marble relief with enthroned christ from rab

Upload: magdalenaskoblar

Post on 04-Jun-2018

222 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    1/12

    171

    Magdalena Skoblar

    UDK: 736.2.046.3 : 232 (497.5 Rab) 10/11Original scientific paperAccepted: 31. 5. 2012.

    Tis paper ocuses on the marble relie with enthroned Christ built in the north wall in the interior o the churcho St Mary at Rab. Te author begins by giving an overview o the scholarly literature that mentions this reliebeore proceeding with an analysis o its iconography. Finally, the author suggests a possible historical context inwhich the relie may have been produced. Since it was first mentioned in Eitelbergers book o 1861, the relie hasbeen characterised as early Romanesque an evaluation agreed upon by most present-day scholars. Scholarly at-tention has been almost exclusively directed at the issue o the relies date and origin, and, due to the high qualityo its carving, dimensions and its overall shape, the relie has been interpreted as an imported icon. At the sametime, the iconography o the depiction itsel has been relatively neglected, although even Abrami noted the unu-sual orm o the lyre-backed throne. Te iconographic analysis and interpretation presented in this paper thrownew light on the possible commissioners and the historical circumstances that obtained during the period whenthe church o St Mary still had a cathedral unction.

    Key words: Rab, Christ, lyre-backed throne, Byzantium, Venice

    Marble Relief with Enthroned Chrit from Rab

    Magdalena SkoblarDepartment o History o ArtUniversity o YorkUK- YO10 5DD [email protected]

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    2/12

    Starohrvatska prosvjeta III. sera svezak 39/2012.

    172

    In the north aisle o the church o St Mary at Rab is arelie depicting Christ seated on a throne, which hasbeen built in the wall as a spolia(Fig. 1). It is a 110.5cm high and 91.5 cm wide marble panel which hadbeen reconstructed rom six ragments at some point

    beore it was placed in its current position. Te relieis relatively well-preserved. Te edge mouldings onall our sides are original and only the higher partso the relie, such as the ace or eet, are worn. Teoriginal edges consist o a flat-band moulding, the in-ner sloping surace o which is decorated with a re-peated oliate moti composed o five small acanthusleaves. Against the plain background o the main fieldis an enthroned, orward-acing figure o Christ. Heis seated with his legs held slightly apart and his righthand held across his chest in a gesture o benedic-tion, with the thumb touching the third finger. His lefhand is not visible, lying behind a rectangular-shapedbook that rests on the lef knee. Te throne is ornateand depicted in considerable detail. It consists o anoblong seat supported by our legs which are articu-lated as columns with bases, capitals and roll mould-ings set midway along their length. Tey rest on anoblong base the same size as the seat. Also resting onthis base, between the legs, is a ootrest supportingChrists eet, while on the seat is a cushion on whichhe sits. Te back o the throne has convex sides (lyre-shaped) decorated with widely set rings, and a plainupper horizontal bar; tightly pleated abric is sus-pended rom this. Te oot rest and the right side othe throne are rendered perspectivally.It is not known when the relie was set in its presentposition. When it was first recorded by Eitelberger in1861, it was built high up in the exteror o the northwall where it stayed at least until 1926 when it is men-tioned by Brusi.1Although the church itsel was builtin the 5thcentury as Rab Cathedral, it enjoyed consid-erable reworking over the centuries: it was providedwith new nave columns, capitals and two lateral apsesin the 11thcentury, ollowed by the remodelling o theaade on the occasion o a visit by Pope Alexander IIIin 1177, and modifications o the lateral walls in the13thcentury.2Tis clearly indicates that the relie wasnot in its original position when Eitelberger saw it.

    Eitelberger , pp. -; Eitelberger , pp. -;Frey , p. , Fig. ; Dudan , vol. , ; Brusi ,

    . Brusi is the only author who records a more preciselocation o the relie above the side door.

    Domijan , p. ; Domijan , pp. , -.

    Hitoriographical overviewEitelberger considered the relie to be a high-qualityRomanesque carving and thus similar to the gablewith an enthroned Christ supported by two angelsrom the Sustipan cemetery at Split.3Afer Eitelberger,the relie was reproduced in predominantly Austrianand Italian publications until the mid 1920s. Amongthese, Frey, who also saw the relie on the exteriorand described it in 1912, paid special attention to thethrone, noting that both rear legs are rendered cor-rectly in perspective, and claiming the capitals ontop o the legs are Byzantine cushion capitals.4 Hecompared the lyre-shaped back o the throne to thateaturing in the later, ninth-century mosaic in thenarthex o Hagia Sophia, which, at the time Frey waswriting, was considered to be sixth-century work, andobserved that it is a type ofen ound in sixth-centurymosaics such as those in the chapel o Santa Matronaat St Prisco near Capua (although there the throneis actually not lyre-backed) and in Sant ApollinareNuovo in Ravenna (Fig. 2), but also on the seventh-century silver reliquary rom Grado Cathedral de-picting the Virgin on a similar throne.5Based on thiscomparative material, Frey dated the relie to the 6thor

    Eitelberger , p. ; Eitelberger , p. . Frey , pp. -. He wrote that the oot rest was also

    decorated with the acanthus border which rames thepanel.

