Bevilacqua L. Displaying the Past in Byzantium. Figural Spolia on the City Gates of Nicaea (13th Century)

Title Displaying the Past in Byzantium. Figural Spolia on the City Gates of Nicaea (13th Century)
Author email liviabevilacqua@gmail.com
About author Bevilacqua L. Displaying the Past in Byzantium. Figural Spolia on the City Gates of Nicaea (13th Century). Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of Articles. Vol. 3. Svetlana V. Maltseva (ed.), Ekaterina. Yu. Stanyukovich-Denisova (ed.) St. Petersburg, NP-Print Pabl., 2013, pp. 145–150. ISSN 2312-2129.
In the section Eastern Christian Art
Year 2013 Volume 3 Pages 145–150
Type of article RAR Index UDK 7.033.2 Index BBK 85.03
Abstract

In Anatolia during the Byzantine era, a number of cases are attested in which figural ‘spolia’ (i.e. pieces of ancient sculpture, stone carvings or reliefs) were reused in the building or restoration of the city walls and fortresses. Especially striking is the display of such ‘spolia’ as a part of the decoration of the main gates. In this paper, I will focus on the gates of the outer walls of the city of Nicaea (today Iznik), built during the reign of emperor John III Vatatzes (1222‒1254). This case is particularly interesting, since it is one of the richest examples surviving, in terms of the variety and size of the materials displayed. The gates must have created the strongest visual impact, at the time when Nicaea was regarded as the ‘temporary capital’ of the Byzantine Empire. A comparison will be carried out between the surviving works and the testimony of the written sources, both Byzantine and Western ones.
Keywords
Reference Bevilacqua L. Displaying the Past in Byzantium. Figural Spolia on the City Gates of Nicaea (13th Century). Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 3. Eds: Svetlana V. Maltseva, Ekaterina Yu. Stanyukovich-Denisova. St. Petersburg, NP-Print Publ., 2013, pp. 145–150. ISSN 2312-2129.
Publication Article language english
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