski in deriving
in Byzantine times and gives a bibliographythe hunting scenes from similar scenes in
of references to it. Sassanian art. J. Strzygowski, Die Baukunst
36 A. Banck, Byzantine Art, Leningrad- der Armernier und Europa, Vienna 1918, vol. i,
Moscow 1965, pls. 113-I114, show an icon ofpl. 466, shows an archer from Gndavank.
the pair, each wearing torques, from Mount 38 A. Grabar, Sculptures, pl. 28, no. 4,
Sinai, perhaps 7th or 8th century. The pp. 79-80. He mentions the possibility of
tradition continued at least until the i3th classical prototypes but dwells more on the
century, since there are paintings of themoriental origins of hunting scenes.
wearing torques in the soffit of the south 39 S. Bettini, La Scultura Bizantina, Florence
archway into the narthex of Saint Sophia at1944, vol. ii, p. I I.
4
42 DAVID WINFIELD
Ogk archer, and two other ivor
examples are on middle Byzantine fr
of Afyonkarahisar, as yet unpub
archer from the eleventh or twelfth
the narthex in the rock-cut monas
Turkey;41 another and very fragm
author in the chapel at Livera, off
Mr. Gough has pointed out that t
trations of Aesop's fables, and it
reinterpret such hunting and anim
in the light of this suggestion, and
art. As to stylistic parallels to the b
sculpture of Oshki and I have be
elsewhere except in the identical p
Of the standing figures of angel
Michael and Gabriel and are high
(P1. 8). Two other angels are placed
the cornice (P1. 9), and a rough ston
was probably a third angel on the
the west wall of the south-west ro
shvili found a damaged block of ston
tion mentioning ten years of work. H
of the central arch of the east facad
assumes from the inscription that t
the church.42 However the figure h
with the other angels and the positi
of the angels in the lunette of the so
to presume that this was another a
sculpture, but there is now no tra
further figures might have been fit
The Archangels Michael and Gab
in red painted lettering to the lef
both on the sculptures and independ
wall surfaces is not uncommon in
red lines can be seen on the wings
used to break up the surface pattern
decoration on all of these angels
weathering.
Michael carries a sceptre which has a double hook at the base; the upper
part of it is unfortunately lost. In his left hand he holds what appears to be a
disc with concentric circles grooved into it. The normal insignia for an arch-
angel was an orb but this is occasionally represented in the form of a disc as in
the relief at Dolishane, discussed above. He wears clothing the form of which
is uncertain because the sculptor was more concerned with the decorative
40 Goldschmidt-Weitzmann, vol. i, pl. Gfimfii', in Anatolian Studies, xv, 1965,
xxxvi, no 56c; pl. xxxvii, no. 59, vol. ii, pp. I62-64, fig. I.
pl. lxxvii, no 275c. 42 Takaishvili, pl. 55; p. 66 for the inscrip-
41 M. Gough, 'The Monastery of Eski tion.
pattern of folds than with the natural shape of the clothing. G
in his right hand a sceptre which seems to taper away to a poi
while the top end has been defaced. In place of the orb, he ho
hand an eight-petalled flower or a Maltese cross. He wears
decorated shoulder band and cuffs, and a cloak attached ov
shoulder by a round clasp. Thus from an iconographic point o
the peculiar insignia of office which are of interest. In the positio
occupy, the archangels are closely paralleled by the pair at Dol
who are carved on either side of the window of the south transep
wise there seem to be no close parallels either for the iconogra
for the style of them, except in the flattened disc form of the or
representations of the Archangels as we know them from the mid
period would have been portrayed carrying the staff and glob
office. The sculptors of the Ogk and Dolishane archangels pro
that an archangel should be distinguished by insignia, but wer
to the exact form of them. There is a marked contrast betwee
carving of the archangel Michael and the other four angel fig
Michael's wings are given a graceful shaping at the wing-ti
primaries splay out in an elegant short curve which offsets th
the wings; and at the top the lines are enlivened by a toothed patt
ing the small feathers of the leading edge of the wing. The clo
a pronounced love of pattern-making in the circular convoluti
cut over the shoulders and hips, and the irregular shaped p
represents the thighs; there is also a repetitive triangle pattern fo
more or less regular folding back of the garment over the righ
down between the legs. The regular pleating of the bottom hem
ment is again a distinctive feature. In contrast to Michael, the sty
of Gabriel and the other angels might perhaps be termed as fla
lism. By this I mean that the parts of the body and the fall of
over it are all clearly recognizable and logical, but the sculptor
little deep carving except at the side of the figure and the side
where he cut back the uncarved parts of his block to a consider
with the donor at Dolishane. The effect of this is to make the form of the
angels stand out clearly even when an overhead sun renders most of the detail
on the figures indistinct because the carving is too shallow. On the Archangel
Gabriel the foreshortened right hand grasping the cross or flower is noticeably
well observed with two fingers coming over the front in order to grasp it.
Both of the Archangels and one of the angels on the south wall of the nave
have feet, while the two others never appear to have had them, since the hem
lines of their robes are co-terminous with the base of the blocks of stone on
which they are carved. Other points worthy of note are the relatively even
lower hem lines of clothing except for the Archangel Gabriel, where the fold
lines are opened out with some freedom and irregularity. The round brooch
which clasps the cloak at the neck of one of the angels on the south fagade
(P1. 9b) appears on the Archangel Gabriel and it also seems to appear on the
angel on the east facade, whom Takaishvili refers to as the master mason.43
At first glance Gabriel's clasp appears to have three tassels attached to it, but
43 Takaishvili, pl. 55.
44 DAVID WINFIELD
closer inspection shows these to be
have been isolated from the rest o
other angels wore similar clasps but
now damaged. The decoration of c
Archangel Gabriel also appears on
Only the angel on the fagade of
remaining of the head, showing t
delineated except for the scalloping
The problem of the attribution of
the pair on the fagade of the sout
factual evidence to prove or disprov
of the two figures was contemporan
at the same time.44 The slight dif
carving of the Archangel Michael o
joint at the base are no evidence of
the masonry of the external faga
which are made of meticulously dre
exterior, but the stones run in very
have taken a positive pleasure in ove
awkward shapes and sizes of stone. A
to be by the same sculptor, and ob
ever the angel on the west fagade ha
his shoulders, as has the Archange
has V shaped folds around the botto
seen on the other angels. Also the an
west fagade are like Michael in havin
hem lines, while the Archangel G
arrangement of the folds. There is
among these angels which goes with
discussion about the making of them
sculpture has been reviewed.
The last of the external figures i
crowning the archivolt of the wes
robes of a monk of the Greater Sc
cross on the front of it, and cords a
is bearded and holds up his hands
stepped pedestal with the base and
and three inverted steps respectively
early representations of Saint Sime
the cross, particularly in the Byz
centuries. The great mosaic cross i
stepped base, and the painted cross
bases represented in perspective. T
44 If the figureReliefdarstellung
sculptures des Alterer Symeon
were ever
Stylites',
removed, a change in the in Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archiio-
mortar of the sett
bed would easily logischen Instituts, lxxx,or
confirm 1965, pp. 280-304,
disprove th
opinion. pls. I, 3, 9, I0.
45 V. H. Elbern, 'Eine friihbyzantinische
an earlier period46 but the only parallel for the bust length
position seem to be the Georgian examples at Shiomgvim
the iconastasis, and at Qukuli in Svaneti on a carved woo
tenth or early eleventh century.47
Stylistically, however, none of the above examples bear
that in the west fagade of Oak; the broad unarticulated su
of linear elaboration seem to have their nearest parallel in th
of the donors, Kvirik II and Sumbat at Hahpat, from the
early eleventh centuries, although the figures are not so s
any really close relationship.48
The interior surfaces of Ogk are only sparsely adorned
stylized leaf patterns, with the notable exception of the
column (Pls. I2b-27a). This stands at the east end of a
of the narthex; at the same time it forms the westernmo
supporting the south porch and the division of the porch
separate south-west room may be the result of a later additi
There are the remains of an arch, half-covered by masonry,
the south wall of the narthex and this must represent so
though it is impossible to say whether it was in the course o
later period (fig. 2). The villagers pointed out a large hole
the room but this was not investigated as it was covered b
it was a well and this south-west room was used as a bapti
go some way towards explaining the elaborate work on t
not the iconography of it. Apart from previous travellers w
primarily on the column inscriptions, the only description o
of early medieval carving is by Takaishvili.49
The room in which the column stands is owned by th
village, who stores there timber, and hay and maize stalks
It is dark and gloomy and I owe much to the patience of
many hours making measured sketches of the column by th
lamp, while balanced somewhat precariously on piles of
impossible to shift all the lumber around the column but
essential detail was missed. The sculptures are in relative
except that at some period they have suffered from fire, wh
quite large areas of the surface of the stone, while causing
come friable and fall away, leaving a whitish surface. Th
between the blackened and white surfaces made photograp
accounts for the uneven appearances of some of the plates
The column is carved from the same limestone of which the rest of the
church is constructed and it is in three large blocks which correspond respec
tively to the base, the shaft, and the capital. The carving is all delicately
executed in low relief, and it seems likely that column and capital may have
been carved after erection since they would have been difficult to handle in
their finished state without causing damage to the design (Pls. 13, I8). The
46 V. H. Elbern, ibid. Georgian wood carving from Svaneti', in Ars
41 R. Schmerling, Malijeformii v arhitektura Georgica, iii, 1950, pp. 95-140, pl. 54-
srednevekovoji Gruzii, Tiflis, 1962, pl. 45. G. N.48 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxxvi, no. I46.
Gubinashvili, 'An important monument of
49 Takaishvili, pp. 51-52, pls. 73-8.
46 DAVID WINFIELD
four bosses which project from th
knobs which were usually left projec
to facilitate the handling of it (
some explanation for the varying size
Starting from the ground upwar
articulated in four mouldings, of
The shaft is octagonal and its eight f
design of interlocking palmettes. Th
presence of disembodied heads in var
upper parts (Pls. 14-17). There are
may have been others where the r
fifteen have crowns and seven a
condition of some of them makes it
heads seems to be a matter of chan
them at the angles of the facets of t
ignored than if hidden in the foli
foliage goes back to the Classical w
of the foliage, which covers all bu
pavement of the Great Palace in
capital now in Istanbul Archaeol
evidence to the sixth century,51 an
at Gernrode from the middle of t
north Italy from before I Ioo A.D.
from the early eleventh century, sh
among the foliage of a Corinthian pa
It also reappears in Gothic sculpt
there was a continuous tradition o
analagous to the Ogk heads. Neig
heads in the vine frieze with figures
at Aght'amar, built in the first quar
heads among the foliage which issu
of the cathedral of Saint George at
thirteenth century.55 Professor
Aght'amar may represent masks bu
anything to do with the contempo
origin of the masks back to Iranian p
that these are masks, it is perhaps
theatre masks did continue into the
a page appears in Terence manuscri
and not like the Aght'amar or O
stucco decoration among an interl
53 H.
50 D. Talbot Rice, The Buchwald,
Great Palace 'Eleve
of th
Byzantine Emperors,thian
Secondpalmette Capit
Report, Edinbur
1958, pp. 130-31, pl. 50.
Aquileia', Art Bulletin xl
51 H. Pierce, R. Tyler, .5 Der Art Nersessian,
Byzantin, Agh
ii
Paris I934, pl. 112. pl. 17.
52 Busch, Lohse, 5 Weigert,
N. Voronin, Vladimir, pl. I I6. Romanisch
Plastik, pls. 5, 51. 56 H. Schrade, op. cit., pl. 72a, p. 203.
Khirbat al Mafjar from the first half of the eighth century,5

