clair, the visit to the tomb. narrative and liturgy on three early christian pyxides

The Visit to the Tomb: Narrative and Liturgy on Three Early Christian PyxidesAuthor(s): Archer St. ClairSource: Gesta, Vol. 18, No. 1, Papers Related to Objects in the Exhibition "Age ofSpirituality", The Metropolitan Museum of Art (November 1977-February 1978) (1979), pp.127-135Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the International Center of Medieval ArtStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/766798 .

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T1 1 T- * r n

ne Vlslt to t le om :

Narrative and Liturgy on Three Early Christian Pyxides*

ARCHER ST. CLAIR Princeton N. J.

usually included in the group of ivories stylistically associated with the Murano diptych, with Wessel arguing for an Egyptian provenance, while Volbach prefers the Caucasus or Armenia.2 Because of the scarcity of securely dated and localized mate- rial from the period, however, precise dating and localization for these ivories has yet to be achieved. The purpose of this study is to examine the three pyxides in the hope of providing some insights into the origin of their iconography and the impact of the liturgy on early Passion iconography.

The Sitten Pyxis

At the center of the composition (Fig. 1), opposite the space reserved for the lock, is a baldachin consisting of two columns fluted in a spiral supporting an arcuated lintel carved with dentils. A flanged dome rests on the lintel. This combination of architectural elements is highly unusual since the arcuated lintel was associated with masonry construction, specifically gateways and facades of buildings, while the flanged dome owed its shape to construction from pliable materials and was used primarily for portable tabernacles.3 In art, the two motifs appear separately but interchangeably, principally in the East, as a framing device to indicate the divinity or superiority of persons placed beneath.4 The juxta-

FIGURE 1. The Visit to the Tomb on an ivory pyxis in the Museum of the Valeria Church in Sitten.

Among the approximately forty Christian pyxides that survive from the Early Christian period are three which are unusual both in their subject matter, they are the only pyxides depicting scenes from the Passion cycle, and in the appearance on each of a similar domed structure as the focal point of the composition. 1 Dated in the sixth century, the pyxides are

FIGURES 2 and 3. Details of FIG. 1; side views.

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GESTA XVlll/1 @ The International Center of Medieval Art 1979



position of these motifs on the pyxis can probably be explained by the two isolated arches hung with curtains at the sides of the composition (Figs. 2, 3). Each consists of spirally fluted columns from which an arch springs directly. Originally these arches must have formed part of the central structure as shown on the other two pyxides (Figs. 7, 9). The artist, perhaps to bring the Marys closer to the angel, moved the arches to the sides of the composition and covered the remaining arch with a flanged dome to create a baldachin of the type popular on ivories of the period.5

Beneath the baldachin an angel wearing tunic and pal- lium is seated upon a masonry block. He holds a cross in his left hand and makes a gesture of speech with his right. Two women approach the angel, one on either side of the baldachin. They wear tunics with long fitted sleeves, mantles, and veils. Gazing outward toward the observer, they raise their left hands to their chins and in their right hands carry censers lidded and suspended from a single chain.6 They are flanked by two bearded men wearing tunics and pallia (Figs. 1, 2). Each raises his right hand and holds an open codex in his left. They have been identified as Peter and John,7 who are mentioned in John 20 as visitors to the tomb, and alter- natively, as Peter and Paul.8 The scene is completed by six soldiers who sit or recline on either side of the lock (Figs. 2, 3). Beneath the lock is a cross set within a laurel wreath. Five of the soldiers wear short tunics and scale cuirasses, four are helmeted, and three wear short chlamydes attached at the shoulder by fibulae. One wears a short sleeveless tunic (Fig. 2, second from the left). Five lean on shields, and two carry objects which are probably compound bows.

While none of the Gospels describes the Resurrection, all four contain the story of a visit to the tomb whereby the Resurrection was revealed. The most detailed version of the Visit occurs in the Gospel of Matthew 28:1-6. In the East, this version, with two Marys, one angel seated outside the tomb, and soldiers seated or lying nearby, was by far the most popular.9 On the Sitten pyxis two women and soldiers are present in accord with the text of Matthew although the angel is within the tomb as described in the Gospel of Mark. The fact that he directs his attention to the left, however, excluding the woman on the right, suggests that in the model both women approached from the left, and the angel, placed under the baldachin to create a symmetrical composition on the pyxis, sat on either the right or left side of the tomb. The model in fact must have closely resembled the illustra- tion of the scene in a later Syriac manuscript (Fig. 4).10 Although dated in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the manuscript was early singled out by Millet, who noted that it preserved "pieusement les types les plus anciens;" both its narrative and ornamental miniatures find close parallels in Syro-Palestinian works of the sixth and seventh centuries.l 1 In the scene of the visit, the two Marys hold pitchers in their right hands and raise their left hands to their chins in a gesture of silence rather than of grief,l2 but otherwise they closely

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FIGURE 4. The Visit to the Tomb; London, British Library Ms. Add. 7169, f. 1211.

resemble the two women depicted on the Sitten pyxis. Most striking is the angel, whose awkward pose with the lower half of his body facing to the right and the upper half turned forward, is repeated with an equal lack of skill on the Sitten pyxis.

