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Light and the Precious Object or Value in the Eyes of the Byzantines

The Construction of Value in the Ancient World, 2012
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354 CHAPTER 17 LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES IOLI KALAVREZOU HARVARD UNIVERSITY Abstract This paper is an art historical study addressing the concept of value in Byzantine society and the way its worth was established. Byzantium, a Greco-Roman culture with a strong classical philosophical tradition, onto which a Christian world order was superimposed, saw great significance in the natural world and its creation. This essay, through a discussion of a variety of objects considered of high value, will attempt to identify how this value was constructed. Support for the arguments presented is sought in contemporary texts of various types to give insight and expression to the Byzantine perspective of where value lies. Besides discussing gold objects and the porphyra dye used in silks with gold embroideries, the paper gives a more extensive analysis of the use and handling of marble, especially when used as revetment. The Byzantines’ extensive knowledge of the material, and their exploitation of its color and vein designs, created in their eyes works of immeasurable value not made by human hands. In addition to marble, the paper focuses on another most priceless natural substance: the pearl. The application of pearls endowed an object with energy and light, their most precious qualities. The source of light and its divine quality raised any work to a higher and more valuable status, emanating its own radiance.
LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 355 Besides the making of splendid mosaic surfaces that decorated the interiors of their churches, the Byzantines are renown for the precious objects that surrounded the court and the wealthy society of Constantinople and its provinces. These works of art or luxury objects have been admired and highly valued from the time of their production and retained a prominent place as valuable works of art throughout the centuries. Not only did the Byzantines praise their qualities, but these works of art were highly sought after in the Western and Near Eastern worlds. Already during the Middle Ages, numerous Byzantine objects entered collections and church trea- suries of mainly western Europe, and found a place within those cultures. What made these objects so desirable was the high quality of craftsmanship apparent in their manufacture on the one hand, and the materials from which they were cre- ated and their specific properties on the other. A further dimension of value could be added to an object if it had a Christian devotional significance or other religious use within the church. Under luxury objects, or objects of value, as we understand them today, we find a large variety of works of art, which are primarily made of costly materials such as gold and silver, precious and semiprecious stones, ivory, silk, and pearls (Cutler 1994:289–327; Kalavrezou 1997:219–223). A nice example is an open dish in the San Marco Treasury in Venice (Figure 17.1, see color plates; Buckton 1984:number 25). It is a wide bowl made of glass/crystal, cut to create a honeycomb pattern, which rests on a silver gilt foot. The foot is connected with the wide lip of the bowl by four silver gilt bands. The lip itself is covered in silver gilt and is decorated with large, oval, emerald and sapphire cabochons, which alternate to form a continuous chain framed on either side with pearls. This is a typical Byzantine pattern of embellish- ment on metal, especially when joined by strings of white pearls that, through color contrast, emphasize the green and blue of the stones. The bowl most likely was an object for use at the imperial courtly circles. Such precious objects exhibit perfection in craftsmanship that is technologically highly developed and often not reproducible today, and often considered unmatched even at the time of manufacture. All required specific knowledge of the properties of each material used and specific technical skills to work each material according to its requirements. We have to assume that we are dealing with only a small number of objects that have survived and that the majority of them has been lost. For sure, major losses are to be counted among objects made of fine metals such as silver and gold, which also had precious stones and pearls attached to them. In most cases, these objects would have been melted down for their material wealth not only in Byzantium itself in times of need but also in western Europe, where the material prevailed over the artistic value or function attached to the object. These artworks were primarily made for the imperial household and the court more broadly—that is, high officials of the government—as well as for the church and its representatives. These precious objects—various dishes and other utensils— were produced for a specific purpose and use, but at the same time they could also