to be no iconographic relationship and certainly there is n
ship at all.
On the north face of the column near the top of the foliation, there is a
standing figure dressed in flowing garments which may represent the chiton
and himation (P1. I I b). He is bearded, but with no articulation of the hair
or beard, which are represented by plain surfaces forming a frame to the face.
He holds something in his left hand, but damage prevents the identification
of it, and indeed there is no evidence for making a certain identification of the
figure.
At the same level as this figure, four blocks, which are possibly the quarry
knobs, project on the north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east sides
respectively. The north-western and south-western blocks were carved with
representations of Saints Cosmas and Damian, identifiable by inscriptions at
the time of Takaishvili's visit,58 but now only part of the inscription for
Cosmas survives (Pls. 13b, 18). The letters were in red paint, and the papier-
mache casts of the column taken by Takaishvili may have helped to remove
the writing here and elsewhere since there are now fewer inscriptions than
were to be seen in his day. Fragments of his papier-mach6 may still be seen
adhering to the sculpture in some of the photographs. The two figures are
each of head and shoulder length and hold the traditional probes in their
right hands and pots of medicine in their left hands. They wear chitons and
himations, with the folds carved in shallow relief. The two heads have been
knocked off, but they appear to have been carved almost in the round, as can
be seen from the head of Damian which Takaishvili found,59 and which is now
in a museum at Tiflis. Saints Cosmas and Damian were frequently portrayed
in Byzantine wall-paintings and their cult appears to have been one of the
most popular among the Byzantines because they were doctors and healers.
Their appearance upon this column is not therefore particularly strange.
The north-eastern boss is roughly rectangular in shape and it is carved with a
modified form of the overall palmette pattern (P1. I3a). The south-eastern
boss is the smallest of the four and it is roughly triangular in shape. It is
badly damaged, but two horns survive to show that it probably represented
the head of a ram. This symbol appears in another Tao church now called
D6rtkilise up a northern tributary valley of the river goruh. This church is
assigned to the ninth century although the exact date of it is unknown; there
are a pair of rams' heads sculpted on a boss in a spandrel of one of the arches
carrying a gallery at the west end of the church.60 Other Georgian examples
are from the church at Sanahin, on the corner of a capital, from Sveti Tzhoveli
at Mzhet, and on the capital of an octagonal column in the church of Bagrat
at Kutais, all from the eleventh century.61 At Aght'amar there is at least one
example, carved on the west fa?ade.62 While there is no apparent connection
57 I. Grabar, 'The Umayyad Palace of Institute Photographic Library, London.

Khirbat al Mafjar', in Archaeology, vol. viii, 61 Baltrusaitis, pls. Ivi, lxxxvii. N. Severof,
1955, PP. 232-33. Pamijatniki Gruzinskogo Zodchestva, Moscow
58 Takaishvili, p. 52, fig. 2o. 1947, pl. ioI.
59 Takaishvili, pls. 75, 76a. 62 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, pl. 4.
60 Author's photograph in the Courtauld
48 DAVID WINFIELD
between them, it may be noted th
the fifth century, as in Saint D
probably of the same date, was
numbers of Byzantine examples
and in the museum of Afyonkar
column are perhaps truncated sy
Above Saint Cosmas on the nor
would have scarcely been noticeabl
orans (P1. 19a). She wears the tradi
the folds roughly gouged out in
of the hood. There is now nothi
appear to be the Virgin Mary O
inscription for Saint Nina who is a
responsible for their conversion to
existing sculptural representation
model for this little figure was th
Turning finally to the west face
foliage, a kneeling figure, and
is in the form of a crucifix and it
ends, but it is otherwise unadorne
The kneeling figure is shown in pr
but with his head in a frontal posi
but enough of the hair and beard
articulated type with the smooth
clothing consists of a long tunic
which looks as if it is made up of l
is still occasionally to be found
inscription now remain, but Tak
on thy servant Grigol'.65 He point
church, mentioned in the inscri
and that he may be identical wi
sources as a translator of the wo
figure is not to be confused with
on the east fagade. However the
sentative of a human being, as I
distinction between architect an
modern times, which Takaishvil
knew of no such distinction. T
costume, and it seems simpler to
designed and built the church. W
literary figure of the same name
that Grigol of OAk would have b
No such parallel representation o
divine world in a position of thi
Armenian sculpture of similar
that a master-mason or painter ga
63 S. Bettini, vol. i,65 p.Takaishvili,
37. pp. 51
64 Takaishvili, p. of52,
Grigol. fig. 21.
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Ogk Vank (Oshki). Column with figural sculpture.