Since the pyxis, like the manuscript, illustrates Matthew's version of the narrative, it is unlikely that the men depicted standing on either side of the Marys are Peter and John, who are associated with the visit of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John. In fact they do not participate in the scene, but stand facing the observer and holding open codices. Similar figures, usually anonymous and nondescript, appear as wit- nesses in scenes from the life of Christ on sarcophagi.1 3 The earliest identifiable figures of this type appear in the sixth- century Rossano and Sinope Gospel books, where New Testa- ment scenes are accompanied by Old Testament Prophets bearing scrolls inscribed with appropriate quotations from their writings.14 On the pyxis, the figures hold codices, perhaps an indication that they are evangelists rather than prophets,1 5 but the physiognomies are also appropriate to Peter and Paul.16 Indeed, the closest parallels for these figures appear flanking Christ on two ivory plaques dated by Volbach in the sixth century, where they are surely meant to represent Peter and Paul.1 7

The soldiers on the Sitten pyxis, who recline gracefully or sit on either side of the lockspace, do not resemble those in the Syrian manuscript. Generally, in scenes of the visit to the tomb, soldiers are fewer in number, represented either asleep, agitated, or stunned, and if armed, without exception shown with spears.18 On the pyxis, the soldiers wear the scale lorica and high rounded helmet traditional for the Middle Eastern soldiers who served as auxiliaries in the Roman army.19 Two carry compound bows of the Scythian type,

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FIGURE 6. TroMan Warriors, Rome, Vat. Lat. 3867, f. 188v. FIGURE 5. Slustration for the Third Georgic; Rome, Vat. Lat. 3867, f. 4.

The Sitten pyxis thus emerges as a pastiche, less faithful to the narrative source than it appears at first glance. While its iconography can be traced by Syro-Palestinian versions of the Visit, the artist did not hesitate to introduce non-narrative elements such as Peter and Paul, or to rearrange the composition to fit the format of the pyxis, liberties which are also taken on the remaining pyxides.

The Metropolitan Pyxis

The iconographical relationship of the Metropolitan pyxis to the Sitten pyxis has long been recognized.25 The two women who approach the sitomb (Figs. 7, 8) closely resemble those on the Sitten pyxis (Figs. 1, 2), although the woman on the right does not raise her hand to her chin but holds it instead at her side. The censers, moreover, are round with a small base. Three women orants alike in dress and facial type, stand before the arches of an arcade filling the remaining space. Beneath the lockspace is a cross with the monogram of Christ. The structure approached by the Marys consists of three arches springing directly from spirally fluted columns. Each arch is capped by a dome, but it is clear from the angle of the steps approaching the side arches that the structure was curved, and probably originally covered with a single dome. It is not clear, however, whether through this convention of perspective three sides of a square are visible or whether the structure was hexagonal or round.2 6 Curtains

characterized by the fact that when strung or drawn they had more or less pronounced Cupids-bow outline, compared more poetically by the ancients to the outline of the north shore of the Black Sea.20 The bow is familiar from Greek depictions of Scythian bowmen, and in Greek painting Her- cules frequently carries a bow of this type.2 1 Strangely, however, the soldiers on the pyxis do not hold the bows at the grip as would be expected, but at the ears; one at the top, the other at the bottom (Fig. 3). This, in combination with the languid poses of the figures and the fact that one wears merely a short sleeveless tunic, suggests that the models for the figures were not soldiers, but shepherds, whose short staffs, typically held at top or bottom, were turned into bows. Numerous examples of such shepherds survive, notably on sarcophagi and in illuminated manuscripts, harking back ultimately to illustrated bucolic poetry of the Hellenistic period.22 The Vergilius Romanus provides examples of such bucolic iconography approximately contemporary to the pyxis as well as of soldiers wearing scale loricae over short tunics, and carrying larger and later versions of the compound bow (Figs. 5, 6).2 3 The carver of the Sitten pyxis must have had access to similar bucolic models, which he transplanted into the context of the visit to the tomb,24 creating a group of "soldiers" who admirably fill the space on the pyxis but who hardly can be said to illustrate successfully the soldiers who, according to Matthew, "did shake and become as dead men."

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FIGURE 8. Detail of FIG. 7; side view.

FIGURE 7. The Visit to the Tomb on an ivory pyxis in the Metro- politan Museum of Art, New York.

are depicted in the fifth-century mosaics in the Rotunda of Hagios Georgios in Thessaloniki, thought to represent the celestial ecclesia.33 By the sixth century this type appeared in Ravenna as well, and variants could be found in most provinces of the Empire.34 In both Egypt and Constantinople however, raised apses appear to have been the exception, and the altar was usually placed before the apse.3 5 The use of curtains appears also to have been an early Syrian custom. According to Khouri-Sarkis' studies on the Liturgy of St. James, in addition to those on the chancel, curtains were used on the ciborium itself and were opened or closed according to the demands of the liturgy.36 The paucity of surviving evidence from other areas of the Empire makes it impossible to know how widespread this practice was. A single curtain hangs between the rear columns of the baldachins at Hagios Georgios.37 But there is no reliable literary or pictorial evidence for the use of curtains on ciboria in Constantinople before the ninth century,38 or in Rome before the eighth,39 and it is possible that in representing the celestial ecclesia the "liturgical facades" of Hagios Georgios reflect the liturgical practices of Jerusalem itself.