    Frey , pp. -.

    Fig. 1. Relie o the enthroned Christ, St Marys, Rab (rom:Supii 1999, 179)

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    3/12

    173

    Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from RabMagdalena Skoblar

    7th century, stating that it could have been producedin Ravenna or Constantinople.6Apart rom Frey, thepanel was more generally considered to be Roman-esque in publications by Wulff, Schleyer and oesca,while Brusi grouped it with the interlace sculptureso the ornamental style which he dated to the periodbetween the 8thand 10thcenturies and, more precisely,ascribed it to the eighth-century phase o the Cathe-dral.7In 1932 the loosely Romanesque date (rom the11thto the 13th enturies) was also rejected by Abramiwho argued that lyre-shaped thrones suggest a date

    Frey , pp. -. Wulff , vol. , p. ; Schleyer , p. ; oesca

    , vol. , p. , note . Brusis dating is arbitrary;he was a Franciscan and not an art historian and the

    date relies only on his view o which century the earlymedieval ragments rom St Marys might have belongedto.

    beore the year 1000.8He thus dated the relie to the10th century, while identiying Christ as a Majestas,based solely on the blessing gesture and comparisonswith theMajestasrelies rom Venice and Mistra.9Following these initial analyses, the relie was largelyignored, being mentioned only sporadically in pass-ing, such as when Prijatelj, probably relying on Eitel-berger and Abrami, invoked it as an example o the

    Majestas comparable to the Sustipan gable, or whenic-Rokov reerred to it as early Christian.10In the late 20thcentury, however, scholarly interest in

    Abrami , p. . Abrami , p. . It is unclear to whichMajestasrelie

    in the basilica o St Mark Abrami is reerring. Te onlycomparable example is on the exterior o the north wall,where the seated Christ is one o five relies, the other

    our depicting the evangelists and are dated to the thcentury. See in: Demus , pp. and .

    Prijatelj , p. ; ic-Rokov , p. .

    Fig. 2. Enthroned Christ, mosaic on the south wall, Sant Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (photo: N. Tompson)

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    4/12

    Starohrvatska prosvjeta III. sera svezak 39/2012.

    174

    the relie was rekindled when Belamari wrote aboutit, considering it to be an imported Byzantine icon otwelfh-century date.11Soon afer him, the relie wasdiscussed by Domijan who interpreted it on severaloccasions as a proto-Romanesque work o the 11th

    century.12Domijan compared the carving to Venetianworks, and reerred to it as Veneto-Byzantine, ascrib-ing it to the same phase o remodelling o the thenCathedral and its aade which, he claimed, took placeeither around 1050 or in the second hal o the 11 thcentury (rather than the 12th).13 Recently, the reliewas published by Marasovi as a marble icon, imply-ing that he supports Domijans hypothesis, while Jaraklef the issue o the unction open, suggesting it couldhave decorated either the aade or the altar o theormer Cathedral.14

    Iconographic ourceAlthough Abrami and Prijatelj identified the schemeon the Rab relie as aMajestasDomini, there is no con-

    vincing iconographic evidence that this is the case. BothKirschbaum and Poilpr agree that the term MajestasDominican only be applied to those images o Christin which he is enthroned in a mandorla surroundedby the our evangelist symbols, based on Johns visionrom the Book o Revelation.15Although Schiller wasmore flexible when using this term and stretched it toinclude images o Christ in which he is surrounded bycherubim or ordinary angels, she too isolated the imageo the enthroned Christ holding the Gospels and bless-ing as a separate iconographic type which she identifiedas Christus-Rex (Basileus).16o her, Christ Basileus issimilar to theMajestas Dominionly to the extent thatboth belong to scenes which depict the exalted Christafer his Resurrection.17 Te term Rex/Basileus itselimplies that the origin o this type stems rom late an-tique depictions o Roman emperors.18Borrowing romthis well-established imperial iconography, the schemeoutnumbered all other representations o Christ romthe late 4thcentury onwards.19

    Belamari , pp. and . Domijan , pp. and ; Domijan , pp. -. Domijan , p. . Marasovi , p. ; Jarak , p. -. Kirschbaum , vol. , p. ; Poilpr , p. . Schiller , vol. , pp. and . Schiller , vol. , p. . For example, Teodosius on the well-known silver mis-

    sorium rom the th century. See in: Elsner , Fig..

    Schiller , vol. , p. .