East face (Pls. 12b; 13a; 22a; 23b: pp. 45ff.) North-east face (Pls. I2a,b; 13a; 22a; 26a
Is ~ i~iiiii
. . . . . . . . .
SO o 20 3
Ogk V
PIls. 12
as was done by Absalom on the drum of the smaller dome

the tympanum of the west door of Saint Andrew's churc
the master Simeon of Ragusa signs himself beneath the sy
gelists and a Deesis.67 However there is an altar frontal o
goldsmith Wolvini has portrayed himself, in similar pr
as being blessed by Saint Ambrose in the church of t
from the mid-ninth century.68
Above Grigol are the three standing figures of Christ flan
Mary and John the Baptist, forming the Deesis comp
Christ holds a scroll in his left hand and He makes a som
of blessing with His right hand. The Virgin holds a scroll in
gestures towards Christ with her right hand, while John th
with both hands towards Christ. Of the three figures onl
The clothing of Christ and of the Virgin is conventional, bu
has in place of the himation a loose cloak with a decorat
front edges of it which may represent some kind of meta
The triangular form of the pleating of his cloak and the cir
similar to those of the Archangel Michael on the exterior of
and the sculptor's manner of showing the decorative he
cloak is not unlike the toothing of the top of the wings
Michael. The Baptist's hair and beard are neatly articu
parallel grooved lines, and his facial features are in shallo
round holes to indicate the centre of the pupils of the eyes
other examples of holes for pupils, or for jewelled cloth
made with a drill, but if so they are the only signs on this
sculptures in the region of the use of a drill. The rest o
executed with hammer and chisels, the marks of which ca
some of the photographs. Christ's chiton and himation
pattern of folds which is something of a compromise betwe
of the clothing of the Archangel Michael and the calm dr
of the Archangel Gabriel. The sculptor has represented Hi
while the folds of clothing suggest some movement in the f
Christ differs from that of the Baptist in that the forehead
with lines while the Baptist has none, and the hair and
articulated flat surface similar to Grigol, the figure in t
angel and Saint Simeon on the west fagade.
The clothing of the Virgin, like that of Christ, represe
compromise between the calm and the convoluted style,
folding at the front of her cloak is much in the style of
Archangel Michael. The inscriptions on the scrolls were
had already disappeared at the time of Takaishvili's visit
within Christ's Halo outlined in blue and red paint, and th
on the cloak of the Virgin was in red paint (P1 14).
The Deesis is a common composition in Byzantine art and there would be
little point in listing all the examples of it. Close at hand, as we have seen
above, there is a second sculpted Deesis associated with the donor panel on
66 N. Marr, pp. 144-45. Pilgrimage Roads, Boston 1923, vol. iii, pl. 251.
67 A. K. Porter, Romanesque Sculpture of the 68 H. Schrade, pl. 58.
50 DAVID WINFIELD
the exterior south wall of Osh

one with only bust length figu
Mzhet, from the early eleventh
panel from Sapara, there is one w
of the eleventh century, on stylis
undated Deesis relief at Drand
example in the Cathedral of Sa
the central trio flanked by Arc
near contemporary date to the
to the left of Christ as at Ogk.7
or stylistic similarity with the D
The capital has representation
angels, three tetramorphs, of
and 'Seraphim' respectively, and
'Tetramorph' (Pls. I12b, 19b, 22
west face have inscriptions in red
angels Michael and Gabriel (Pls.
spaces between the inner edges
in his right hand which is topp
either quite simply represents a
from a torch. An ivory in the B
tion of Leo VI by the Virgin, s
which has a palmette-like ornam
damaged and appears to be poin
possibly have been arranged as f
gular folds at the front which ar
figure of Michael on the south tr
wmigs.
The Archangel Gabriel is much damaged; he holds a staff similar to that
of Michael in his right hand and carries a globe in his left hand, of which the
detail has gone. What is left of the folds of clothing and the serrated top edges
of the wings recall the convoluted style. Michael has unarticulated hair with a
flat surface but the hair of Gabriel is too damaged to be certain of the form of
it. Both of the faces are damaged but they appear to have been represented
with high curving eyebrows, prominent nose, and eyes in which the centre of
the pupil is indicated by a small hole. The inner wings of the figures come
together to form a heart-shaped motif divided down the centre by a vertical
line. The feet are executed in profile, both pairs turned towards the west side.
Above the archangels is stylized foliage with a small central circle and
lines radiating out from it, but the detail has largely disappeared.
On the west face of the capital there are two flying angels, the lower legs
and feet of whom are missing since the sculptor could find no room for them
and they are a little awkward in appearance since the lower parts of their
61J. Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxxvii, no. 149. no. 7; xxvii, 69, 70; lviii, 173; lxxv, 235. The
7o R. Schmerling, op. cit., pl. 37.- latter examples have the Virgin on the left of
71 N. Voronin, op. cit., pl. 124. Count Christ.
Uvarov, Caucasus, vol. iv, pl. xii. 13 Goldschmidt-Weitzmann, ii, pl. 35,
72 Goldschmidt-Weitzmann, vol. ii, pls. I I, no. 88b.
bodies are in profile, while from the chest upwards they

frontal position (P1. 24a, b). Their arms are outstretch
fully extended and palms facing outwards, while the c
together to form the same heart-shaped design as that o
with a vertical division down the centre. The top edges of
toothed or scalloped design of the smaller feathers simil
the wings of the Archangel Michael on the exterior, but
scallop motifs are much larger and unite better with the
the wing feathers instead of forming a decorative frame to
The hair is of the smooth type without articulation. The c
around the forms of the body without excessive elaboration o
and the hanging cloak which falls from the shoulder of ea
able for its heavy slab-like quality, with an almost complete
The faces are of the same simple pattern that has been s
figures but the prominent nose is linked with a straight
instead of a jutting curve, and the pupils of the eyes are
same small circular hole as in other figures. Above are c
with a bud-like motif in the central foliation.
On the south-west face are an asymetrical pair of figures consisting of one
standing and one flying angel, each holding a staff which is topped by a
palmette, similar to that held by the Archangel Michael on the north-west
face of the column (Pls. 14, 25a). Takaishvili mentions one angel on the
south-west face with the inscription 'Raphael', but since there is now no
trace of this inscription it is impossible to be certain that he was right. If one
of the two figures does represent the Archangel Raphael, then it would most
likely be the standing angel, who is similar to Michael and Gabriel. The
flying figure has the upper portion of its body on one face of the capital, and
the legs, feet, and half of a wing on the next face. The foliage above also runs
on to the adjoining faces, and these overlapping elements which are repeated
on each face unite the eight faces of the capital so that the spectator views it
as a whole. The flying angel wears an undecorated chiton and himation,
and the folds of the himation fall over the left arm in a series of small triangular
folds. The faces have the same curving eyebrow line as we have seen with the
Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Centrally above the two figures is curving
foliage enclosing a small central circle with lines radiating from it, similar to
the motif described on the north-west face.
On the south face of the capital (Pls. i6, 25b) is a tetramorph with six
wings outstretched from the heads at the centre. The two lower wings are
paired and stretch downwards in vertical lines to support the composition.
A pair of hands or possibly small wings project at the join between the lower
wings and the horizontal wings. Of the four symbolic heads, the man, the
eagle, and the bull are in good condition, but all the detail of the lion has been
obliterated. The four heads are of Old Testament origin but were re-inter-
preted in Christian thought as symbols of the four Evangelists.74 Perhaps
the earliest sculpted representation of them is on the underside of the lintel
of the main gateway to the monastery of Alahan, where the Archangels
Michael and Gabriel are associated with them in carvings on the upper part
4 Ezekiel x. I4; Revelation iv. 6 and 7.
52 DAVID WINFIELD
of the jambs.75 The winged tetr