The object lying on the altar is probably a Gospel book. Narsai, who founded the Nestorian school at Nisibis in A.D. 457 after twenty years as a professor at Edessa, describes the altar as "crowned with beauty and splendour and upon it is the Gospel of life and the adorable wood."40 The placing of the Gospel on the altar appears to have been a part of church ritual in both East and West from an early date.4 1

tied to one side hang in the side arches, and a lamp is suspended from the central arch. Beneath it an altar in the form of a table supported by three columns takes the place of the tomb and angel of the Sitten pyxis.27 Lying on the altar is a square object incised with an "X."

Goldschmidt believed that the altar depicted on the pyxis was the one associated with the Anastasis Shrine in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem,2 8 made, according to the account of Antoninus of Piacenza, from the stone that had closed the sepulchre.29 However, the shrine is depicted on ampullae and on the lid of the Sancta Sanctorum reliquary box as enclosed by a grille, not by curtains,3 ° and none of the representations or pilgrims' descriptions depicts the shrine itself as approached by steps, both prominent features on the pyxis. In fact, these features correspond to the arrangement of the apse, rather than the Shrine, which is described in the fifth-century Testamentum Domini, and which was typical of Syrian and Palestinian churches of the period The Testa- mentum Domini specifies that the place of the altar should be raised three steps and that the altar must have a curtain, although it is not clear from the text where the curtain should be placed.31 Studies of Lassus and Tchalenko, and of Nuss- baum confirm that in Syria and Palestine the apse area was generally raised (although the number of steps varies from one to five), and the altar stood within the apse.32 Similar altars, approached by three steps and covered by a baldachin,

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From this evidence we can conclude that the substitution of altar for tomb on the Metropolitan Museum pyxis was not topographical but rather liturgical, that is, it intended to illustrate the identification of (Shrist's tomb with the main altar of the Christian church. The identification of parts of the church and of liturgical objects with events mentioned in the Cospels, and especially in the passion cycle, was undoubtedly stimulated by the interest in the Loca Sancta and the emerging cult of relics at Jerusalem.42 Equally important was the emergence in the East in the fourth century of the theory of the eucharistic liturgy as an anamnesis for the crucifixion and resurrection, and of the Eucharist as the actual blood and body of the crucified Christ.43 The origin of this liturgical vision lay in the cult of the crucified Christ which originated in the monastic settlements of Egypt and spread rapidly to Syria.4 4 It is present in the liturgies of St. James and of Antioch, and above all in the homilies of the Syrian monk, hermit, and patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom.4s Out of this tradition came the associa- tion of the altar with the tomb of Christ. According to Theo- dore of Mopsuestia, "we may think of Him on the altar, as if He were placed in the sepulchre after having received the Passion."46 His pupil, the Nestorian Narsai, is more specific: "The altar is a symbol of the Lord's tomb without doubt, and the bread and the wine are the body of our Lord which was embalmed and buried."47 The concept was not limited to Nestorians. John Climax, hermit and abbot of Mt. Sinai, and probably the most widely read and influential mystic of his time, writes in a commentary on symbolism in the liturgy:

The apse of the church has been accepted as a type of the cave in Bethlehem. The table (1rpa1rePa) suggests the tomb of the Lord, and the table of preparation (rpo0evIq) bears a type, i.e., the place of the skull, where Christ was crucified.4 8

The idea became a constant tradition in the East. It is ex- pressed with little variation in the writings of Pseudo Germanus and Pseudo Sophronius, and elements of this belief persist in the liturgy to the present day.4 9

If our interpretation of the pyxis in a liturgical sense is correct, it is legitimate to ask whether the presence of the three women orants, if they are indeed more than space fillers, can be explained in similar terms. Grabar, in a discussion of the third-century fresco in the Bapistry at Dura Europos depicting a procession of women approaching the tomb, suggested that the scene represented a liturgical procession of virgins, perhaps neophytes on the day of baptism.5 ° Since baptism traditionally took place at Easter, the sym- bolical identification of such women with the Marys of the Resurrection in the sixth century would not be surprising. A second interpretation of the same scene, however, also appropriate to the pyxis, was made by Kraeling, who suggested that the presence of five women reflected the har- monization of conflicting Gospel narratives in the Diatesseron of Tatian the standard Gospel text in Syriac churches until

FIGURE 9. Main face of an ivory pyxis in the Cleveland Museum.

it gradually gave way to the separate Gospels beginning in the fifth century. 5 l

The Cleveland Pyxis

In an arrangement similar to that on the Sitten pyxis5

at the center of the composition, opposite the lockspace, is a domed structure (Fig. 9).52 To its left are the Annuncia- tion and an abbreviated Entry into Jerusalem, to its right the Raising of Lazarus and Healing of a Blind Man.s3 The architecture is closely related to that on the Metropolitan pyxis but there is a single dome decorated with swags (cf. Fig. 7). As on the Sitten pyxis (Fig. 1), the arches are carved with dentils and the curtains in the side arches are tied in the center. Below the curtains are objects which, beginning with Peiresc, have been described as vases.54 More likely they are thymiateria,5 5 although the paratactical arrangement of objects and low relief make precise identification difficult.