    Te attributes o Christ Basileusare the book, open orclosed, in his lef hand, which represents the Gospels,and the gestures o his right hand.20Tese can be eitherthe gesture o the orator, with the second and thirdfinger held upright, or the gesture o the ruler, with

    the open hand extended or held across the chest.21Teorators gesture subsequently came to be understoodas a benediction but it is unclear when this occurred.22Another crucial iconographic element o the Basileusimage is the throne, inherited rom the imperial por-traits which Schiller demonstrated could include de-tails such as ootrests, as in the Rab relie.23

    With regard to the image o the Basileus itsel, regard-less o the shape o the throne, the earliest examplesappear in Byzantine art. For instance, Christ on thepreviously mentioned sixth-century mosaic on thesouth wall o Sant Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna (Fig.2) is enthroned and surrounded by angels at the heado the procession o male saints.24Te object which heholds in his lef hand today, a pointed sceptre, is theresult o a restoration carried out between 1857 and1862; a sixteenth-century description o the mosaicrecords that in this hand Christ held an open bookwith the inscription Ego sum Rex Gloriae.25Tis Ra-

    vennate Basileusrepresents at the same time the earli-est preserved example o the lyre-shaped throne andhappens to be the only extant example o it in pre-iconoclastic art.26Afer the iconoclastic conflict, this iconographicscheme was revived in Byzantine mosaics imbuedwith strong imperial associations. In the previouslymentioned ninth-century mosaic in the narthex oHagia Sophia, Christ Basileus, seated on a lyre-shapedthrone, receives homage rom a Byzantine emperor,most likely Leo VI (866 912), the second ruler romthe Macedonian dynasty (Fig. 3).27Even more impor-tant is the now lost depiction o the enthroned Christon a lyre-shaped throne in the apse vault behind theimperial throne in the chrysotriklinoso the ImperialPalace at Constantinople rom the middle o the 9th

    Ibidem, p. . Ibidem Ibidem Schiller , vol. , pp. and . Ibidem, p. . Te mosaic belongs to Teoderics deco-

    ration rom the early thcentury. See in: Breckenridge-, p. .

    Deichmann , p. , fig. ; Breckenridge -, p. , note ; Mauskop-Deliyannis , p. .

    Breckenridge -, p. . Schiller , , p. ; Brubaker , pp. -, fig. ;

    Oikonomides , pp. -.

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    5/12

    175

    Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from RabMagdalena Skoblar

    century.28Tis restoration has been attributed to the

    reign o Emperor Michael III (842 867) or even BasilI (867 886), the ounder o the Macedonian dynastywho usurped the throne.Also in the 9thcentury, the image o the Basileuson alyre-shaped throne appears on portable objects. Teemperors rom the Macedonian dynasty used thisiconographic type on the coins they minted between860s and 950s, but also in the illuminated manuscriptsthey commissioned, as can be seen in two miniatures oChrist in the Homilies o Gregory Nazianzus dated to879 882.29Afer the end o the Macedonian dynasty,

    this type o the throne was re-introduced in coinageby two eleventh-century emperors: Constantine IX(1042 1055) and his son Constantine X (1059 1067)in order to reer back to a past perceived as more glori-

    Grierson, Hendy, Bellinger , p. ; Breckenridge-, p. ; Parani , p. .

    Te first examples in coinage are those minted by Em-peror Basil I. See in: Breckenridge -, pp. ,-. Te Homilies o Gregory Nazianzus are todayin Paris (Bibliotheque Nationale, gr. , Fols. Av, v).Te first illumination o Christ Basileusappears in the

    rontispiece while the second illustrates the Vision oIsaiah. See in: Breckenridge -, p. ; Brubaker, pp. , and , fig. II.

    ous, when Byzantium was at its peak (Fig. 5).30

    It ollows rom all o the above that afer the middleo the 9th century, the Basileus type survived almostexclusively on numismatic material. Afer all, the lyre-shaped throne itsel had originally been used or Ro-man emperors in coinage rom the second hal o the5thcentury onwards.31Apart rom the Constantinopo-litan mosaic in the narthex o Hagia Sophia and theimage in the chrysotriklinos, the only other examplein monumental painting is that o Christ in a tenth-century resco at the cave church o Santa CristinaCarpignano near Otranto.32

    Here it has to be mentioned that there are early Chris-tian depictions o the Virgin with Child on such athrone but these provide little analytical inormationor the analysis o the Basileus image and are thus more

    Breckenridge -, p. . Te term lyrarmig was first used by Weigand to de-

    scribe the throne o the Virgin on the Grado reliquary.Te thrones themselves were introduced by Leo I (-) in his solidi. See in: Weigand , pp. -; Bre-ckenridge -, p. .

    Abrami , p. . Afer iconoclasm, the Virgin is

    seated on such a throne only in the eleventh-centuryresco in St Sophia at Ohrid. See in: Schiller , vol./, fig. .