ing from the twelfth century on
Judgement, and the four symbo
tine and Romanesque painting in
a mandorla. The hair of the hu
style with central parting as ap
whereas the Baptist has straight
curving eyebrow.
The south-east and north-east
pairs of flying angels (Pls. I2b, I6
of all four angels are all carried
capital as we have seen above. Th
to meet each other with a cent
chiton and himation. The differ
chitons of the pair on the south-e
whereas those of the north-east p
of the angel on the right of each
the south-east angels is the cen
the centre of the foliage above t
Representations of flying ange
which they are taking part, such
discussed in connection with t
Christ. The striking characteristic
ful manner in which the sculptor
sition of his capital.
The east side of the capital has
with three heads (Pls. I7, 23b).
can be clearly seen in the bottom
faces are beardless and of the ty
entiated hair style which we h
two flanking faces, the one to th
right is in the three-quarters fro
artists. The folds of the top of t
some folds at the foot of the figu
the pair of wings which fold acro
and middle wings a pair of hand
as the pair on the tetramorph o
we must assume that the sculptor
back concealed by the three whi
inscription it might be temptin
three theological virtues, Faith,
example of a capital with three
King Childebert, but beyond the
or inconographic connection at
7 M. Gough, The me. Early Christians, Lo
1961, pp. 169-171,"J. fig.
Baum, 31.
La sculpture figurale en Eur
76 Takaishvili, p. 52,
l'epoque fig. 22.
mirovingienne, I 1937,
Paris ampl.gr I1
ful to Prince Toumanoff for checking
Finally on the north face of the capital there are two four
(Pls. 14, 26, 27a) which were identified by red painted ins
bim and seraphim.78 A portion of the inscription for th
be seen to the right of the bull's head of the lower tetramor
differs from the other tetramorphs in having a human
consisting of two circles. This arrangement cuts out t
wings of the other examples, and the sculptor has substit
of horizontal outspread wings with scalloped leading edge
circles were the normal Byzantine symbol for represent
Hierarchy of Heaven, but the cherubim and seraphim w
to act as guardians, continually revolving in order to keep an
direction. There is a painted Georgian representation of
wheels of fire in a church at David Garedzhd,79 where t
either powers or simply wheels on which the creature
example at Ogk is similarly capable of either interpre
head appears to be bearded, but this is due to damage ar
careful inspection showed it to be beardless. The feature
all that can be distinguished are the lines of the eyes, with a
brow line. The hair arrangement is identical to that of the h
south tetramorph and of the Baptist on the west face. Th
a robe or tunic which shows only at the neck and has no p
The cloak has stylized folds around the shoulders, and simple
where the body appears above the circles. The bull's head
of the tetramorph of the south face, and differs from the l
the depiction of long horns in the place of short ears. T
that the wing-feathers are articulated with simple groove
wings of the eagle on the south face have plain smoot
wings of the lower tetramorph are similar in pattern to the
tetramorph and of the angels on the capital. A notable
elaboration of the upper pairs of wings with circles pain
must represent the eyes of the guardian who never sleeps.
The upper tetramorph of the north face occupies a cent
the other faces of the capital is decorated with foliage. T
heads are similar to those of the other tetramorphs except t
of the eagle is shown whereas on the others the greater p
appears. The creature is supported by the body of the hu
clothing is indicated by grooved fold lines at the neck an
Between the lower vertical wings and the horizontal pair
hands or vestigal wings that we have seen on the eas
(Pls. 23b, 25b). The lower and upper pair of wings show a
dom of treatment in the pleasing curves that the sculptor
particularly in the swelling shape at the base of the creature
but smaller repetition of it in the crossed wings at the to
the bottom pair of wings have the same short scalloped edge
south face and elsewhere.
78 Takaishvili, p. 52, fig. 25. pls. 22, 23. He dates this painting to the
9 S. P. Amiranashvili, Istorija Gruzinskoi
7th or 8th century.
Monumentalnoi Zhivopisi, Sakelgami, i, I1957,
54 DAVID WINFIELD
Finally on the west side abo

which according to Takaishv
now so damaged that no stylis
wore a monastic cap. His tuni
equal armed cross, and pairs o
overall pattern of grooved lin
cloak of the Simeon bust on
small circular clasps and diam
equal armed cross. The block
separate from the capital, and t
figure represents a later addi
of a different period this wo
difference between the busts of the column and of the west front of the church.
Having described and briefly considered the iconography of the com-
ponent parts of this original column, it remains to consider it as a whole, and
to look for the origin of the concept of the column and for an explanation of
it. Two possibly related prototypes suggest themselves although they are far
removed in time and in matters of detail. The first is that the Ogk column is a
remote descendant of a triumphal column such as the early Emperors liked
to set up. One which would have been there for middle Byzantine sculptors
to look at in Byzantium was the column of Arcadius,s80 and as we shall see
below, a possible explanation of the Ogk column is that it represents an
Apotheosis of the Bagratid family. A second prototype might be the type of
floreated column with figures among the foliage, of which there is an example
in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum dated by Grabar to the fifth century.s81
This type of column was adopted into Romanesque sculpture in Western
Europe where examples of it are the bronze column at Hildesheim, 2 and the
candelabra of San Paolo fuori le mura, and of Gloucester.83 However,
except in the fact that the figures in the foliage are common to those examples
and to the Ogk column, there is no other resemblance. A variant with com-
partmented figures in arcades is the Ciborium at Venice84 but again there
seems to be no common conceptual basis.
An explanation which at least fits some of the reliefs is that the column
represents an apotheosis of the Bagratid family. If this idea is accepted then
the single full-length figure on the north face of the shaft may represent the
prophet David, from whom the Bagratid family claimed descent, and the
fifteen heads may represent the descendants of David. The little Orans
figure of Saint Nina would not be out of place in such a scheme since she was
responsible for the conversion of the Georgians to Christianity. The idea of
enhancing the prestige of a ruling family appears among one other family of
rulers under strong Byzantine influence in the fourteenth century. The
Nemanjas of Serbia chose to exalt themselves by commissioning family trees
in imitation of the tree of Jesse to be painted on the walls of the Patriarchal
80 G. Beccati, La Colonna Coclide istoriata, 83 Busch, Lohse, and Weigert, op. cit.,
Rome 1960. pls. 129, 170o.
81 A. Grabar, Sculptures, pls. xx, xxi. 84 S. Bettini, La scultura Bizantina, Florence
82 W. Oakeshott, Classical Inspiration in 1944, vol. i, p. 31.
Medieval Art, London I959, pls. 91, 92.
church at Pech, and at Dechani and Matejich. No obvious
prominent inclusion of Saints Cosmas and Damian is appar
have been particular patrons of the donors, or perhaps th
for some miraculous cure of illness in the family. The D
face is at least not out of place in such a scheme if its m
Virgin and John the Baptist are interceding for the Bagr
Judgement. The only discordant figure on the shaft is t
mason Grigol. Our explanation would be neater if this
represented one of the donors of the church; but Takais
about the inscription for the figure, and although this h
reason is needed before his evidence can be rejected. Given
Grigol his presence can be explained by the fact that he is th
in his accomplishment led him to represent himself in a p
The figures of the Deesis lead naturally up from the shaft
the column, and from the Last Judgement to the heavenl
collectively represent the Hierarchy of Heaven. The explanat
and creatures of the capital as symbolic of the heavenly
unsatisfactory on the general grounds that archangels, an
cherubim, seraphim and powers, are all members of tha
discs with radiating rays among the foliation may in this co
fires which burn continually. However the explanation is
particular grounds. The three standing archangels and se
do not correspond to any well-known system of classifying
seven is given in Revelation as the number of the angels
God. If the capital is to be interpreted as a representation
of Heaven, then the fifteen heads among the foliage on
interpreted as the surviving representations of the twent
tioned in Revelation. And why should there be three con
morphs and the fourth three-headed creature? Why also s
the Stylite be placed in glory above even the Hierarchy o
A second explanation of the column is that it represen
not of the Bagratids, but of Saint Simeon Stylites. A third
be to regard it as a haphazard collection of reliefs chosen
decorative reasons. Thus from an iconographical point of
presents a puzzle to which the present writer would not w
than the tentative solutions suggested above.
From a stylistic point of view we have to consider first, t
the reliefs in the column; and second, the authorship of
carvings. The third problem of the stylistic relationship
carvings to contemporary work elsewhere will be dealt with
part of this paper.
On the column itself a few contrasting points have been n
of describing the reliefs, but it may be helpful to summarize for the sake of
clarity.
I a. Some of the heads show a smooth undifferentiated surface for the hair
and beards as exemplified by all the angels (Pls. i8a, b, 22a, 25a), Jesus
Christ (P1. 2 ia), Grigol (P1. 2ob), David (P1. i ib), and the three-headed
tetramorph (P1. 23b).
56 DAVID WINFIELD
Ib. Others have articulated hair a
(P1. 21b), and the three tetramor
2a. The eyebrow lines are more or l
west face (P1. 24a), John the Bapt
on the north face (P1. 26b).
2b. The eyebrow lines are curved fo
3a. There are heavy falling folds ov
west face (P1. 24a), the north-east
(P1. I6).
3b. There are smaller and more numerous folds for the flying angels on the
south-west face (P1. 25a), and for one of the archangels on the north-west
face (P1. 23a).
4a. Foliation on the capital having the double bud with leaves bending
outwards at the angles of the capital (Pls. 18a, 22a, 26a).
4b. Foliation having a single bud and leaves bending in towards the angles of
the capital (Pls. i8a, 22a, 26a).
5a. Foliage on the upper centre parts of the capital having centre pieces of
radiating lines (P1. 22b).
5b. Foliation in the upper centre parts of the capital having a bud-like motif.
6a. The stiff and uninteresting fold lines of the clothing of Saint Nina (P1. i9a)
Saint Simeon (P1. 22b), and the flying angels of the west face who appear
awkward both in the proportion of the bodies, and in the general arrange-
ment (P1. 24a).
6b. The more graceful lines of the cloak of the Virgin (P1. 21 a) and the great
elegance of the flying pairs of angels on the south-east (P1. i16) and north-
east faces of the capital (P1. 22a).
These differences do not, however, resolve themselves easily into the work
of two different sculptors since some of the characteristics that are listed run
across the scheme of division. In particular the smooth and articulated hair
styles ofJesus Christ and John the Baptist respectively are suggestive that one
master used these two conventions, and the straight and curved eyebrow lines
also appear in the same two figures. The height of the Deesis figures is only
about thirty centimetres and it seems highly unlikely, although not impossible,
that two master-masons, or a master and pupil, were working together on so
small a piece of sculpture. The argument from the differences of detail does
not, therefore, carry us to any certain conclusion. Qualitative differences are
a matter of subjective judgement but in default of factual material a subjective
approach is unavoidable, and I can only give my own view that the differences
outlined in the sixth point above suggests that two sculptors were at work.
This opinion is strengthened if we consider the column in relation to the
angels on the exterior walls. The obvious contrast between the style of the
two archangels on the south transept has already been described above, where
I have pointed out that there are nevertheless some shared characteristics
among the angels of the exterior. Thus if we rule out the notion that the
archangels belong to two different periods of work the explanation of the
differences is most easily resolved by assuming that two sculptors were at
work. That the two sculptors were the same as those who worked on the
column is suggested by the very similar appearance of the triangular pleating
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(p. 67)
of the clothing of the Archangel Michael on the exterior and