Further confusion has characterized the identification of the objects beneath the central arch Mutherich was the first to identify the central structure on the pyxis with that described and drawn by Peiresc when he visited the Treasury of St. Andre le Bas at Vienne in 1612. It was in Peiresc's description that the object above the cross was first identified as a chalice, an identification accepted by Mutherich and subsequently by Elbern in his study of Eucharistic chalices.56 A comparison with the Metropolitan pyxis indicates that the so-called chalice is undoubtedly a hanging lamp which was raised in order to make room for the cross. The beginnings of three chains by which it was hung are visible at the top of the lamp. Its form is the same as that on the Metropolitan pyxis, and similar objects clearly intended as lamps hang in the arches depicted on the Pola casket and other ivories.5 7

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Mutherich in a departure from Peiresc's description, identified the object in the central arch not as an altar, but "sans aucun doute (c'est) une representation du trone, avec le livre de l'evangile," an identification accepted by Elbern who introduced the pyxis as the earliest monument con- necting the chalice with the Etoimasia.58 Mutherich offered no evidence in support of her theory, but compared the iconographical program to that on the triumphal arch of Santa Maria Maggiore. The object on the pyxis, however, bears no resemblance to the throne at S. Maria Maggiore or to other early representations of thrones;59 nor would we expect a throne to be supported on three legs. Comparison with the Metropolitan pyxis clearly indicates that we are dealing with an altar, but it is sigma-shaped rather than rectangular, a form logically supported by three columns and which? according to Bagatti's study, was diffuse throughout the Transjordan, Palestine, and Syria.6 °

The most significant difference between the Metropolitan and Cleveland pyxides is the introduction of a cross behind or upon the altar in the latter. The invasion of Christian imagery by the cross as a result of the cult of the true cross is well known, and a gilded silver cross in fact crowned Golgotha from the fifth to the seventh centuries.6 1 The earliest evidence for the use of crosses in the apse area directly behind the altar comes from Syria, where crosses were often carved in stone and embedded in the east wall.62 Such a cross survives in the apse of the Basilica of Peter and Paul at Gerasa, indicating a similar practice in Palestine.6 3

The earliest evidence for the use of crosses on altars also comes from Syria. Narsai's description of the altar, cited above, as bearing "the adorable wood," may refer to a cross or perhaps a relic of the true cross. However, the sixth-century biography of a Nestorian monk, clearly indicates a cross.64 An arrangement of the altar similar to that on the pyxis appears in a Syrian manuscript in the British Museum, which, although dated in the thirteenth century, is believed to reflect early Syrian or Palestinian models.6 5

The question remains as to the relationship of the scenes depicted on the Cleveland pyxis with the central structure. Peiresc and Volbach assumed that the latter formed part of the scene of the Entry into Jerusalem, and therefore represented the city.66 As we noted however, the structure is located at the center of the composition opposite the lockspace, and is not necessarily intended as a part of one of the scenes grouped on either side of it. The scenes do not follow one another in chronological order. Instead, the An- nunciation and Entry into Jerusalem are placed together on the left while the Miracles, which occurred before the Entry into Jerusalem, are grouped on the right. Whether this arrangement is the result of purely formal considerations-that is, the desire to create a balanced composition with the altar opposite the lock-or whether it has a deeper meaning, is difficult to determine. Given the events and objects with which the altar came to be associated however, its use as

FIGURE 10. Glass chalice in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Wash- fngton.

the focal point in a composition devoted to scenes from Christ's life is not inappropriate. Within the expanded narrative context of the Cleveland pyxis, the ciborium and altar, with the important addition of the cross, take on a fuller meaning symbolizing not only Jerusalem, but Golgotha, and the events which occurred there as well.

One may ask why the creators of the Metropolitan and Cleveland pyxides chose to introduce elements of the liturgical re-enactment of events in Christ's life within the narrative context of the events themselves. The answer lies, I believe, in the function of these boxes as containers for the Eucharist, or more specifically, because of their small size, for consecrat- ed bread distributed at the end of the service for those unable to attend mass.67 Thus, just as the ampullae often incor- porated specific topographical details in keeping with their function as souvenirs of the Holy Land, these pyxides incor- porated references to the eucharistic liturgy within the frame- work of events from Christ's life. Such a combination of narrative and liturgical elements in this context is not unique.6 7 a

Reference to the liturgical re-enactment of the passion was

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probably intended on the sixth-century glass chalice in the likeness of the angels who surrounded the tomb of Christ,69 Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Fig. 10), where a cross set on a and John Climax refers to them in a similar manner in his structure approached by steps and covered by a baldachin is commentary on the liturgy.70 Like the pyxides, the function flanked by two angels who appear to hold codices.68 In of the chalice was surely liturgical, as a containerfor the wine Narsai's account of the eucharistic liturgy, the two deacons of the Eucharist. are described as ministering on either side of the altar in the

NOTES

*I wish to thank Prof. Weitzmann for valuable advice and criticism and Prof. Cullen Story for translations and advice on Greek texts.