C H A P T E R 17 LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES I O L I K A L AV R E Z O U H A RVA R D U N I V E R S I T Y Abstract This paper is an art historical study addressing the concept of value in Byzantine society and the way its worth was established. Byzantium, a Greco-Roman culture with a strong classical philosophical tradition, onto which a Christian world order was superimposed, saw great significance in the natural world and its creation. This essay, through a discussion of a variety of objects considered of high value, will attempt to identify how this value was constructed. Support for the arguments presented is sought in contemporary texts of various types to give insight and expression to the Byzantine perspective of where value lies. Besides discussing gold objects and the porphyra dye used in silks with gold embroideries, the paper gives a more extensive analysis of the use and handling of marble, especially when used as revetment. The Byzantines’ extensive knowledge of the material, and their exploitation of its color and vein designs, created in their eyes works of immeasurable value not made by human hands. In addition to marble, the paper focuses on another most priceless natural substance: the pearl. The application of pearls endowed an object with energy and light, their most precious qualities. The source of light and its divine quality raised any work to a higher and more valuable status, emanating its own radiance. 354 LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 355 Besides the making of splendid mosaic surfaces that decorated the interiors of their churches, the Byzantines are renown for the precious objects that surrounded the court and the wealthy society of Constantinople and its provinces. These works of art or luxury objects have been admired and highly valued from the time of their production and retained a prominent place as valuable works of art throughout the centuries. Not only did the Byzantines praise their qualities, but these works of art were highly sought after in the Western and Near Eastern worlds. Already during the Middle Ages, numerous Byzantine objects entered collections and church treasuries of mainly western Europe, and found a place within those cultures. What made these objects so desirable was the high quality of craftsmanship apparent in their manufacture on the one hand, and the materials from which they were created and their specific properties on the other. A further dimension of value could be added to an object if it had a Christian devotional significance or other religious use within the church. Under luxury objects, or objects of value, as we understand them today, we find a large variety of works of art, which are primarily made of costly materials such as gold and silver, precious and semiprecious stones, ivory, silk, and pearls (Cutler 1994:289–327; Kalavrezou 1997:219–223). A nice example is an open dish in the San Marco Treasury in Venice (Figure 17.1, see color plates; Buckton 1984:number 25). It is a wide bowl made of glass/crystal, cut to create a honeycomb pattern, which rests on a silver gilt foot. The foot is connected with the wide lip of the bowl by four silver gilt bands. The lip itself is covered in silver gilt and is decorated with large, oval, emerald and sapphire cabochons, which alternate to form a continuous chain framed on either side with pearls. This is a typical Byzantine pattern of embellishment on metal, especially when joined by strings of white pearls that, through color contrast, emphasize the green and blue of the stones. The bowl most likely was an object for use at the imperial courtly circles. Such precious objects exhibit perfection in craftsmanship that is technologically highly developed and often not reproducible today, and often considered unmatched even at the time of manufacture. All required specific knowledge of the properties of each material used and specific technical skills to work each material according to its requirements. We have to assume that we are dealing with only a small number of objects that have survived and that the majority of them has been lost. For sure, major losses are to be counted among objects made of fine metals such as silver and gold, which also had precious stones and pearls attached to them. In most cases, these objects would have been melted down for their material wealth not only in Byzantium itself in times of need but also in western Europe, where the material prevailed over the artistic value or function attached to the object. These artworks were primarily made for the imperial household and the court more broadly—that is, high officials of the government—as well as for the church and its representatives. These precious objects—various dishes and other utensils— were produced for a specific purpose and use, but at the same time they could also 356 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD be displayed for aesthetic pleasure and value. They are representative of Byzantine material culture even though limited to the affluent parts of that society. Value is measured most often in terms of cost in monetary equivalents. In the Byzantine sources, this information is rare, and when monetary values are given, they are for buildings and not necessarily for works of art. In the early textual sources, for example, those from the fourth century listing Constantine I’s gifts to churches that he had built, the value of the objects, usually made of precious metals, is given by weight.1 Since precious metals such as silver were costly, the weight, usually of many pounds, was to impress, without having to give a precise monetary value. For the middle and later Byzantine periods, the value of costly objects is expressed mainly through a description of the materials from which these works are made and their workmanship. What makes them so