on the column, and by the smooth hairstyle of the angel on
church and of many figures on the column. The bust of
the west window does not fit neatly with the other external
the figures on the column, and the possibility of a third
of good figure carving must therefore be borne in mind.
the bowman is clearly the work of a different mason who
to have been working mainly on the animal carvings.
makes mention of his work in a painted inscription on th
fagade, and he is shown in the relief below the Deesis
inscription gives his name, Grigol. It is therefore not unr
in conclusion that the master-mason, Grigol, probably to
in the carving of the figure sculpture and was responsible fo
on the octagonal column. Thus we have at Ogk carving
made by or under the supervision of a named craftsman,
within the fifties and sixties of the tenth century.
PARHAL
The basilica of Parhal (fig. I, P1. 28a) lies high under the southern
the Six Finger Mountains near the headwaters of the river Parha
northern tributary flowing into the river Qoruh at Yusufeli. Th
about two hours' walk beyond the point to which a Land Rover
in the village now known as Alti Parmak K6yti. Little is known of t
of the church except that it was a monastery with a scriptorium
inscription on the south wall gives the names of the Patriarch J
Curopalates as donors, and since the church is mentioned in
Gospels, written in 973,85 the Curopalates mentioned in the insc
be David Magistros, who as we have seen was a co-founder o
church must, therefore, have been built before 973 and the wo
closely contemporary with OQk. The sculpture of Parhal is mainly c
decorative low relief carving, on external surrounds of the wind
all in the form of geometric interlace and stylized foliation, tog
few animals. The interior has two pilaster capitals which form
decoration of a niche in the east face of the third pair of piers from
the south side of the nave.86 The photograph (P1. 28c) shows an
south face of the south capital. Detail of the carving is partly o
thick layer of limewash which now covers the whole interior mason
of the church.87 The angel stands with hands apparently clasped
and its wings are outstretched upwards in a curving line which n
the curves of the volutes. The features of the face have been obl
the only other points of interest are the interrupted grooves in
representing layers of feathers, and the simple vertical grooves
the folds of clothing. The volutes at the top may represent
The45.
85 Takaishvili, pp. 94-97, figs. 44, interior limewash which now covers the
86 Takaishvili, pl. 147. remains of the wall paintings was carried out
87 D. Hills, The Times, 20th April, I963.
in 1962.
5
58 DAVID WINFIELD
volutes of an Ionic capital, or perhap
face of this capital had an identical f
Stylistically I have found no clos
decoration of a capital with figures
tines. One example is in the Arc
another is at the Kariye Camii in the
HAHOUL
The monastery of Hahoul lies up a western tributary valley o

Tortum. The valley branches off some miles above Lake Tortum
where a fine medieval bridge crosses the Tortum river and the c
Fig. 3. Haho (Hahoul). Sketch to show form of original south doorway to
in the Turkish village of Haho, which has recently been ren

Bali about five miles above the bridge (fig. I, P1. 28b).
Within the precinct wall of the monastery there were three c
medium-sized church as well as the domed church, but only th
decorated with any figural sculpture. According to the Georgia
88 A. Grabar, Sculptures, pl. xix, nos. 4, 5,
89 A. Rildell, Die Kahrie Dschamisi in Konstantinopel, Berlin 1908, pl. xiv.
jjl 0 0 o ? o -
Fig. 4. Haho (Hahoul). South Porch. Tympanum
the domed church was constructed by the sa

plates who founded Parhal and was a co-foun
died in the year Iooi A.D. so that the date
removed from that of Oshki and Parhal.
With one exception the figural carving is all grouped around the south door
of the main church (fig. 3). The exception is a small relief on the exterior of
the west wall of the south transept, two or three metres away from the south
door. The tympanum over the door is decorated with a low relief carving of
the Exaltation of the Cross (fig. 4, P1. 30a) the detail of which has unfortunately
been obscured by weathering and further blurred by the blackening of smoke
from fires. An arch of the south gallery, which was built onto the church in
the fourteenth century,91 cuts across a part of the tympanum and partially
covers the reliefs to the left of the door. The Exaltation of the Cross was a
common theme in early Christian art, from the fourth century onwards and it
is derived, according to Professor Grabar, from the winged symbols of imperial
victories which appear in antique art.92 Representations of the theme appear
in Georgian and Armenian churches beginning from the sixth century, when
there is an example at Jvari,93 a seventh-century example comes from Kacha-
gani,94 and there is an early tenth-century example at Aght'amar.95 It
appears at Martvili, variously dated between the seventh and tenth centuries,96
90 Takaishvili, p. 69. 1965, pl. 36.
91 Takaishvili, p. 73. 94 Ars Georgica, vol. vi, Tiflis, 1963, pl. I,
92 A. Grabar, L'Empereur dans l'Art Byzan- pp. 27-28. Tshubinashvili regards the Exal-
tin, Paris 1946, section, La Croix Triomphale,tation of the Cross with four angels instead
PP. 239-43. of two as a typically Georgian development.
93 D. M. Lang, The Georgians, London 95 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, pl. 5.
60 DAVID WINFIELD
and at Nicortsminda97 and Katshi,98 b
are painted examples in domes and vau
bani,100 and Nicortsminda.101
A related composition to the Exaltat
Christ where the figure takes the place
Byzantine relief of this subject on th
An Armenian example at Ptghavank,
there is a Georgian example at Nico
figural version appeared at quite an e
the seventh century in a crude relief
Vinas in Spain,104 and on the altar f
dating from about 740 A.D.105 It supe
Cross, but the latter continues to appea
on a French ivory.106 Iconographical
thus stands in a long tradition of suc
unusual in the use of this theme. The dome of Hahoul is decorated with a
painting of a large equal armed cross, but without angels, and the d
Ighan and Bertubani are decorated with the Exaltation of the Cross
these examples indicate a conservative attitude to iconographic them
part of the Georgians, since the common use of the cross is typical
Christian art, whereas we might expect the figure of the Pantocr
decorate domes of the middle Byzantine period. Or perhaps the
represents a continuing prejudice against representations of the D
human form.
Stylistically there is little of note about the carving except the simplicity
of it. The cross is of a common equal armed form with splaying arms ending
in knobs, and a base in the form of a globe held by two lower angels. The
faces of the angels are abnormally large with the features chiselled out in low
relief. The heads are surrounded by irregular shaped discs which are probably
haloes, but might represent hair or some sort of cap. In the clothing the only
noticeable feature is the double fold which hangs over the shoulder of each
figure.
The jamb stones to the left and right of the door are decorated with low
relief carving of animals and figures (figs. 3, 5, 6. Pls. 29a, 3ob). On the
west side (fig. 5) at the top, partly covered by the fourteenth-century masonry
of the gallery, is a confused relief which Takaishvili identifies as Saint
George.107 A second possible interpretation is that it represents Daniel in
the Lions' Den. The only interesting detail in the human figure is the braid-
ing of the hair. At Martvili in Georgia, there is a frieze of reliefs which
included a scene of two riders killing a dragon with lances, and the same
representation appears in the tympanum above a door at Nicortsminda.108
96 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxxviii, no. 152. tine Empire, pl. x, I.
97 Ars Georgica, iii, 1950, pl. 31 . 103 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxxvlii, no. 151.
98 Baltrusaitis, pl. xc, no. 155. o104 Baum, op. cit., pl. 171.
99 Takaishvili, pl. 27. o105 Baum, ibid., pl. 200.
100 S. Amiranashvili, Istorija Gruzinskogo 106 Oakeshott, Classical Inspiration, pl. 76b.
Iskusstva, Moscow 1950, pls. 151, 152. o107 Takaishvili, p. 72.
101 Severof, op. cit., pl. 27. 108 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxvii, nos. io8, io9.
102 Der Nersessian, Armenia and the Byzan-
SCULPTURE FROM NORTH-EAST TURKEY 6i
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Fig. 5. Haho (Hahoul). South Porch. South door of church, west