    Fig. 3. Enthroned Christ, inner narthex o Hagia Sophia, Constantinople Dumbarton Images, Image Collection andFieldwork Archives, Washington, DC

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    6/12

    Starohrvatska prosvjeta III. sera svezak 39/2012.

    176

    relevant to discussions o the overall development andusage o this type o throne.33For instance, they tendto have backs with a different curvature, which havebeen compared by Breckenridge to animal horns.34

    Te iconographic type o the Christ Basileus on a lyre-shaped throne does not exist in western art. In Caroling-ian art, the most requent example o the exalted ChristisMajestas Dominiand isolated images o the Basileusappear only in the eighth-century Godescalc Gospels; inthe ninth-century Lorsch Gospels, and in the ninth-cen-tury Homilies o Gregory the Great, today in Vercelli butoriginally rom Nonantola, where Christ is identified asRex regum(Fig. 4).35It is interesting to note that in thisimage Christ has the word

    Luxplaced in his cross nim-

    bus which is the case on a ragment o a marble crucifixrom Biskupija dated to the 11thcentury.

    For example in the sixth-century resco in Santa Mar-ia Antiqua in Rome; the contemporary mosaic in thechurch o Panagia Kanakaria at Lythrankomi on Cyprus;a somewhat later mosaic (now lost) rom the church oSt Demetrios at Salonica, and the previously mentionedseventh-century silver reliquary rom Grado. See in:Breckenridge -, pp. -.

    Breckenridge -, pp. and . Schiller , vol. , p. , figs -. Te Homilies

    are in Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolare (Ms CXLVIII, ol.r), See also in: Crivello , p. and P1.III where heidentified the image as that o Christ Basileus.

    With the revived interest in Byzantine art during theOttonian emperors, the 11th century saw a rise inwestern instances o the isolated enthroned Christ,beginning with the early eleventh-century goldenbookcover o the Uta Codex.36Te 11thcentury wasalso the time at which the first stone sculptures o theBasileus type, albeit without a lyre-shaped throne, be-gan to appear, such as the relie rom the church o StEmmeram at Regensburg (1049 1060), or that romthe church o St Radegund at Poitiers.37An isolated Christ Basileuscan also be seen in a mini-ature in the Rab Pericopes (also known as the RabEvangelistary) dated to the second hal o the 11 thcentury.38 Tis image, which Badurina identified asthe ransfiguration despite the lack o any definingiconographic indicators o this episode, shows Christblessing with his right and holding a book in his lefhand.39Badurina argued that the manuscript may havebeen produced locally, in the Benedictine monastery

    Schiller , vol. , p. , fig. . Ibidem, figs -. Badurina , pp. -, fig. ; Badurina -,

    p. . Te manuscript is written in Beneventan script oMonte Cassino type. Six olia are in the Rectory at Rab

    and two are in the National University Library at Zagreb(R).

    Badurina -, pp. -.

    Fig. 4. Te enthroned Christ, Biblioteca Capitolare diVercelli, Ms CXLVIII, ol. 8r.

    Fig. 5. Gold histamenono the Byzantine EmperorConstantine IX (1042 1055) MoneyMuseum, CoinCollection, Zurich

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    7/12

    177

    Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from RabMagdalena Skoblar

    o St John the Evangelist, on stylistic grounds thepresence o Byzantine morphology next to westerncolours, and geometric and vegetal ornament andattributed it to what Croatian scholarship sometimesidentifies as adriobyzantinism.40However, this Basi-

    leusalso lacks a lyre-shaped throne which once againindicates that this iconographic type appeared exclu-sively in Byzantine art.

    Symbolical interpretationAs noted, depictions o Christ Basileus express thepower o the exalted Christ as a ruler.41Although hiskingdom is not secular, he is the messianic king, theheir o David, and his kingdom is without end.42Tisidea is confirmed by the lyre-backed throne which wasused by the eastern Roman and Byzantine emperors,as can be judged rom the coinage rom the 5 thcenturyonwards, and which was borrowed or the images oChrist in monumental art and portable objects alike.As early as the 6thcentury, such a throne was given toChrist in Sant Apollinare Nuovo the church whichthe Ostrogothic king and Arian heretic Teodoricbuilt as his palatine chapel around 500 and whose mo-saics were rapidly modified as soon as Justinians armybrought Ravenna under Byzantine control and the true,Orthodox religion. Te inscription Rex Gloriae itsel,rom the original book in Christs lef hand, directlywitnesses the royal/imperial connotation. Te imageo the enthroned Basileuson a lyre-shaped throne sur-

    vived the iconoclastic controversy and re-appeared inthe 9th century in the most important aspects o im-perial rule such as in the ceremonial hall, chrysotrik-linos, immediately behind the imperial throne; in thenarthex o Hagia Sophia, above the doors throughwhich the Emperor enters the Great Church duringthe liturgy o the Great Entrance, and finally on coins,which have always been the ideal medium or display-ing motis associated with imperial propaganda.All ninth-century examples coincide more or less withthe time o the Macedonian emperors and it is theirglory that Emperors Constantine IX and ConstantineX wanted to revive between 1042 and 1067 when theyhad their golden histamenoiimpressed with the imageo the Christ Basileus on a lyre-shaped throne becauseto them it stood or past associations and glories.43

    Badurina , pp. and ; Badurina -, pp. and -.