special and valuable are the properties of the individual materials, which are brought out and given qualitative adjectives that describe their specific and often unique qualities and the effects they have on the viewer. This paper will attempt to analyze the Byzantine attitude toward the value of works of art and the materials used and how this value came to be associated with them. This analysis will endeavor to gain an understanding of the character of Byzantine art and the reaction that most Byzantine objects evoked and still do. This perception of Byzantine artworks is reflected in titles given to museum exhibitions in the past twenty years. For example, The Glory of Byzantium at the Metropolitan Museum in New York or, more recently, Der Glanz des Himmels: sakrale Schätze and Byzanz: Pracht und Alltag in Germany (Evans and Wixom 1997; Albani 2001; Frings 2010). These titles express an admiration for the luxurious look of the objects, not only because of their extraordinary high craftsmanship but mostly for the use of valuable materials that invoke splendor and glitz (Althaus and Sutcliffe 2006; Stiegemann 2001).2 This reaction can now be put into more specific terms. Before taking a closer look at this material, we have to realize that Byzantium’s cultural heritage is that of the classical Greek and Roman worlds. Its artistic aesthetic is a continuation and development, with slow changes taking place over the thousand years of Byzantium’s history. Its visual appreciation is based on the repertoire of those classical forms, materials, and images. Thus, when studying materials used by the Byzantines for their most precious art objects, we are dealing with this heritage and its development within a Christian society. What was recognized as valuable? What gave value to a material? The Byzantines, like the people of many ancient cultures, were closer to nature and its resources than societies today. What nature provided was appreciated as a gift of God, and much was perceived as miraculous and wondrous. Colorful materials found in nature, which in their original physical state had an inherent sheen or translucent quality, were especially admired. For example, gold, which throughout the world has been recognized as one of the most desirable and valuable materials, found the LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 357 same appreciation in the Byzantine world. Other natural products that were highly valued by the Byzantines, which like gold could be mined, were the large variety of precious and semiprecious stones and minerals. These were desired for the spectrum of colors and the transparent and translucent qualities they could produce. Since these materials are numerous—all products of nature in their pure form—I will limit my paper to only a few of them.3 I will briefly discuss the significance of some but devote a more detailed analysis to marble and pearl. Both were used for their exceptional qualities—one to add splendor to large-scale works and the other, although small, to attach brilliance to already precious objects. One substance to which the Byzantines assigned great value was the purple colored porphyra dye, which was extracted from a gland of the murex shell. This dye was historically produced by the Minoans and Phoenicians and had been used in royal robes and other ceremonial or ritual garments since antiquity. In Byzantium, murex purple was so highly prized that laws tightly controlled its production and limited its use mainly to the imperial court; its circulation was a prerogative reserved for the emperor. It was labor intensive to produce and thus very costly. Its intense and rich color was increased even more when used in combination with silk. Silk was the best material to dye purple because it could display its richness. With its natural sheen and luster, properties pleasing to the eye and touch, porphyry-colored silk became extremely desirable. The combination of porphyra dye and sensuous silk created the purple-colored textile, the most expensive and sought after luxury fabric in Mediterranean and western markets. Beyond purple silk, general luxury silk textiles were part of the sumptuous gift exchange between political boundaries. One should also remember that both the thread produced by the silkworm and the murex shell dye, with little human intervention, were natural products, which added a miraculous quality to them. (Byzantine silk has been extensively studied. An early study on production and economics is Lopez 1945; selected other studies include Jacoby 1991–1992, 2004; Muthesius 1993; and Oikonomides 1986). Very little survives of the imperial garments and textiles of purple silk, so we depend mainly on their representations in imperial portraits in mosaic and manuscript illustrations. There is, however, an extant example of a porphyry textile from 1261, an imperial gift to the city of Genoa by emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, now in the Museo di Sant’Agostino in Genoa (Figure 17.2, see color plates; Cutler and Nesbitt 1986:318). It is preserved in very good condition and is representative of the highly valued imperial textiles with gold embroidery, in this case depicting scenes from the lives of Saint Lawrence and associated saints. Not only was the textile made of porphyry silk, but the gold thread used for the narrative images added further richness (Armani 1983–1985; Di Fabio 2005; Falcone 1996; Hilsdale 2010; Johnstone 1976; Paribeni 