side. Relief sculpture.
62 DAVID WINFIELD
They bear no relationship

appears to have held two la
in the Lions' Den in the sam
and Daniel in the Lions' Den
none of them bears any rel
To the east of the door on
figure whom Takaishvili ide
thread in his left hand, and
has no beard, and it might p
r6le as the Gate of Heaven.
century fragment from the
Archaeological Museum.110
his illustration shows her to
not unlike that at Hahoul.
animals each in a separate c
some doubt must remain, b
beard, the Hahoul figure
frontal position but with fee
Dolishane. The face is of a
which relate it to the faces
is in the same style as that o
is unarticulated except for
pattern of grooved fold lines
down to knee level.
Below Saint Peter is a representation ofJonah being cast out of the mouth
of the whale into the sea (P1. 3ob). The face is much damaged but it seems to
have been of the same simple style and shape as those of Saint Peter and the
angels. Clothing is indicated by a cuff line at the wrists and he holds up his
hands in the orans position. Two passably natural fish nibble at Jonah's
head, but the whale is distinctive for its non-aquatic appearance. There is a
carving of a similar beast on a relief of Jonah and the Whale in the Archaeo-
logical Museum at Istanbul,"' but the Istanbul example includes a boat and
bears no close resemblance to the carving at Hahoul. A carving on the south
front of Aght'amar112 is similar to the Istanbul example in showing Jonah
being cast into the sea but except for the common theme of Jonah it also
shows no relationship to Hahoul. The last of the figure carvings is on the east
wall of the south transept, which now forms the east end of the south gallery
to the church (fig. 7). The central figures are clearly identifiable as the Virgin
Mary with the Child Christ on her knee. The figures on each side are so
damaged as to give no clue to their identity, but Byzantine representations of
the Virgin and Child commonly show her as flanked by the Archangels
Michael and Gabriel, so that there is little doubt that the figures here repre-
sented are intended to be the two archangels. The only stylistic detail that
remains is the features of the faces, which are carved in the same simple
109 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxii, no. I I9- 111 A. Grabar, ibid., pl. xi.
110o A. Grabar, Sculptures, pl. xxxvii, 4, 5, 112 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, pls. 17, 18.
p. 88.
Fig. 6. Haho (Hahoul). South Porch. South door, east

side. Relief sculpture.
64 DAVID WINFIELD
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the carving of figures with deliberate deformations in order
conformable to geometric figures.114 It may be that such a sy
the mason in his figure carvings, but there can be no certain
without a more comprehensive demonstration of the application of
the design of a great many more examples than are advanced b
The presence of these sculptures around the south door of
while other doors are virtually undecorated, indicates tha
principal door of the church. Hahoul shares this feature of a
on the south side with the churches of Opk, IJhan, and Parh
which surround the door at Hahoul are unlikely to be haphazar
with no meaning, and those showing only animals are perhaps
find an explanation in the Fables of Aesop, as I have suggested
hunting scene at Opk. Viewed as a whole, the south door seems
modest early stage in that decoration of portals, which was to
into a characteristic feature of Romanesque and Gothic church
True Byzantine examples of elaborate portal decorations are n
found, but the existence of a tendency to decorate the princip
relief sculpture may at least be inferred from the fifth century
monastery of Alahan where the west door of the great church
gateway both have figural ornamentation.115
I?HAN
The episcopal church of Ighan lies in the village of that
northern heights above the River Oltu. The river joins the Tortum
below the Lake, and from the tea house at the confluence it is abo
walk up to the church. The visitor with any equipment is well
a pack animal since the River Oltu, which is quite deep and very s
has to be forded (fig. i).
The church is quite richly decorated with geometric or
interlace patterns in relief, but of figural sculpture there is on
head on the west front (Pls. 31 a, 32a). The church is said to have
in the seventh century by the Catholicos Nerses III, and then
ninth century after the Arab invasions, and restored again in the
the eleventh century.116 The west front is not dated, but Taka
that the church in its present form is largely a product of the el
restoration.
The winged head forms the focal point or base of a scalloped co

triangular form. The triangular indent with a scalloped conch a
Tao at the churches of Opk, Ekek, and the town church at Ardanu
churches elsewhere in Georgia. One at Kumurdo has a head very si
the Ibhan example117 which is placed in the same position at the b
conch, and there may be other examples, but available photograph
age of the sculptural details of Georgian churches is not at all ade
114 Baltrusaitis, p. 61. Mr. Michael Gough when he finishes his
1s5 P. Verzone, Alahan Monastir, Viglongo
excavations there.
1956, figs. 49, 50. A full publication of116the
Takaishvili, pp. 23-25.
117by
monastery and its sculptures will be made Severov, op. cit., pl. 5.
66 DAVID WINFIELD
style the IJhan head is c

reliefs of Oshki rather than those of other Tao churches.
NIAKOM
The monastery of Niakom lies in the kaza of Olur about th

beyond the village of Ersis, which can be reached by Land R
weather (fig. i). Takaishvili assumed that Niakom was the imp
of Kalmahi, but the site does not bear this out and it is much m
Kalmahi is to be located at So'mon Kale above the village
An inscription which I found built into the walls of a
mentions a daughter of King Dimitri as the donor of the church
of lettering suggest that this is King Dimitri the Second, who r
to 1289.118
There are a domed church and a smaller church at Niakom and it is not
possible to say for certain where the inscription or the sculptures came from
The figure (P1. 31b) seems to have been sitting or crouching, and the m
noticeable features about it are the disproportionate size of the head and
hands. The projecting rectangle to the right of the figure could be the rema
of a church which he is presenting, but it seems more likely that this
carving of a master-mason and that the rectangular block represents h
hammer while the blurred object below represents his chisel. The stone i
weathered for any stylistic comment to be possible except to note the delibe
disproportion in the members of the body. A figure from Zwartnots,
much earlier date appears to show a mason with his tools.119
CONCLUSION
In considering the sculptures which have been reviewed he