1. See W.F. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten der Spatantike und des fruhen Mittelalters, Mainz, 1976, nos. 161-201a, pls. 82-98 for the pyxides. Twenty-one pyxides or fragments are devoted to scenes of resurrection or healing, nine to Old Testament, and two to New Testament scenes combined with the Sacrifice of Isaac, and one to St. Menas. The three considered here are Nos. 176, 177 and 184 respectively in Volbach's study.

2. See W.F. Volbach, "Zur Lokalisierung fruhchristlicher Pyxiden," Festschrift Friedrich Gerke, Baden-Baden, 1962, 84ff and Elfen- beinarbeiten, 103ff; K. Wessel, "Studien zur ostromischen Elfen- beinskulptur," Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Universitat Greifswald. Gesellschafts und sprach wissenschaftliche ReXhe 2 (1952/53): 63ff.; 3 (1953/54):1ff.

3. D. Brown, "The Arcuated Lintel and its Symbolic Interpreta- tion," American Journal of Archaeology 46 (1942): 389ff.; E. B . Smith, The Dome, Princeton, 1 9 5 0, 6 9.

4. The arcuated lintel appears on the missorium of Theodosius for example (W.F. Volbach, Early Christian Art, New York, 1958, no. 5 3), and on ivories (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, nos. 36, 37, 43, 54, 66, 109). Flanged domes appear on coins of Damascus where they shelter the Tyche of Damascus (W. Wroth, Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Galatia, Cappadocia, and Syria in the British Museum, London, 1899, no. 11) and on ivories (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, nos. 125, 127, 133).

5. A. Goldschmidt noted a similar architecture on an ivory plaque (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, no. 236) depicting the angel from the Visit ("Mittelstuke funfteiliger Elfenbeintafeln des V-VI Jahrhunderts," Jahrbuch fur Kunstwissenschaft, 19 23, 3Of.

6. Examples of this type survive from Egypt and Syria. See M. Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, 1. Metalwork, Ceramics, Glass, Glyptics, Paintings, Washington, D.C., 1962, nos. 45-49, all from Egypt or Syria dated in the sixth or seventh century.

7. Goldschmidt, "Mittelstucke," 31.

12. For the symbolism of the gesture in the East see A. Grabar, "Une fre sque visigo th ique et l' icon ographie du silence ," Cah iers archeologiques 1 ( 1945): 124ff.

13. F. Deichmann, Repertorium der christlichen antiken Sarkophage, 1, Wiesbaden, 1967, pls. 2-8, 1 2-15.

14. A. Munoz, n codice purpureo di Rossano, Rome, 1907, pl. 11; A. Grabar, Les Peintures de l'evangile de Sinope, Paris, 1948, pl. 4.

15. See A. Friend, "Portraits of the Evangelists in Greek and Latin Manuscripts," Art Studies, 5 ( 1927): 128-3 3 .

16. Paul was frequently depicted as a witness or participant in scenes from Christ's life and at the Ascension. See E. Kitzinger, "A Marble Relief of the Theodosian Period," Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 14 (1960): 33f.; K. Onasch, "Der Apostel Paulus in der byzantinischen Slavenmission," Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte, 4th ser., 6 (1958): 219ff.; P. Testini, "L'Iconografia degli apostoli nelle 'arti minori,'" Saecularia Petri et Pauli. Studi di antichita cristiana, Vatican City, 1969, 243ff.

1 7. Vo lbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, nos. 1 3 2, 1 3 3, pl. 6 9.

18. See Millet, Iconographie, 5 1 6ff. My conclusions are based on research in the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University.

l 9. H. Robinson, Oriental Armour, London, 1967, 72ff. On the column of Trajan, the only troops wearing scale armor are the Syrian bowmen and the Sarmatian cavalry (K. Lehmann-Hartleben, Die Trajanssaule, Berlin and Leipzig, 1926, pls. 37, 1 16.) A sixth- century ivory fragment in Trier (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, no. 15 1) depicts Abraham with seven soldiers in armor similar to that on the pyxis.

20. See F.E. Brown, "A Recently Discovered Compound Bow," Seminarium Kondakovianum 9 (1937): lff; Strabo, II, 22; also Ammianus Marcellinus, 22, 8, 37.

21. M.I. Artamonov, The Splendor of Scythian Art, New York, 1969, figs. 196, 224, 232 and Beazley and Jacobstahl, Bilder griechischer Vasen, 12, pl. 14; A.D. Trendall and T.B. Webster, Illustrations of Greek Drama, London, 1971, 38. This type is depicted on Trajan's column (Lehmann-Hartleben, Trajanssaule, 24).

22. See F. Gerke, Die christlichen Sarkophage, pls. 3-8 et passim for sarcophagi; for manuscripts see e.g., the Cynegetica of Pscudo Oppian, a poem on hunting with dogs written in Syria in the third century (T.H. Martin, Etudes sur la vie et les oeurres d'Oppien de Cilicie, Paris, 1863). A number of manuscripts of the Cynegetica are preserved, the oldest illustrated one dated in the tenth or eleventh century. See K. Weitzmann, Greek Mythology in Byzantine Art, Princeton, 1951, 1 l 3f. and 193ff.