1999; Schreiner 1988). A contemporary description of this peplos or pallium, as it is called by the Genoese, has survived. It gives us in contemporary terms the appreciation and value attributed to works such as this. The text is an encomium to emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, written by Manuel Holobolos 358 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD in connection with a treaty between Michael VIII and the Genoese (Siderides 1926:174; Treu 1906:30–50). The silk peplos, Holobolos states, was embroidered in gold threads and depicts the noble sufferings and trials of Saint Lawrence and his associated martyrs. While addressing and praising the emperor, Holobolos also elaborates on the exchange of diplomatic gifts, where this specific silk is described. He explains that the Genoese ambassadors, after receiving their silk gifts, swore oaths to and honored the Byzantine emperor: “And after taking oaths of faith to you, and receiving the two most splendid peploi—your power’s generous gift, which is worth everything to them—they turned back home, praising in high-pitched tones your goodness and proclaiming you in loud voice a King the likes of whom are nowhere to be found” (Siderides 1926:188; Treu 1906:47). Luxurious gold embroidered porphyry textiles such as this peplos were not only highly valued diplomatic gifts. From a few surviving silk textiles and from several epigrams, we learn that these precious materials were made to be given as gifts by members of the imperial family and other aristocrats. Mostly they were given by women to churches and more specifically and appropriately to the Virgin Mary; some women mention in the epigrams that they embroidered the silks themselves. One such epigram of the twelfth century written by “Manganeios Prodromos” provides an example. It was composed for a purple cover cloth to be given to an icon of the Virgin Mary, probably with an image of the Virgin and Child embroidered in gold. This gold embroidered purple textile was offered by Maria Komnene, daughter of Andronikos sebastokrator, a member of the imperial family. About a sacred hand-woven textile made by the honorable Komnene daughter of the renown sebastokrator lord Andronikos The pearls are mere soil before the “margarites’ (pearl/Christ) whom you have affixed to your virginal womb, 10 the one who is a spirit of dual nature caused from lightning. I honor you thus with these [pearls] I own, you the Virgin, as the purple cover of the logos through porphyry, as the purest one through a gold embroidered image with pearls, as the daughter of David. .................... Therefore having embroidered with gold the purple (cloth), 30 the daughter of Sevastokrator Andronikos, the pious Maria Komnene, offers it to you (the Virgin Mary). [Miller 1883:38–39; on icon textiles, see Nunn 1986] Clearly, in this poem not only is great value attached to the gold embroidered purple cloth but a number of other ‘values’ are expressed. The poem has a strong symbolic and theological subtext. Allusions are made to the Annunciation and the Incarnation. Each subject in this poem is used like a metaphor, adding a further dimension. Christ is compared to the pearl, the Holy Spirit to lightning, the Virgin Mary to the purple cloth because of its porphyry color, and again the Virgin Mary, LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 359 the purest being, to gold and pearls (Evangelatou 2003). Thus all the enumerated precious materials in this epigram receive the highest possible praise, since they partake of or are themselves part of the mystery of salvation. Porphyry was also the name of a deep brown–purple rock mined from the Mons Porpyritis in Egypt. Regarded as the royal color, this marble was prized and used especially in Rome for various imperial monuments and building projects. In Constantinople, Constantine I introduced porphyry in his forum with his monumental 30 m column built of seven stacked porphyry drums, celebrating the founding of his capital. Porphyry could no longer be mined after the fifth century, so this rare stone became the most desired marble for imperial monuments and was often removed and reused from earlier monuments. Although porphyry when available remained the most desired marble, the Byzantines turned to other marbles and explored their colors and natural formations, taking to marble a new and different approach, almost daring its “stoniness.” Marble thus became a medium, where the challenges of nature were put into the hands of craftsmen and architects, and marble became the most luxurious natural stone for the adornment of a building. It added splendor to a structure, vastly increasing its value and beauty. Since the early Christian period, the walls and floors of churches were surfaced with marble slabs, revetments, usually of varying colors, which gave the building a multicolored and thus lively interior. This aesthetic was continued with fervor through the centuries. What made this special stone so attractive and sought after throughout the Mediterranean world were a number of qualities endowed by nature. For example, marble from Paros and the Pentelic mountain was fine grained, semi-translucent, and pure white. Although flawless, it had a faint yellow tint that made it shine with a golden hue under sunlight. Other desired qualities, especially for the architectural elements, which the Byzantines favored for their buildings, were its colors, veins, or spots; its