that stands out is the contrast between the style of the fi
excepting the bowman, and the varying primitive styles
figure sculpture of the other churches, excepting the head at
apparent existence of two stylistic groups of sculpture it i
consider the dates of these churches. Opiza is securely date
donor Ashot in the first half of the ninth century; Dolishane
by the donor Sumbat to the middle years of the tenth cen
dated by the donors and by the inscriptions on the church to
958 and 966; Ishan has an inscription dated I032 which rec
of the church but it does not seem absolutely certain how mu
at this date or at the time of the other known restorations of the church.
Parhal and Hahoul both appear to date from the second half of the tenth
century but the evidence for so dating them is partly literary and less dir
than in the case of Opiza, Dolishane and Opk. Niakom probably dates fro
118 Through the good offices of Professor Tiflis who provided the translations and
David Marshall Lang of London, my comments on this and other inscriptions.
photos were sent to Tiflis, and I am most 119 Arutionian and Safarian, op. cit., pl. 40.
grateful to both him and to Dr. Barnaveli of
the thirteenth century, but it is uncertain that the sculptur

same building as the inscription. This gives us a wide diversit
sculptures, but the three major sets of reliefs all appear t
fifty years of each other, and five of the churches date
between 930 and 1030. Within this century we have to ac
distinct styles of sculpture, and indeed for two styles app
places in the one church at Opk. These are aspects of a s
may best be resolved by looking first at Opk. However dif
particular details, the figural sculpture at Opk (with the exce
man) forms a coherent group based on a common assumpt
body is to be represented in more or less natural propor
clothing may be liberally used as a means of pattern mak
serve largely to indicate the forms of the human body in the
The carving is deep enough to import a lively sense of surfac
gives an illusion of depth. The single head at IJhan seem
tradition. The bowman at Opk, on the other hand, is a ve
figure in comparison to whom, the other figures give a m
technical superiority and sophistication. The bowman is
animals he is hunting but the style of them is not easy
because the surface of the stone has weathered badly.
remains however to suggest that the sculptor was the same m
animals which decorate other parts of the church. T
sculptures are in good condition and the style of them su
with the carving around the south porch of Hahoul. In p
broken line across the necks of the animals, which separates
from the frontal head, and the sharp angular jointing of the
to both groups.
These similarities are convincing enough evidence o
between the sculptor of the Oak bowman and animals, and
Hahoul reliefs. So far our evidence, therefore, points to th
to deal with two very different styles of carving which
different masons, but that they were contemporaries,
incompatible styles cannot be explained by a resort to di
The problem is further complicated by the sculpture arou
the south transept of Hahoul where a flattened animal (a
that appears around the south door is held in the talons of an
high relief (P1. 29b). The same theme of eagle and hare ap
the archangels above the window of the south transept, exhi
between the flattened style of the beast and the more so
style. Or again a connection is suggested by the west win
the bust of Simeon on his column crowns a frieze of the same flattened animals
forming the archivolt of the window.
Thus not only can we not separate two styles into two periods, but a
further breakdown of the internal evidence among the sculptures suggests
that the two styles, so apparently different, nevertheless exhibit connecting
links which bring them into a close relationship with eath other. The style
of the sculptures at Dolishane does not exhibit any striking similarity with that
of Oak, Hahoul, or IJhan. The only point of contact is the fact of making a
68 DAVID WINFIELD
rich decoration for the ar

common with Oshki and Hahoul.
An important aspect of our reliefs which may be now considered is th
position which each of them occupies in relation to the church it adorns.
Opiza and Dolishane the placing of the donor reliefs on the drums seems
interrupt the harmony of the architectural rhythm and King Sumbat a
Dolishane gives the impression of a rather awkwardly placed label, added
without thought of the overall design of the church. By contrast the reliefs
the south window form an archivolt of sculptural decoration around the win
dow and although they are not entirely satisfactory as a decoration, it is clea
that the mason thought of them in relation to the architecture.
At Opk it is perfectly clear that the master-mason was used to integratin
ornament with a building and he shows no sign of hesitation over the plac
of his decorative features. The external figures of angels are all placed
commanding position and the donor composition was neatly fitted within
blind arcade which formed side frames for it, while a special course of p
jecting stones was added above the figures to complete the frame wit
cornice. The octagonal sculpted column of the interior forms an architect
unit which harmonizes with the rest of the south gallery, and the compos
of the reliefs on it shows a great felicity of judgement particularly in
placing of the flying angels who each occupy two facets of the capital, there
pulling together the design of it. The rich collection of animal reliefs, int
lace designs and foliation at Oak are not a part of our concern at present,
it may be remarked that all of them fulfil an architectural function. A
Ishan, Hahoul and Parhal the same integration of reliefs with the architectur
design is to be found. The placing may not always be felicitous but it is c
that the relief decoration was part of the master-mason's architectural design.
From this general consideration of the Tao reliefs in their relation to o
another, we can now turn to the problem of placing them in a wider context
In discussing the reliefs singly, we have seen that the stylistic and icon
graphic parallels are not such as to indicate any close relationship with
monument or monuments outside Tao. A more general consideration is
less value in that it will provide us with no certain conclusions, but in defaul
of particular evidence, the circumstantial evidence has to be considered if
are to gain any insight at all as to the historical placing of the Tao relie
The Opk figural carving is of a quality that suggests a tradition of figu
carving which could only have been learned under a master who him
inherited his skills from an earlier generation. This is a wholly theoret
supposition, but it does at least explain the quality of work at Oak, wher
the alternative of regarding it as an isolated phenomenon popping up in
history of early medieval art, is to call in the aid of the miraculous. A f
examples in other Georgian churches are related to Oshki in their suggest
of a tradition of good quality figural relief sculpture in which the natu
proportions of the body are taken as a rough basis for the work. One is
frieze from the west apse of Martvili, variously dated between the seventh a
tenth centuries.121 A second is the half length angels in a tympanum a
120 See however, Baltrusaitis, ch. iv for an entirely opposite view to mine.
121 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxii, no. I 19-
Nicortsminda, from the early eleventh century.122 Othe

which survive in a few Georgian churches, notably thos
and Samtsevrisi.124
At this point we may perhaps venture beyond the bounds of Caucasus
and ask if there is any evidence for relating the figural work in the churches
of Tao and those found elsewhere in Georgia with work from another regi
If we go south to Armenia, the result is disappointing. Aght'amar,125 wh
dates from the early tenth century, shows a few links with the style of t
more primitive of the Tao carvings, notably those of Dolishane, but
connection with the Oshki group. And there is a totally different concept
behind the placing of the reliefs at Aght'amar. Georgian masons conceiv
their relief carvings as an enhancement of the architecture, whereas the
architect of Aght'amar clearly regarded his church walls in the light
display panels by means of which the reliefs could be seen in promine
positions. In the former case it is the building which takes precedence wh
in the latter it is the reliefs. Northwards in Russia there is no contempora
sculptural material, and when relief sculpture does come into use on churc
in the late twelfth century and afterwards it appears to be governed by t
same principles as at Aght'amar.126
Westwards we come to the Byzantine empire, the political and religio
centre of the Christian world. It has always been supposed that the Byzantines
abandoned figural sculpture after the Iconoclastic controversy, and th
sculpture was never one of their important art forms. Even the latest work o
the subject by Professor Grabar treats of it apologetically. It is therefor
necessary to digress a little at this point to justify the inclusion of Byzantium
in our search for links with Georgian sculpture. The argument agains
Byzantine sculptural tradition is based on the lack of examples of it. The
answer is very simple. The churches of Byzantium itself and the Empire w
usually taken over by the Turks for use as mosques. Their prohibition of
images necessitated the removal or destruction of all figural sculpture sin
unlike wall paintings or mosaics, it was not so easily covered up by a coat
whitewash or plaster. In support of this argument it is worth observing t
none would argue from the non-existence of churches in Kayseri, Konya o
dozen other cities of Anatolia that the Byzantines never built churches i
those cities. Further points worthy of consideration are the lack of Byzant
archaeological activity, and the fact that each Byzantine dig which has tak
place, has turned up examples of sculpture.127 It may be asked why, if m
reasoning about Turkish destruction is correct, so much classical figu
sculpture has survived where Byzantine sculpture has not, but apart fro
the large number of classical excavations which have contributed to givi
us this heritage, a further reason for the preservation of classical work
that much of it was on sites long abandoned by the time of the Turk
122 Baltrusaitis, pl. lxxvii, no. 126. 125 Der Nersessian, Aght'amar.
123 Takaishvili, 'Some types of iconostasis 126 B. Voronin, Vladimir, op. cit.
of the ancient Georgian churches', Georgica, 127 Mamboury at Feneri Isa, Dumbarton
nos. iv-v, 1937, pp. 100-505. R. Schmer- Oaks at Feneri Isa, Dumbarton Oaks at
ling, op. cit., pIs. 26-53. Saint Polyeuctos, Dr. Firath at Ugak.
124 Ars Georgica, iii, 1950, pl. 73.
70 DAVID WINFIELD
conquest, and therefore too inco
From this general view of the
Middle Byzantine sculpture as ap
One group from the early tenth
tine Lips, now known as Fener
consist largely of foliation, anim
tion of cornices and archivolts so
figural work is confined to a few
Eudocia made of coloured stones
second group of reliefs of high qu
Isa, are to be seen in the Istanb
numerous collection lies in the g
(P1. 27b) not far from Amorium
and more are currently being fo
of a church near Ugak in the sam
The high quality of much of th
of origin as did the figures at Ogk
is every reason to suppose that as
link up our present scattered wor
relief sculpture which will form
sculpting reliefs on a small scale
the Feneri Isa reliefs Professor Gra
inspiration from the decorative s
possible, but it is still more likel
result of a continuing tradition. In
sculptors of high repute as being
to decorate the new church being
Grabar explains the importance
essential element of Byzantine ch
relief sculpture.132 He suggests t
and other important pieces in
originally formed parts of icono
added that the form of most of th
be explained as parts of altar scr
found by Dr. Firatlh. It is precis
Moslem rite has no use, since the
south, and in the course of conver
it was always removed because it
positively objectionable by reason o
fate of the less objectionable parts o
churches as Hagia Sophia at Ohrid
Mimbar in each case incorporates d
128 E. Mamboury, C. Mango, E. Hawkins, which he will shortly be publishing.