    Schiller , vol. , p. . Ibidem. Breckenridge -, p. .

    Breckenridge, however, did not think that these twoemperors were particularly aware o imperial associa-tions and the special significance this moti had heldor the Macedonian dynasty, and this, in his opin-ion, explains why the lyre-shaped throne was absent

    rom the more varied types o the enthroned Christ.44Nonetheless, the inscription Rex regnantium,king okings, which regularly accompanies Christ Basileuson coins does not leave any doubt that this image didpossess considerable imperial associations: on the onehand, it guaranteed the subjects that their temporalruler was just and in keeping with the divine ruler, andon the other, it showed that jurisdiction o Gods rulerelied on the power o a secular ruler as Christs vicaron earth.Having analysed the lyre-shaped throne as an inde-pendent moti, without Christ, Breckenridge notedthat prior to the 9thcentury it was used as a seat ortwo or more emperors, rather than or a single ruler,and so he interpreted the examples with Christ en-throned on such a throne as signiying that he is bothCreator Father and Saviour Son.45He also connectedsuch a depiction with the inscription Rex regnantiumand argued that it reers to Christ as the Son o Godwho rules the earth through the regency o the em-perors.46 Tis interpretation also supports the ideaemanating rom such an image o universal harmonybetween the heavenly and the earthly. It is interestingto point out that an identical explanation can be oundeven in the West, as can be seen in the image o Christrom the early ninth-century Homilies o Gregory theGreat now at Vercelli, where the enthroned Christ isidentified as Rex regum.47

    Finally, it should be mentioned that Cutler also ex-amined the occurrence o the lyre-backed throne incoinage, and that his main argument relied on thedependence o the shape on the instrument itsel andits connection with Orpheus.48 Relying on Eusebiuscomparison between Christ and Orpheus who tamedwild beasts by playing music on his lyre, Cutler arrivedat the conclusion that Christs lyre-backed throne rep-resents the seat o harmony, the throne o the Logosin incarnate majesty and thus symbolized universalharmony.49

    Ibidem. Ibidem, p. . Ibidem. Schiller , vol. , p. , figs -. Te Homilies are

    in Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolare (Ms CXLVIII, ol. r). Cutler , pp. -. Eusebius, In Praise o Constantine (

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    8/12

    Starohrvatska prosvjeta III. sera svezak 39/2012.

    178

    Concluding remarkTe iconography o the Rab relie suggests that it isbest viewed in the context o the eleventh-centuryrenewed interest in Byzantine models and the morerequent depictions o Christ Basileusas an isolated

    image. Te comparison with the images o the Basi-leuson a lyre-backed throne also indicates a Byzantinesource, most likely o a portable rather than monu-mental nature. Tus, it becomes clear that the Rab re-lie was produced in a region which knew Byzantineworks well, or in Byzantium itsel.On the other hand, the lack o context or this relieaggravates urther analysis. Nothing is known aboutits original location, unction, possible commissioneror whether there were originally other similar pieceson the island o Rab. I the relie had been an isolatedplaque, then its iconography and the finely carvedrame imply that it could indeed have been intendedas a stone icon, similar to the eleventh-century iconsrom Constantinople and Venice.50Te inherent symbolism o the Basileus image on theRab relie indicates that the commissioner may havebeen a person who had significant political power inthe local community, a supposition supported by theuse o marble and the quality o carving which suc-cessully renders perspective. In eleventh-centuryRab, this person could only have been a localpriororindeed a bishop. Another possibility, again suggestedby the high quality o the carving but also by the spe-cific Byzantine iconography, is that the relie couldhave been a gif to the local commune rom Venice,which claimed power over Rab and the rest o theQuarnero islands rom 1000 to the 1050s, and againin 1090s.51 Tis explanation seems more likely sinceaccess to high-quality Byzantine icons made o marblewould have been more natural in a Venetian contextthan among the local bishops or priorsbetween 1050and 1090s when the island o Rab was ree rom Vene-tian control.Te reasons lying behind Venetian aspirations to Rabstem rom the act that it was a Dalmatian city and

    ) . See in: Heikel , pp. -;Cutler , pp. and . Te connection between theOrpheus-lyre and Christ-throne is also in Goldammer, p. .