strength and endurance; and its reflectivity when polished. The great variety of colors and intricate patterns provided craftsmen with almost endless possibilities in its application. Beyond the high gloss, which brought out the special colors and patterns, marble could reflect light within an interior and thus lighten up a closed space. We have to keep in mind that the only light sources available to illuminate interior spaces at the time were the natural light of the sun entering a building through windows and other openings, and fire—that is, candles and oil lamps. Thus a reflective surface which in addition emphasized colors and natural patterns was highly sought after. Through a careful study of the marble block, its veins and patterns, the Byzantines acquired a sophisticated understanding of the natural formation of this material. They developed the technical expertise to work marble in such a way as to produce revetment pieces of the most sophisticated and fanciful designs to cover wall surfaces (Figure 17.3, see color plates). This technique, of slicing the stone and applying it onto walls in book-matched patterns (with the sliced marble slabs opened up like a book and placed next to each other), brought about much awe 360 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD and admiration (Figure 17.4, see color plates). Placing the slabs adjacently created a new symmetrical design, concealing the joining of the slabs and thus producing an original creation, seemingly not made by human hands (Barry 2007:641). Paul the Silentiary, in his poem on the second consecration of Hagia Sophia in A.D. 563, takes notice of these special forms, which he compares to painting: Upon the stone wall curious designs glitter everywhere. These have been produced by the quarries of sea-girt Proconnesus. The joining of the cut marbles resembles the art of painting for you may see the veins of the square and octagonal stones meeting so as to form devices: connected in this way, the stones imitate the glories of painting [P. Sintlentarius, Descriptio S.Sophia, 605; Mango 1972:85]. In historical and literary sources, we read of the effect and pleasure these works produced for the viewer. Most renowned is the marble revetment of Hagia Sophia. Prokopios, the court historian of the emperor Justinian, gives a splendid description of it in his Peri Ktismaton (On the Buildings) of this emperor. While praising the building of Hagia Sophia, he says of the marble surfaces and colors: Who could recount the beauty of the columns and the marbles with which the church is adorned? One might imagine that one has chanced upon a meadow in full bloom. For one would surely marvel at the purple hue of some, the green of others, at those on which the crimson blooms, at those that flash with white, at those, too, which Nature, like a painter, has varied with the most contrasting colors. Whenever one goes to this church to pray, one understands immediately that this work has been fashioned not by human power or skill, but by the influence of God [Mango 1972:76].4 Prokopios places great emphasis on the variety of colors by enumerating each one and by comparing them with a meadow. This, he declares, is the work of Nature, who like an artist has created a marvelous work of art. It is important to recognize that in the eyes of the Byzantines, when such perfection and beauty is expressed, the work is a miracle. This is the highest praise that can be said for a work produced by “human power.” If Nature had her hand in its production, it becomes a wondrous and almost divine masterpiece. The experience of standing in a place surrounded by such a sight becomes an inspiring encounter of spiritual value. Later, in the ninth century in an ekphrasis of the palatine church dedicated to the Virgin of the Pharos, Patriarch Photius described entering the church, surrounded by its marbles and its gold and silver surfaces. After discussing the white and “gleaming bright and cheerful” facade from the courtyard, he continues: But when with difficulty one has torn oneself away from there and looked into the church itself, with what joy and trepidation and astonishment is one filled! It is as if one had entered heaven itself with no one barring the way from any side, and was illuminated by the beauty in changing forms (polymorphos) shining all around like so many stars, so is one utterly amazed. . . . It seems that everything is in ecstatic motion, and the church itself is circling around. For the spectator, through his whirling about in all directions and being constantly astir, which he is forced to experience by the variegated spectacle (poikilia) on all sides, imagines that his personal condition is transferred to the object” [Mango 1972:185]. LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 361 After describing also the golden altar, the silver sanctuary, and the pavement fashioned with stone segments into forms of animals, more marvelous in skill than those works of Pheidias or Praxiteles, he continues: In one respect only do I consider the architect of the church to have erred, namely that having gathered into one and the same spot all kinds of beauty, he does not allow the spectator to enjoy the sight in its purity, since the latter is carried and pulled away from one thing to another, and is unable to satiate himself with the spectacle as much as he may desire [Mango 1972:186]. With these quotes and the last inverse compliment to the builder, we recognize