Divine Nourishment : On Breasts and Botttles in the Miniatures of Iakobos Kokkinobaphos
Part of : Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας ; Vol.51, 2012, pages 265-276
Issue:
Pages:
265-276
Parallel Title:
Θεϊκή τροφή : Μαστοί και φιάλες στις μικρογραφίες του Ιακώβου της Mονής Κοκκινοβάφου
Section Title:
Articles
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Abstract:
The article suggests that the bottle-shaped breast motif, reminiscent of the Galaktotrophousa, and appearing in a series of images in the well known illustrated copy of the Kokkinobaphos homilies (Vatican City, Bibl. Apost. Vat., gr. 1162), was employed as an iconographical building block in the construction of an ideal visual Marian model. On a typological level, it is contrasted with the less voluminous, naturalistic, breast of Eve, possibly alluding to her role in bringing death on earth and to her “cursed,” joyless, motherhood. The article’s premise is that the different pictorial approach reflects the Eve-Mary antithesis voiced in Iakobos’s text.
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Keywords:
Middle Byzantine, Constantinople, Illuminated manuscripts, Iakobos Kokkinobaphos, Eirene the Sebastokratorissa, Galaktotrophousa, Breast feeding, Μεσοβυζαντινή εποχή, Κωνσταντινούπολη, εικονογραφημένα χειρόγραφα, Ιάκωβος της μονής Κοκκινοβάφου, Σεβαστοκρατόρισσα Ειρήνη, Γαλακτοτροφούσα, θηλασμός