    Belting , figs , and . Budak , p. . In the middle o the thcentury, Vene-

    tian rule was disrupted by Petar Kreimir IV (-).

    However, they regained control in the late thcenturyand again rom or . See in: Margeti , p..

    as such it had been a Byzantine territory rom Justin-ian onwards. However, Byzantine rule over the Adri-atic cities gradually became increasingly ormal ratherthan actual, as was the case with Venice.52 In the 9thcentury the Dalmatian cities rejected this ormal rule

    and became independent, an act which promptedByzantium to ally with Venice and temporarily relin-quish control o the cities.53Certainly in the 10thcen-tury Constantine Porphyrogenitos mentioned Rab asone o the cities inhabited by the Romanoi, which isthe term used or Byzantine subjects.54

    Due to dynastic struggles between actions in theCroatian kingdom in the late 10th century, and theiramily ties with the Orseolo amily, Peter II Orseolo,the Doge o Venice, set sail with his fleet to Dalma-tia in the year 1000, in order to ree his people rompaying tribute to the Slav Croats; he docked in Dal-matian ports and received oaths o allegiance,amongwhich was one given by the Bishop o Rab.55In 1018Otto Orseolo, Peters son, retracing his athers steps,also sailed to Dalmatia but ailed to proceed urtherthan Rab, wherepriorBellata and Bishop Maius rec-ognized Venetian rule and promised to pay the annualtribute.56Tis situation seems to have lasted until the1060s when Rab established closer links with Croatiaand its king, Petar Kreimir IV (1058-1075).57How-ever, afer the death o Zvonimir (1089), Rab re-ac-knowledged the rule o Venice at some point between1091 and 1097 when, having accepted Doge VitalMichielis offer o protection, all Dalmatian cities ol-lowed suit.58

    Tus, Rab spent nearly seventy years as a vassalcity o Venice, making it possible that the relie with

    Budak , p. . Margeti , p. . De Administrando Imperio . -, in: Moravscik,

    Jenkins , pp. -. Margeti , p. ; Budak , pp. -; Goldstein

    , pp. -. See also Iohannes Diaconus, Chroni-con Venetum(Cronaca Veneziana) in: Monticolo ,p. .

    Budak , p. ; Goldstein , pp. ; Klai , p., note ; Brusi , p. .

    Margeti , p. . Opinions differ as to whether Rabacknowledged the Croatian ruler even earlier in asreported by Tomas the Archdeacon and supported byBudak and Klai. See in: Budak , p. ; Klai ,p. .

    Budak , p. ; Margeti , p. . According toBudak, the Byzantine emperor sent Gottried de Melfi,

    son o Amico, to Dalmatia in and he stayed thereuntil , while Margeti stated Rab returned to Venicein .

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    9/12

    179

    Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from RabMagdalena Skoblar

    Christ Basileusmight have been carved in Venice andpresented as a diplomatic gif to a local dignitary, oracquired as an icon. Te late eleventh-century dateseems a more likely option due to the act that lyre-backed thrones re-appear on the coins minted by

    Constantine IX and X around the middle o the 11thcentury. For this reason, it can be suggested that the

    relie with Christ Basileus is likely to have been pro-duced in a brie period between 1091 and 1097 whenRab returned to Venice and through her to Byzan-tium, whose doges and emperors saw themselves asgoverning with the blessing o Christ as the king o

    kings himsel.

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    10/12

    Starohrvatska prosvjeta III. sera svezak 39/2012.

    180

    Abrami M. Abrami, Quelques relies dorigine ou dinfluenceByzantine en Dalmatie, in: L art byzantin chez les

    Slaves: Recueil Uspensky, vol. 2, Paris 1932, 317-331.Badurina -A. Badurina, Fragmenti iluminiranog evanelistara izkraja XI stoljea u Rabu, Peristil, 8-9, Zagreb, 1965-1966, 5-12.

    Badurina A. Badurina, Iluminirani rukopisi u Hrvatskoj u 11.stoljeu, in: Zvonimir, kralj hrvatski, Zagreb 1997, 183-190.

    Badurina A. Badurina, Illuminated manuscripts, in: Croatia andEurope 1 Croatia in the Early Middle Ages, London-Zagreb 1999, 545-558.

    Belamari J. Belamari, Pojava hrvatske romanike skulpture, in:Raanje prvog hrvatskog kulturnog pejzaa, Zagreb1996, 357-370.

    Belamari J. Belamari, Romaniko kiparstvo, in: isuu godinahrvatskog kiparstva,Zagreb 1997, 43-93.

    Belting H. Belting, Likeness and Presence, Chicago-London1996.

    Breckenridge -J. D. Breckenridge, Christ on the lyre-backed throne,Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 34-35, Washington 1980-1981, 247-260.

    Brubaker L. Brubaker,Vision and Meaning in Ninth-Century By-

    zantium, Cambridge 1999.