the great amazement and wonder that the surfaces of these churches could evoke in a viewer. Great value is given to the achievement of the artist, who succeeded in creating a place like heaven itself, and to the amazing forms and colors nature provided with its marbles. The experience of the sight cannot be fulfilled to the extent the spectator would wish, since all is too marvelous to quench this desire. The spectacle the authors praise is the surfaces, which through their luster and shine reflect the variegated colors and designs. In their descriptions, in an indirect way, light becomes the main character that makes all this possible. Nothing would be perceived without light. Thus, because of the qualities described above and also for their durability, marbles of various types, especially when rare, were highly valued and commonly reused in buildings throughout the Middle Ages.5 Most other natural materials are found in nature in much smaller quantities and are inherently rare. Gold is one of these rare minerals and is thus costly from the onset. But what makes gold so desirable are its physical qualities, not only its rarity. These seem to be appealing to the human senses, to the eye and to the touch: it is yellow, a bright color. It also has a shiny and lustrous surface that never tarnishes. It has mass weight, and it is malleable while retaining its shape to a degree that no other metal can compare to. Man can take this substance and transform it into all types of pleasing forms and shapes. In Byzantium gold was chosen for the highest denomination coin, the solidus, confirming the value attached to this material. For centuries the solidus was the most valued coin in circulation throughout the medieval world. Otherwise, gold was used for jewelry and sometimes, as the sources mention, for objects such as cups, plates, and utensils. However, these objects seem to have been limited, and it is not quite certain whether all referred to as golden were solid gold, even though described as such. Most objects that appear to be golden are silver with gold plate applied to the surface, often correctly described as silver gild. However we find a few large pieces of jewelry from the late sixth century where gold is used in its most pure form, as for example, in the Dumbarton Oaks collection. There is an encolpion in the form of a medallion with representations of the enthroned Virgin and Child between two adoring angels, with additional scenes of the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi (Figure 17.5, see color plates). The piece is inscribed, “Christ, our God help us.” This work is representative of the kind of object made purely 362 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD of gold. On its reverse is a depiction of the Baptism of Christ, with the inscription in Greek, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). This medallion was struck and not cast, and its weight is more than 100 g, both which make it unusual. Commonly, only coins and commemorative medallions with monetary value were struck, by imperial privilege. It is thus plausible that this medallion was made for an imperial occasion commemorating most likely a personal event, such as the baptism of Theodosius, son of emperor Maurice, who was baptized on the Feast of Epiphany, on January 6 in 584 (Ross 1965:nunber 36).6 The quoted inscription makes the Christian subjects depicted—Nativity and Baptism—relevant in one respect to Theodosius’s baptism and in another to the father–son relationship in a dynastic sense. Such objects are very rare because these kinds of occasions are few, but also because the gold could easily be melted down and reused to fashion a new object at a later date. Another rare example of a work in pure gold, in this case of probably the seventh century, is a wedding belt, also in the Dumbarton Oaks collection (Figure 17.6, see color plates; Kalavrezou 2003:229–230, no. 131; Ross 1965:number 38). It consists of 21 small medallions and two large ones. The large ones, in the center, form the buckle and have a Christian subject. Christ is joining the hands of the couple, the bride and groom, with the inscription in Greek: “From God harmony (homonoia), grace (charis), health (hygeia).” The remaining 21 smaller medallions form the part of the belt that goes around the waist. These medallions have representations of a variety of busts of pagan Dionysian and other types of deities. The combination is unusual but should not be taken as inappropriate for a Christian wedding. In epithalamia of the late sixth century, for example, we find lines like these: “Dionysos attends the summer of your wedding, bearing wine, love’s adornment, with plenty for all” and “Easily protecting garlanded Dionysos and the Nile with his many children, may God grant a noble marriage free from the destruction of others.” (Kalavrezou 2003:number 131 [A. Walker]; MacGoul 1988:111–112). Here, the Christian God and the pagan deities are cited together in relation to a wedding. As mentioned above, we rarely find objects of pure gold from the later periods. An epigram from the twelfth century by “Manganeios Balsamon” makes reference to an object made of this most valuable metal. It is a cup offered as a gift to a woman by Andronikos Kontostephanos, and the epigram most likely was meant to be inscribed on it (Horna 1903:185, 210; Varzos 1984:2:no. 134). We do not have the object itself, but we know from the title of the epigram that