'Feneri Isa Cami', in Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 130 A. Grabar, Sculptures, pp. 121-22.
xviii, I964, PP. 249-99, figs. 29-39 and 131 Psellus, Chronographia, transl. E.R.A.
figs. 74-82 for figural inlays. Sewter, London I953, p. 46.
129 1 am very grateful to Dr. Nezih Firath 132 A. Grabar, Sculptures, p. 10o7ff.
for showing me slides of his finds at Usak
SCULPTURE FROM NORTH-EAST TURKEY 7I
Returning now to the Byzantine connection with Georgia, we have seen at
the beginning of this paper that political and religious links existed between
the Empire and its neighbour. Factual proof in the period that concerns us is
provided by the Byzantine titles held by Georgian princes, and by the ex-
change of embassies, among them being one to Tao headed by the founder
of the Feneri Isa church. Of monuments falling within our period, the Greek
inscription on the church of Ekek in the Tortum valley of Tao records the
founding of it in the early eleventh century by a Georgian who had become a
general of the imperial army serving in Macedonia.133
At an earlier period we have the mosaics from the seventh century at
Tsromi and at a later period those of the eleventh century at Gelati which are
both acknowledged to be works made under strong Byzantine influence if not
actually the work of Byzantine craftsmen.134 Given these examples it does not
seem to me unreasonable to add to them the IJhan and Ogk reliefs, and the
high quality work of the iconostases of Shiomgvime and Sapar. This is not to
claim that the sculptures of Ogk were done by Byzantine craftsmen, for we
have the name of the Georgian master-mason Grigol who built the church
and who very likely made some of the reliefs himself. What can be suggested
is that the influence of Byzantine sculpting is present where Georgian figural
sculpture reflects even if dimly a Hellenistic tradition. Particular points which
mark this are a tendency to keep to the correct proportions of the human
figure and to make high relief carvings which give an impression of volume
to the figure. By contrast the pure Georgian element may be marked by less
of an interest in correct proportions, and more interest in the direct portrayal
of what is important, as exemplified by the disproportionate size of the face of
King Sumbat at Dolishane, or in the figures at Opiza, and elsewhere.
Second we may perhaps see the subordination of ornament to architec-
tural design as a Byzantine characteristic, exemplified at an early date at
Alahan, and at a date more relevant to the Tao churches in the church of
Constantine Lips. Professor Grabar maintains that Byzantine sculpture was
unlike the Romanesque in not being integrated with the architecture of which
it formed a part.135 The evidence for this statement is hard to see, the only
examples proving his case being the little Metropolitan church at Athens,
where some would be of the opinion that the use of the reliefs is not so hap-
hazard as it first appears, and Aght'amar, which is not Byzantine and which is
in any case exceptional in the arrangement of its decoration. If subordination
of ornament to atchitecture be accepted as a Byzantine characteristic then a
majority of the churches in Tao and many others in Georgia follow this rule.
In the few cases where this rule of subordination is not followed as in the
placing of the donor figures at Opiza and Dolishane, their elevated positio
may be attributed to an association in the mind of the master-mason or of th
donors which equated maximum height in the building with maximum
honour. At Dolishane the remaining sculpture around the south window
is subordinate to the architectural design, and the incorporating of an
133 Takaishvili, pp. 76-78. P. Lemerle, mentalnoi zhivopisi, Sakelgami 1957, pIs. 5-15,
Prole'gomines a une ddition des 'Conseils et
97- 1I6.
Recites' de Kekaumenos, Brussels I960. 135 A. Grabar, Sculptures, pp. I122-24.
134 Amiranashvili, Istorija Gruzinskoi monu-
72 DAVID WINFIELD
inscription into the ornament has
Polyeuctos, Saints Sergios and Ba
caristos which all incorporate in
ment.
Thus we may advance a tentative conclusion that the figural sculptur

Tao has its origins in a native Georgian tradition of sculpting stron
influenced at times by Byzantine conventions. It is now half a century s
Strzygowski first brought in the art of the eastern neighbours of the Byzant
Empire to enrich the general field of early medieval Christian art.136
value of his publications remain and even though we may now doubt th
theoretical deductions which he made, his interests were wide enough t
bridge the difficult gap between the arts of medieval Europe and those of th
Armenians and the Georgians. No art historian has yet had the courage
replace his comprehensive bridge with an alternative one, and none of th
have found the time or the energy to emulate the thoroughness of his explo
tions in search of new material. A new and stronger theoretical bridge is
indeed not possible precisely because we still do not have enough new fac
material on which to build it. The present paper was written with a view
making available for study some new material in as thorough a fashion as
within my abilities in hope of contributing towards a new bridge. If it h
interested the reader on these grounds it will have been worth while. I
should inspire any art historians or their students to themselves venture int
the field of discovery on the assumption that the finding and recording of
materials is as valuable a contribution to the subject as is the re-working
the old and well-known, then I should feel happy.
136 J. Strzygowski, Die Baukunst der Armenier und Europa, Vienna I918.

Early Medieval Figure Sculpture from Northeast Turkey

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Early Medieval Figure Sculpture from Northeast Turkey

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Some Early Medieval Figure Sculpture from North-East Turkey

Author(s): David Winfield

0 50so 100 miles TIFLI

8/26WK LSEZ BAT

Fig. I. Map of North-Eastern Turkey and Souther

Tao was of importance to the Byzantines in

book, the result of a long expedition made during the year

The earliest figure carving now surviving in the region is on th

4 C. Toumanoff, Studies in Christian

linear grooves indicating folds,

and of Saint George at Yuriev P

Columli with fig

Fig. 2. Oik Vank (

the church, are at

21 T. Whittemore, The Mosaics of St. Sophia23A. and J. Stylianou, 'Donors and

of God between the donor and t

24 Paul A. pl. 17b.

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b- Oak Vank (Oshki). Church from north-west, sh

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a-Ogk Vank (Oshki). Exte

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b-Oyk Vank (Oshki). Sculpted column. The capit

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a--O.k Vank (Oshki). Sculpted column. East, north-east and north

Khirbat al Mafjar from the first half of the eighth century,5

57 I. Grabar, 'The Umayyad Palace of Institute Photographic Library, London.

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