Module 4 Flashcards
Catacombs
Early Christian cemeteries
Confraternities
Burial associations
Cubicula
Chambers in catacombs
Galleries
Passageways in catacombs
Loculi
Shelves where the dead were placed in catacombs
Medallion
Circular frame
Lunette
Semicircular frame
Orants
Figrures with their arms raised in a gesture of prayer
Prefiguration
Earlier version. Jonah was a prefiguration of Christ.
Catacomb of Priscillla
Young, beardless Christ, Old Testament account of three men thrown in fire by Nebuchadnezzar, fish commonly used to represent Jesus Christ and religion. Buried underground. Land donated by a wealthy lady Priscilla, first to her family, the extends to other Christians. Contains Good Shephard fresco, orant frescoes, and Greek Chapel.
Why was sculpture uncommon in Christianity?
They did not want to be confused with pagan religions, cults, carved idols, and architectural sculptures.
Old Saint Peter’s
Built by Constantine starting in 319. Replaced with Santa Sabina 100 years later.
Nave
Central walkway in a basilica
Apse
Where the alter was located in a church
Side Aisles
Aisles on each side of the nave and seating
Transept
A horizontally-intersecting aisle that intersected the nave before the apse
Relics
Objects of religious importance; important in early Christianity
Atrium
Opening; roof is open
Narthex
Entrance hall before the church
Spolia
Recycled or repurposed building materials
Baldacchino
Large 4-columned canopy. One stands over the tomb of Saint Peter
Santa Sabina
Replaced Saint Peter’s with a more modern basilica. Contains clerestory windows, marble columns on the lower floor, a painted apse ceiling. Light used as symbol of divinity and removes weight. Simple brick exterior.
Central-Plan
Parts of the building are equidistant from a central point.
Ambulatory
Side aisle on a central-plan church
Blind Arcade
Arches over a solid background
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
ca. 425, brick building using blind arcades and combing the basilica and central-plan layouts. Christ as the Good Shephard with a hat, cross, and 6 sheep.
Folios
Sheets
Vellum
Calfskin
Parchment
Lambskin
Codex
Like a book
Illuminated Manuscript
Written text with brilliant decorations
Vienna Genesis - Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, Jacob Wrestling the Angel
Purple vellum, silver ink, suggests wealthy ownership, uses continuous narration, nude figure representing water source shows persistence of classical motifs
Diptych
Picture or bas-relief made of 2 panels hinged together, often on an alterpiece.
Byzantine
Surviving Eastern Christian Roman Empire
Theocracy
Government utilizing messages from a God or gods
Barberini Ivory
Diptych leaf of Justinian on a rearing horse. Uses hierarchal scale. Right center panel has been lost.
Hagia Sophia
Justinian commissions beautiful church. Has a dome with many windows and a gold ceiling that implies divinity and roof appears as if it were floating. Converted to mosque. Made by mathematicians; included aspects from central-plan and basilica. Buttresses later added for support
Butttress
Mass of masonry used as a support or brace counteracting the outward thrust of an arch or vault
Minarets
Towers for Muslim criers
San Vitale
ca. 547, Ravenna, Italy. Uses two concentric octagons. Most famous for 6th-century mosaics covering its interior (Justinian with Bishop Maximianus and their attendants; Theodora and her attendants)
Chancel
Part of a church reserved for a clergy and containing the altar and choir
Paten
Large bowl or plate used for the Eucharist bread
Eucharist
Breaking break, drinking wine
Chaline
For wine in Eucharist
Virgin (Theokotos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George
From Monastery of Saint Catherine
Theokotos
“Throne of Wisdom;” Mary holding Jesus Christ
Iconoclasm
Destruction of icons and imagery
San Marco
ca. 1063. Has a Greek cross plan and large central dome and models Justinian’s Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople
Triptych
Set of three works
Deesis
John the Baptist, Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ
Anastasis
Resurrection (of Christ)
Mandorla
Oval-shaped frame often framing Jesus
Annunciation
Church festival
Alms
Things given to the poor
5 pillar of Islam
Shahada - testimony of faith
salat - prayer 5 times daily facing Mecca
Zakat - giving alms to the poor
Sawm - fasting during Ramadan
Hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if able
The Kaaba
“Cube.” Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Worshippers circumambulate hoping to kiss or touch the Black Stone. Covered in the kiswah
Kiswa(h)
Black curtain covering Kabaa. Emroidered with silver and gold thread and replaced annually.
The Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh) in Isfahan, Iran
Congregational mosque. One of the oldest standing in Iran. Uses 4 iwans (vaulted open rooms) connected by a courtyard with a shallow pool for wudu. Has qibla iwan to accommodate direction of prayer (southern side of the courtyard). Has colorful tile decoration and muqarnas.
Muqarnas
Stalactite-form stucco decorations
Wudu
Ritual washing
Iwan
Vaulted open rooms
The Gread Mosque in Cordoba, Spain
Largest mosque in the Islamic West. Converted to a cathedral in 1523 after the Muslims were driven out of Spain. Includes hypostyle prayer hall and uses spolia. Has striped red and white arches. Decorated with calligraphy and patterns.
Alhambra in Granada, Spain
Muslim fortress and palace. No central organizing element and it multiple palaces placed together. Used Arabic inscriptions and tile panels to decorate. Court of the Lions.
Dadoes
Lower wall panels
Madrasa
Type of seminary that is a common Islamic structure
Mosque of Selim II
Erdine (formal Ottoman Empire capital). Utilizes many domical spaces. Made in blue and white.
Kulliiye
Greater complex
Taj Mahal
1623-1653 C.E. Shah Jahan commissions to show love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Appearance and décor reflects a wealthy ruler with skilled architects. Contrasting colors are used to make intricate designs on the walls and floors and the expensive materials add to a sense of wealth and splendor.
Calligraphy
Ornamental Writing
Folio from a Qur’an
Page from the Islamic holy text. Created using gold on vellum and written in kufic script, which is very angular and uses no vowels.
Kufic (script)
Calligraphy. Named for the important calligraphy center in the city of Kufa. Very angular and in traditional practices, uses no vowels.
Shahnama
Persian national epic poem that tells the history of Iranian creation through the Muslim conquest that is often chosen as a subject matter for secular texts.
Bahram Gur Fight the Karg folio
Page from the Great Ilkhanic Shahnama. Created using ink and opaque color on gold and silver paper. Has 6 columns of text written in the Persian naskh calligraphic style. The influence of Chinese painting styles can be seen in the motifs and landscape elements. Influence also came as a result of Mongolian invasions.
Gur
Onager; animal resembling a donkey
The Court of the Gayumars folio
ca. 1522-1525. Another episode from a 742-page version of the Shahmana given to Ottoman sultan Selim II as a gift. Use of ink and opaque watercolor on gold paper. Depicts first king of Iran, Gayumars, presiding over his court (wearing leopard skins) from a mountaintop. Uses cool colors and lush vegetation.
Pyxis (pl. Pyxides)
Lidded cylindrical containers/boxes. In Islamic cultures, usually has hemispherical lids. Typically carved from ivory.
Muhammad ibn al-Zain’s Basin
ca. 1320-1340 CE. Used for washing hands at official ceremonies. Made of brass inlaid with gold and silver, and both inner and outer surfaces are decorated in elaborate court scenes, battles, and hunting expeditions in 3 friezes. Its (false) association with French King Louis IX caused this piece to also be known as “Baptistere de St. Louis.” Figures on rondels suggested as representing personifications of furusiyya (good horsemanship).
Furusiyya
Good horsemanship.
The Ardabil Carpet
1539-1540. Was one of a pair of funerary carpets. Nearly 35 feet in length. The other carpet was dismantled to repair this one. It is believed that Maqsud of Kashan developed and supplied the design patterns for the pair of carpets to the royal weavers who made them, as his name appears on the design. No human or animal forms are included in the design, as it was intended for religious purposes.