23. Cod. Vat. Lat. 3867; Picturae ornamenta codicis Vaticani 3867 (Codices e Vaticanis Selecti II), Rome, 1902. For a summary of

8. Poglayen-Neuwall, "Eine koptische Pyxis mit den Frauen am Grabe aus der ehemaligen Sammlung Pierpont Morgans," Monat- shefte fur Kunstwissenschaft 12 ( 191 9): 85.

9. See G. Millet, L'Iconographie de l'evangile, Paris, 1916, 517ff., for examples.

10. London, British Museum Add. 7169. See Leroy, LesManuscrits syriaquesa peintures, Paris, 1964, 1: 350ff.; 2: pl. 119.

11. Millet, Iconographie, 12 and 364. Leroy points to specific parallels with the Rabbula Gospels, early Sinai icons, the Chludoff Psalter, and the ampullae (Les Manuscrits syriaques, 1: 3 64 f) .

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the art historical and paleographical literature see A. Carrandini, "Per riprendere lo studio del codex Romanus di Virgilio" (Vat. Lat. 3867), Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, 1968, 395, n. 105. Nordenfalk (Early Mediaeval Painting, Zurich, 1957, 97-98) dates the manuscript in the early fifth century, but David Wright in a lecture at Princeton University in February, 1976, convingingly argued for a date in the late fifth century. The addition of the wide straight grip to the compound bow, one of many variations, apparently took place in the third century. This type appears in grafitti and paintings at Dura Europos (M. Rostovtzeff, ed., Excavations at Dura Europos. Preliminary Report, New Haven, 1933-36, 4: pl. 21, 103; 5: pl. 35, 4:6: 306f., figs. 22, 23.

24. K. Weitzmann, "The Survival of Mythological Representations in Early Christian and Byzantine Art and Their Impact on Christian Iconography," Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 14 (1960): 57ff.

25. Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, 111. See also Age of Spirituality, No. 520.

26 For a discussion of this problem see A. Grabar, Martyrium. Recherches sur le culte des reliques et l'art chretien antique, Paris, 1946, 1: 275f. Both types existed in Syria and Palestine at an early date. See T. Klauser, Das Ciborium in der dlteren christlichen Buchmalerei. Nachrich ten der Akademie der Wis- senschaften in Gottingen, 1, philologisch-historische Klasse, Gottingen, 1961, l91ff.; N. Bagatti, "Gli altare paleocristiani," Studium Biblicanum Franciscanum, Lib. annus VII, 1956, 7; T. Klauser, RA C, 1: cols. 336ff.

27. Examples of table altars with three feet are illustrated in Braun, Der christliche Altar, Munich, 1924, pls. 14, 15. For altars with five supports see F. Forlati, "L'Altare Maggiore della Basilica de Torcello," Bollettino d'arte 10 (1930): 49ff., and O. Nussbaum, Der Standort des Liturgien am christlichen Altar vor dem Jahre 1000, Bonn, 1965, Vol. 2, figs. 31, 34, 39.

28. "Mittelstucke," 33.

tecture and Liturgy, University Park and London, 1971, 51. In some cases the altars themselves were raised.

36. "Notes sur l'anaphore syriaque de Saint Jacques: priere du voile; le voile rideau exterieur"" L'Orient syrien 5 (1960): 363ff.; idem, "Le Voile rideau interieur," L 'Orient syrien 7 ( 1962): 277ff and 280ff.

3 7. Tor p, Mosaikkene, 27.

38. Mathews, Churches, 165f. Paul the Silentiary's description of Hagia Sophia (ed. Bekker, p. 36) is usually cited as evidence for curtains. But Braun (Altar, 2, 23, note 10) and recently P. Speck ("Die 'ENtYTH': literarische Quellen zur Bekleidung des Altars in der byzantinischen Kirche," Jahrbuch der Osterreich byz. Gesellschaft 15 (1966): 331-33) convincingly argue that the reference is to altar coverings and not to curtains. Except in the sixth-century Vienna Genesis (Vindob. Gr. 31, fol. 7) and the tenth-century Menologium of Basil II (Cod. Vat. 1613, 2, 14), where short rectangular veils hang above the altar, the ciborium is consistently shown without curtains.

39. The Syrian Pope Sergius perhaps introduced curtains to Rome. He erected a number of ciboria in churches and donated two sets of "tetravela" to St. Peters (Liber Pontificalis, ed. L. Duchesne, Paris, 1886, 1: 375-76).

40. The Liturgical Homilies of Narsai, trans. R.H. Connolly, Cam- bridge, 1909, XXX, 4. See also Germanus, patriarch of Con- stantinople (d. 7 3 3), Hist. Eccl Ch. 3, p. 11 and Mathews, Churches, 140f. Nussbaum (Der Standort, 429) believes that Narsai is referring to the altar located in the bema, but it is clearly the same as used for the Eucharist. Later texts do indicate that the altar in the bema was associated with Jerusalem and used for the readings. See Lassus, "La Liturgie antique," 45ff.

