The Church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople: A Study of Byzantine BuildingLethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
Religion
The Church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople: A Study of Byzantine Building
Lethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
Ayasofya Müzesi
Besides this constant change of size, colour, and arrangement, there
is a great variety in the surface treatment. We have the shallow
channelling into continuous mouldings of the skirtings, some portion
of which has a stiff fret sunk in the surface in addition. Then there
are panels on either side of the great door, and on the faces of the
projections from the great piers in the aisles, coming just above
the eye, (Fig. 48) of plain russet-red or brown which bear severe
abstract patterns, made out by slight sinking into the surface. The
centre in some cases is overlaid with an oval or square of another
precious material such as red or green porphyry or the “onyx”; the
whole of the sunk portions may have been filled by inlays, or in some
the sinking alone may have formed the design. The upper part of the
bema is incrusted with slabs patterned in this way, and here the sunk
portions are entirely inlaid; several parts of this are represented by
Salzenberg. In this work “casements” are sunk into the rosso or other
deep coloured field, and green porphyry and other materials, set off by
yellowish-white lines and spaces are inlaid in geometrical panels, or
friezes of stiff foliage.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.--Portion of Marble Lining of Aisles. Scale
about 1/50.]
Our Fig. 47 shows the arrangement of the marble plating on the great
piers towards the middle compartment of the aisles; in this we have
shown one of the enriched panels now only sunk, as inlaid. Fig. 48
gives outlines of others of these panels. The marble used in the aisles
is as follows. First comes the moulded skirting of white Proconnesian,
then a 3′·3″ band of the streaked variety of the same marble. A band
of verde antique 2′·0″ wide follows, above which is a row of slabs
alternately verde antique and Synnadan. A second similar row of slabs
comes above a band of rosy cipollino. The frieze below the cornice is
of marble sectile work. The passages through the piers are lined with
slabs of streaked Proconnesian marble, nearly fourteen feet high.
The gynaeceum has two bands at the bottom and an upper band of rosy
cipollino; the wall space between is covered with a row of vertical
slabs of streaked Proconnesian, except the central space on north side
where the slabs are of rosy cipollino. In the spandrils of gynaeceum
arcade at the west are roundels of oriental alabaster.
[Illustration: FIG. 48.--Marble Panels with Sunk and Inlaid Panels.
Scale about 1/30.]
[Illustration: FIG. 49.--Inlaid Marble Slabs above Royal Door. Scale
about 1/50.]
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