Naskh
Persian calligraphic style
Tumulus
Burial mounds
Why do few works from the Early Medieval period in the West survive today?
The nature of their materials (primarily wood, mud, and stone).
Animal Style
Objects with decorative abstract patterns combined with animal forms
Dome of the Rock
691-692 CE. Earliest large-scale work of Islamic art. Built around “the rock” which was the site of the miraj. Its design was likely inspired by Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Allows pilgrims to circumambulate around the rock and has a dome covered in gold leaf (now made of anodized aluminum). Lower portion of the structure covered in abstract tile designs (was initially covered in a glass mosaic).
Miraj
Muhammad’s ascension into heaven
Circumambulate
Walk around
Mosque
Islamic place of worship
Qibla
Orientation of the mosque; faces Mecca.
Qibla Wall
Wall that directs prayer toward Mecca.
Mihrab
Niche on the prayer wall; common opinion is that it represents the site where Muhammad sat or stood in his Medina home while leading prayers.
Minbar
Stepped pulpit on which the imam recites the khutba
Imam
“Teacher”
Khutba
“Sermon”
Minarets
Exterior auxiliary towers used by a muezzin to call the faithful to prayer 5 times daily
Muezzin
Muslim crier
Cloisonne
Popular method of decoration in the Early Middle Ages that uses metal strips (called cloisons) and glass paste.
Warrior Lord Purse Cover
ca. 625. Prime example of cloisonne methods and animal style that is uniquely Early Medieval style.
Vikings
Skilled warrior, sailors, craftsmen, and administrators, and they swept across Northern Europe in the Early Middle Ages.
Book of Durrow
ca. 660-680. One of the earliest examples of a Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscript. Contains text, illustrations, and carpet pages typical of Hiberno-Saxon manuscript illumination.
Hiberno-Saxon
Early Medieval art produced in the insular communities of Ireland (whose ancient name was Hibernia) and Britain (whose primary ethnic group was the Saxons)
Carpet Pages
Decorative pages in an illuminated manuscript
Colophon
Page of the text that contains information on the book’s manufacture
Saint Luke’s Incipit Page
Opens the Luke’s Gospel in the Book of Durrow. Combines text with spiraled forms, swirling vortexes, and animal life.
____ was considered the language of the New Testament, and _____ was the language of the Christian Church in Rome.
Greek; Latin
Charles the Great is also known as ___________.
Charlemagne.
Equestrian Portrait of Charlemagne
Clearly influenced by the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. Oversized emperor compared to the horse. The emotionless expression and short, squat figure mark this as a Carolingian work.
Carolingian Renaissance
Under Charlemagne’s rule, the Late Roman Empire and the Early Christian periods were combined and reborn.
Cover of the Lindau Gospel
Lavish item from the Carolingian period made in gold and embedded with jewels and pearls. Features a young crucified Christ in the middle.
Ottonians
Came to power after Charlemagne’s death and returned order and a resurgence of classicism.
Saint Michael’s
1001-1030. Hildesheim, Germany. Has a pair of 16.5ft tall bronze doors called the Bernward Doors (ca. 1015) with images from the Old Testament Book of Genesis on the left and episodes from the Life of Christ. Has 12.5ft tall bronze column inside featuring episodes from the life of Jesus in 24 continuous spiraling scenes most likely inspired by the Column of Trajan.
Gospels of Otto III
ca. 1000 CE. Illuminated manuscript from the Ottonian period. Otto III sits enthroned like a Roman emperor with his feet resting on a raised stool. He holds an orb with a cross on it to symbolize dominion over the Christian world. Personifications of the regions Otto controlled approach him to pay homage.
Gero Crucifix
ca. 970 CE. 6-foot work of monumental sculpture carved from oak. Christ is depicted as truly suffering in the used of a bowed head and stretched, attenuated muscles. Surrounded by oval frame resembling a golden sun.