41. Grabar, Byzantium, fig. 19. See also Mathews, Churches, 162ff. Gospel books lie on altars in the mosaics representing church councils in the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem (H. Stern, "Nouvelles Recherches sur les images des Conciles dans l'Eglise de la Nativite a Bethleem," Cahiers archeologiques 3 (1948): 83ff.), at Hagios Georgios (Torp, Mosaikkene, 27), and in the mosaics of the Orthodox Baptistry at Ravenna (F.W. Deichmann, Fruhchristliche Bauten und Mosaiken von Ravenna, Baden-Baden, 1958, 39, 67).

42. See A. Grabar, "L'Architecture et la symbolique de la cathedrale d'Edesse," Cahiers archeologiques, 2 ( 1947): 60.

43. Taft, The Great Entrance, 37ff., 217ff; L.H. Grondijs, L'Icono- graphie byzantine du crucifie mort sur la crois, Utrecht, 1959, 55ff.

44. Syrian bishops were chosen from among the monds and their episcopal residence was usually a monastery (Khouri-Sarkis, "Le Voile rideau exterieur," 380).

45. Ibid., 61. See F. Reine, The Eucharist Doctrine and Liturgy of the Mystagogical Catecheses of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Washing- ton, 1942, 56ff. and Taft, The Great Entrance, 35ff; for the writings of John Chrysostom, see especially De Poenitentia, Hom. IX, PG 49, 345. See also De Proditione Judae 1, 6, PG 49, 380.

46. A. Mingana, Commentary of Theodore of Mopsuestia on the Lord's Prayer and on the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, Cambridge, 193 3, 85-86. For other examples see I. Rahmani, I Fasti della Chiesa Patriarcale antiochena, Romc, 1920, 12 (text attributed to John Chrysostom).

47. The Liturgical Homilies of Narsai, 30. For other examples see 23-24, 4, 7, 1 1; Taft, The Great Entrance, 38ff.

48. J.B. Pitra, Spicilegium Solesmense, Paris, 1858, IV, 441. Cited in Grondijs, L'Iconographie, 41. Translation, Prof. Cullen Storey, Princeton Theological Seminary.

29.

30.

Geyer, Itinera Hierosolymitana, 39, 203.

A. Grabar, Les ampoules de Terre Sainte, Paris, 1958, pls. 9, 11, 24. H. Grisar, Die romische K:apelle Sancta Sanctorum und ihr Schatz, Freiburg, 1908, 113ff. The rectangular veil is sometimes represented above the entrance to the sepulchre but its function was probably decorative and it is not a curtain (Grabar, Ampoules, pl. 9).

31. I. Rahmani, Testamentum Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Mainz, 1899, 25. For the literature see A. Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur, Bonn, 1922, 252 and J. Cooper, A. Maclean, The Testament of our Lord, London, 1902.

32. J. Lassus, Sanctuaires chretiens de Syrie, Paris, 1947, 203-204. The work of Lassus and Tchalenko is summarized with bibliography by Lassus in "La Liturgie antique de la Syrie du nord," Neue Beitrage zur Kunstgeschichte des 1. Jahrtausends, Baden- Baden, 1952, 45ff; Nussbaum, Der Standort, 1: 59ff.; 2: 1-81.

33. H. Torp, Mosaikkene i St Georg-Rotunden, Oslo, 1963, 27; W. Kleinbauer, "The Iconography and the Date of the Mosaics of the Rotunda of Hagios Georgios. Thessaloniki," Viator 3 (1972): 52ff. The ideal liturgical aspects of these mosaics are discussed by Grabar, "A propos des mosaiques de la coupole de Saint Georges a Salonique," Cahiers archeologiques 17 (1967): 59ff. See also E. Alfoldi-Rosenbaum, "External Mosaic Decora- tion on Late Antique Buildings," Fruhmittelalterliche Studien 4 ( 1970) : lff.

34. R.F. Taft, The Great Entrance. Orientalia Cristiana Analecta 200, Rome, 1975, 182 and Nussbaum, Der Standort, 444ff. et passim.

35. Ibid., 87ff., 1 38ff. Steps were present in Ss. Sergios and Bacchos. See T. Mathews, The Early Churches of Constantinople: Archi-

134



49. For the texts see Grondijs, L'Iconographie, n. 234; Taft, The Great Entrance, 217.

50. Martyrium, 2: 26 lf. See Excavations at Dura Europos, Preliminary Report, M. Rostovtzeff, ed., New Haven, 1934, 5: 270f., pl. 47. Candles however were traditionally carried in funeral processions. See A. Rush, Death and Burial in Christian Antiquity, Washington, 1 94 1, 225-27.

51. C.H. Kraeling, The Excavations at Dura Europos, Final Report 8: The Christian Building, New Haven, 1967 For the Diatesseron see T. Zahn, Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons I, Erlangen, 1881; additional bibliography in Kraeling, Christian Building, 86, n. 2.