    Brui V. Brusi, Otok Rab: geograski, historijski i umjetnicki

    pregled sa ilustracijama i geograskom kartom Kvarnerai gornjeg Primorja,Zagreb 1926 (reprinted in 1990).

    Budak N. Budak, Neki elementi demograsko-ekonomskograzvoja i prostorne organizacije otoka Raba od XI. dokraja XIII. stoljea, in: Rapski zbornik, Zagreb 1987,193-198.

    Budak N. Budak, Prva stoljea Hrvatske, Zagreb 1994.

    Crivello

    F. Crivello, Le Omelie sui vangeli di Gregorio Magnoa Vercelli, Firenze 2005.

    Cutler A. Cutler, ransfigurations: Studies in the Dynamics oByzantine Iconography, University Park Pennsylvania1975.

    Deichmann F. W. Deichmann, Ravenna: Hauptstadt Des Sptanti-ken Abendlandes, vol. 1, Wiesbaden 1969.

    Demu O. Demus, Le sculture esterne di San Marco, Milan1995.

    Domijan M. Domijan, Rab grad umjetnosti, Zagreb 2001.

    Domijan M. Domijan, Rab u srednjem vijeku, Split 2004.

    Dudan A. Dudan, La Dalmazia nellarte italiana, vol. 1, Milan1921.

    Eitelberger R. Eitelberger, Die mittelalterlichen KunstdenkmaleDalmatiens in Arbe, Zara, ra, Spalato und Ragusa,Vienna 1861.

    Eitelberger R. Eitelberger, Die mittelalterlichen KunstdenkmaleDalmatiens in Arbe, Zara, Nona, Sebenico, ra, Spa-lato und Ragusa, Vienna 1884.

    Elner

    J. Elsner, Imperial Rome and Christian riumph, Ox-ord 1998.

    Frey D. Frey, Der Dom von Arbe, u:Allgemeine Bauzeitung,Vienna 1912, 88-96.

    Goldammer K. Goldammer, Christus-Orpheus, Zeitschrif rKirchengeschichte, 74, Stuttgart 1963, 217-243.

    Goldsein

    I. Goldstein, Hrvatski rani srednji vijek, Zagreb 1995.

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    11/12

    181

    Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from RabMagdalena Skoblar

    Grieron, Hendy, Bellinger P. Grierson, M. F. Hendy, A. R. Bellinger, Catalogue othe Byzantine coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection

    and in the Whittemore Collection, vol. 4/1 (Alexius I toMichael VIII, 1081-1261), Washington 1999.

    Heikel I. A. Heikel, Eusebius Werke I, in: Die griechischenchristlichen Strifsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte, vol. 7,Leipzig 1902, 195-259.

    Jarak M. Jarak, Starokranska i ranosrednjovjekovna skulp-tura otoka Raba, Starohrvatska prosvjeta, s. III, 37,Split 2010, 77-109

    Kirchbaum E. Kirschbaum, Lexikon der christliche Ikonographie,

    vol. 3, Rome 1971.

    Klai N. Klai, Povijest Hrvata u ranom srednjem vijeku,Zagreb 1971.

    Klai N. Klai, Povijest Hrvata u ranom srednjem vijeku,Zagreb 1976.

    Maraovi . Marasovi, Dalmatia Praeromanica, vol. 2, Split2009.

    Margeti L. Margeti, Iz starije pravne povijesti Raba, in: Rapskizbornik,Zagreb 1987, 199-211.

    Maukopf-Deliyanni D. Mauskop-Deliyannis, Ravenna in Late Antiquity,Cambridge 2010.

    Monticolo G. Monticolo, Cronache Veneziane Antichissime, vol.1, Rome 1890.

    Moravcik, Jenkin G. Moravcsik, R. J. H. Jenkins, De Administrando Im-

    perio, Washington 1967.

    Oikonomide N. Oikonomides, Leo the VI and the Nathex Mosaic oSaint Sophia, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 30, Washing-ton 1976, 151-172.

    Parani Parani, M. G. Reconstructing the reality o images: Byz-antine material culture and religious iconography, 11th

    to 15th

    centuries, Leiden-Boston 2003.Poilpr A. Poilpr,Maiestas Domini: Une image de lglise enOccident: Ve-IXesicle, Paris 2005.

    Prijatelj K. Prijatelj, Skulpture s ljudskim likom iz starohrvat-skog doba, Starohrvatska prosvjeta, s. III, 3, Split 1954,65-91.

    Schiller G. Schiller, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst, vol. 4,Gtersloh 1980.

    Schiller G. Schiller, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst, vol. 3,Gtersloh 1986.

    Schleyer W. Schleyer,Arbe. Stadt un Insel, ein Schatzkstlein derNatur und Kunst in Dalmatien, Wiesbaden 1914.

