211-216

Palmette variations in 5th c.AD. sculpture

Σύμμεικτα

• Σκλάβου - Μαυροειδή, Μαρία

The palmette, one of the basic ancient decorative motifs, passed into Christian sculpture and survived in various forms until the end of the Byzantine world. In a group of 5th century sculptures in the Byzantine Museum, nos. T. 12, 50,52, 53, 54, 55, 791 and 1631, a variety of different formsof palmette can be observed with differences in the leaves and spirals, as well as in their relation to each other, which is based on certain rules of proportion. The Classical balance and ancient way of working has been replaced by loose design and lack o f symmetry.Laeves of dissimilar size and outline are drawn with grooves, and the spirals have become heavy and flat. Archaizing palmettes occur on sculptures from Athenian woneshops which through their daily contact with ancient art kept the tradition alive. The different variations observed in the rendering of palmettes in sculptures of the same period are not due to a process of development leading to a specific form, but are the result of a change in aesthetic perception and a shift of interest to symbolic representations. Types were created of the same decoration, which in combination with other subjects formed the framework for the projection of the cross.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Γλυπτά, 5ος αιώνας, Αρχαία διακοσμιτικά θέματα, Ανθέμιο

Το άρθρο περιέχει εικόνες., Ευχαριστώ θερμά την Διευθύντρια του Βυζαντινού Μουσείου, κ. Μυρτάλη Ποταμιάνου, που διάβασε το χειρόγραφο.