59. Early examples at S. Matrona in S. Prisco near Naples, the Ortho- dox and Arian Baptistries at Ravenna, and at S. Prassede at Rome are collected in W. Lowrie, Art in The Early Church, New York, 1947, pls. 58-59. For etoimasia see B. Brenk, Tradition and Neuerung in der christlichen Kunst des ersten Jahrtausends, Vienna, 1966, 71ff.

60. Gli Altari paleocristiani, 7f. See also A. Nussbaum, "Zum Prob- lem der runden und sigmaformigen Altarplatten," Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentum 4 (1961): 18ff. T. Klauser, RAC, I, 337ff.

61. Grabar,Martyrium, 2: 275ff.

62. E. Peterson, "Das Kreuz und das Gebet nach Osten," Fruhkirche, Judentum, und Gnosis, Freiburg, 1954, 15ff.

63. Nussbaum, Standort, 1: 430f; 2: pl. 3, fig. 1.

64. A. Baumstark, "Altarkreuze in nestorianischen Klostern des VI Jahrhunderts," Romische Quartalschrift 14 (1900): 71. See also Cabrol Leclerq, 3/2: 3079-3080.

65. Brit. Mus. Add. 7170, fol. 8r. Leroy, Les Manuscrits syriaques, 1: 302ff.; 280f., pl. 74, 1. The manuscript is iconographically closely related to the Syrian manuscript 559 in the Vatican Library (Leroy, Les Manuscrits syriaques, 1: 280ff.) which was studied by Jerphanion (Le Manuscrit syriaque n. 559 de la Biblio- theque Vaticane, Rome, 1939, 29).

66. Fol 31v;Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, 114.

67. For a recent discussion of eucharistic and eulogia bread see G. Galavaris, Bread and the Liturgy, Madison and London, 1970, 13, 43f. The use of pyxides for bread distributed at the end of the Mass for those unable to attend would explain the prepon- derance of resurrection and healing scenes; see above, note 1.

67a. The altar-tomb surmounted by a cross appears on the silver plate from Perm. dated in the ninth or tenth century. J. Smirnov, Argenterie orientale, St. Petersburg, 1909, pl. XIV. In the bema of the church of Sinai, Isaac is depicted kneeling on a Christian altar prefiguring the eucharistic sacrifice. Weitzmann, " Loca Sancta", 47, fig. 39.

68. M. Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiqui- ties in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Vol. I: Metalwork, Cer- amics, Glass, Glyptics, Painting, Washington, 1962, no. 96, pl. LIV. See also Elbern, "Ein christliches Kultgefass," 26ff. Age of Spirituality, No. 545

69. The Liturgical Homelies of Narsai, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, 4, 12, 56, 77.

70. Pitra, Specilegium Solesmense, rV, 441: "O 6 e 6 IXKOMOS °

EUXQ6XttoNEMos TVROS nV TOV evaQeAttoNevov aQeXov."

52. Age of Spirituality, No. 519.

53. The spinning Virgin seated on a faldistorium also appears on a pyxis from Minden in Berlin (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, no. 174). By the sixth century, however, the Virgin seated on a high- backed wicker throne is more common, appearing on the Cathedra of Maximianus and related ivories (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, nos. 128, 130, 140, 142, 145). In the Raising of Lazarus, Christ holds a cross staff rather than a wand in his right hand, a motif appearing also on pyxides in Paris and Rome, and on a comb from Antinoe (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, nos. 180, 182, 204). On the Cathedra of Maximianus and related ivories Christ holds the cross staff in his left hand while extending his right to perform the miracle (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, nos. 140, 194, 197). The Healing of the Blind Man is closely related to the scene on the pyxis in Paris (Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, no. 180).

54. F. Mutherich, "Une pyxide d'ivoire du Cleveland Museum d'Art," Cahiers archeologiques 10 ( 1959): 204

55. For examples from the Early Christian period see Walters Gallery, Early Christian and Byzantine Art, n. 271, pl. XLIII; K. Wigand, Thymiateria, Bonn, n.d., 190 et passim. In the mosaics of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, attributed by Stern to the eighth century, altars were perhaps flanked by these objects ("Nouvelle Recherches," 82ff., pl. 1). Candelabra appear in a similar position on a fifth-century marble funerary relief in the Lateran (O. Marucchi, Rivista di archeologia cristiana 6 (1929): 359-67).

56. Peiresc's description is in Paris Bibl. Nat. lat. 17558, fol. 31v: "Un autel en forme de table a trois pieds cordonnez sur laquelle il y a un livre ferme et plus hautt une croix qui soubstient un calice." Mutherich, "Une pyxide" 202; V. Elbern, Der euch- aristischeKelch, 115-16.

57. A. Angiolini, La Capsella eburnea di Pola (Bologna, 1970), fig. 8. See also Volbach, Elfenbeinarbeiten, no. 23 6.

5 8. "Une Pyxide," 202 and Der eucharistische Kelch, 1 15 .

Photograph credits: FIGS. 1-3 (Bildarchiv Foto Marburg); FIG. 4 (The British Library); FIGS. 5, 6 (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana); FIGS. 7, 8 (Metropolitan Museum of Art); FIG. 9 (Cleveland Museum); FIG. 10 (Dumbarton Oaks).

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