    Toeca P. oesca, Storia dellarte italiana, vol. 1 (Il Medioevo),

    urin 1927.

    Weigand E. Weigand, Zum Denkmlerkreis des Christogramm-nimbus, Byzantinische Zeitschrif, 32, Berlin 1932, 63-81.

    Wulff O. Wulff, Altchristliche und byzantinische Kunst, 2

    vols, Berlin 1914.

    ic-Rokov I. ic-Rokov,

    Crkve posveene Majci Bojoj od VI. doXI. stoljea na podrucju krke biskupije, Bogoslovskasmotra, 41/4, Zagreb 1972, 451-466.

  • 8/13/2019 Marble Relief with Enthroned Christ from Rab

    12/12

    Starohrvatska prosvjeta III. sera svezak 39/2012.

    182

    U lanku se obrauje relje Krista na prijestolju u obli-ku lire koji se nalazi u unutranjosti crkve sv. Marijeu Rabu. Relje je prvi put spomenut 1861., kad ga Ei-telberger ocjenjuje kao romaniki rad. Oblik prijesto-lja prvi je analizirao Frey, a potom Abrami, godine1932., koji rapski relje datira u 10. stoljee. Krajem20. stoljea relje obrauju Belamari i Domijan, kojizakljuuju da je rije o importiranoj skulpturi iz 12.,odnosno 11. stoljea. Belamari smatra da relje pred-stavlja ikonu, dok Domijan sugerira da je mogao pri-padati proelju koje tadanja rapska katedrala dobivau drugoj polovici 11. stoljea. Nakon Freya i Abramiao ikonografiji reljea uope se nije pisalo. Frey je reljeusporedio s prikazima Krista na prijestolju u oblikulire iz 6. stoljea te zato predloio dataciju u to stoljee.Abrami je, pak, relje iitao kao Majestas Domini iusporedio ga s neidentificiranim reljeom iz bazilikesv. Marka u Veneciji, a prijestolje u obliku lire shva-tio kao detalj koji upuuje na razdoblje prije godine1000.Nakana autorice bila je ponuditi prvu ikonograskuanalizu rapskog reljea nakon najmanje osamdesetgodina koliko je proteklo o Freyevih i Abramievihzapaanja. Ikonograski predloci pronaeni su u bi-zantskoj umjetnosti. Najraniji primjer Krista na prije-stolju u obliku lire je mozaik iz 6. stoljea u crkvi Sant

    Apollinare Nuovo. U 9. stoljeu istovjetno prijestoljejavlja se na mozaiku u narteksu Sv. Sofije i na nesta-lom prikazu u

    chrysotriklinosucarske palae takoer

    u Carigradu. Isti motiv pojavljuje se i na bizantskomnovcu najprije u 9., a potom i u 11. stoljeu. Zbog po-

    Mramorni reljef Krita na prijetolju iz Raba

    Kljune rijei: Rab, Krist, prijestolje, Bizant, Venecija

    kretne prirode novca i injenice da je bizantski novackolao cijelim jadranskim bazenom, najvjerojatnije jeda su upravo prikazi na novcu posluili kao ikono-graski predloak. U lanku se razmatra i ikonogra-ska veza izmeu prijestolja u obliku lire i natpisa Rexregnantiumkoji se javlja na novcu. Dodatno uporiteza vladarsko tumaenje ove ikonografije nalazi se i uargumentaciji Gertrud Schiller, koja tip Krista na pri-

    jestolju koji dri knjigu u lijevoj ruci, a blagoslivlja de-snom naziva Christus Rexili Basileus. Usko povezanas Kristom na prijestolju u obliku lire je i njegova pri-padajua simbolika. Kako objanjavaju Breckenridge iCutler, to ikonograsko rjeenje predstavlja univerzal-nu harmoniju izmeu nebeskog (Boga) i zemaljskog(cara) te izmeu Krista kao Oca, odnosno Sina.Ukazujui na povezanost ikonograskih oznaka rap-skog reljea i bizantskog novca makedonske dina-stije, autorica smjeta relje na sam kraj 11. stoljea,kad Venecija uz blagoslov Bizanta iri svoju vlast nadalmatinske gradove, meu kojima je i Rab. Potvr-ujui miljenja Belamaria i Domijana da se radi oimportiranom reljeu, autorica sugerira da ga je mo-gao kupiti rapski prior ili biskup u Veneciji ili da jerelje ak poklonjen jednom od njih kao diplomatskidar. Vladarske konotacije koje proimaju ikonografijuKrista Basileusana prijestolju u obliku lire ukazuju nanaruitelja koji razumije vanost harmonije izmeunebeskog vladara kao pokrovitelja svjetovnih vladarai njihova pozivanja na legitimitet koji dolazi od Kristakralja kraljeva i Pantokratora.