it had a representation of the Judgment of Paris and the golden apple that Aphrodite received. The epigram reads: On a golden vessel having depicted three goddesses, Aphrodite, Hera, Athena and Alexander [Paris] giving the apple Like the apple that Aphrodite [received] from Paris [you too] accept this sphere-shaped golden cup and drink a glass of thoughtful pleasure; LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 363 for you do not give yourself airs over mythical stories, but you are truly the preferred one without any lustful vice. [Horna 1903:185] This short epigram, although not too descriptive of the cup itself—it mentions only the material and its shape—suggests, in the parallel it sets up with the most desirable and famous golden apple, the great value of this gold cup. The epigram also reveals the great admiration of the donor for his beloved. One other object to mention here is the recently restored Crux Vaticana, a jewel-encrusted golden cross reliquary (Figure 17.7, see color plates). Although the golden cross, which contains in its center a tiny fragment of the True cross, was an imperial gift, it is only silver gilt. It was given to the people of Rome from the Byzantine emperor Justin II and his wife Sophia sometime between 565 and 578 (Spier2007:283-285, number 83). The Vatican restoration comes close to an original Byzantine aesthetic, which had been altered over the centuries by the removal of the precious pearls that must have been on the front side and their replacement with colored jewels (Vatican press release, via the Associated Press, November 19, 2009). The restoration correctly added pearls to the two arms, but more importantly a circle of pearls was placed to mark the most significant segment of the cross, its center, where the relic is housed.7 The framing with pearls of an area or image was done to emphasize its importance. This cross is one of the most valuable Christian treasures of the Vatican. Obviously, it is not valuable only because of its gold, jewels, and pearls. It is the True cross that beyond any material price has the highest value. The fact that the cross and its relic were also the gift of an emperor adds to its significance. In this case, the value is measured with different criteria.8 The golden cross and the Vatican’s decision to restore it lead to the last natural material I want to discuss: the pearl. The use of the pearl in Byzantium is unusual. Incorporating pearls into pieces of jewelry is common in many cultures, and large pearls are treasured for their size and used as single pendants or earrings. Besides jewelry, however, pearls in Byzantium had a special place. They were applied to what can be described simply as objects. The Byzantines bejeweled works of art or imperial insignia by stringing pearls onto them, in the manner of a necklace, which gave these objects another kind of dimension. Pearls came to Byzantium mainly from the coastal waters of India, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea, and this practice more or less follows the ancient tradition. References to their origin have survived in epigrams and poems but not in any documents relating to trade. Gold, as mentioned above, is considered valuable for its physical qualities: its bright yellow color, its shiny and lustrous surface, and its rarity. The pearl ( τὸ μάργαρον, ὁ μάργαρος or ὁ μαργαρίτης) is even scarcer than gold. It is found in much smaller quantities and is more difficult to obtain. It satisfied much of the same 364 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD aesthetic values, however. Like gold, the pearl has the appealing virtue of a natural luster, reflecting light without any human intervention, and even better than gold, which is yellow, the pearl can be pure white, which makes it unique. In addition, a pearl has the shape considered the most perfect in the universe. It is not only round, it is spherical—round in all its dimensions. This sphere, a symbol of Euclidian perfection and completeness, is supplied by nature itself and adds to the uniqueness of the pearl. Like silk and the porphyra dye, the pearl was part of the Byzantine admiration for natural gifts. The pearl however had also an unusual “genesis” which added the dimension of the wondrous, the miraculous, the ἀχειροποίητον (not-made-by-human-hands)—so valued in the Byzantine world in terms of sacredness and divine presence. The Byzantines believed, as did the ancient Greeks, that the pearl was created by lightning, which while falling from the sky, hits and traverses the sea, and enters the oyster shell. While rolling around within the shell, it creates this perfect spherical object, full of light itself. It is not only the luster and shine that remains from the lightning that shaped the pearl. The pearl now is filled with energy, which like a living force gives it great potency, until its energy is released when struck by light. The ancient myth of the creation of the pearl—the result of the union of fire and water when lightning penetrates an oyster—was used by Saint Ephrem, a hymnographer and theologian of the fourth century, to explain the immaculate conception of Christ, whose two natures were united in one hypostasis in the womb of the Virgin Theotokos. This metaphor occurred often in Byzantine homilies and hymns and thus became common knowledge. Texts speak of Mary as the shell, the sea, or another type of container that bears within the “divine” or “heavenly” pearl, ὁ μαργαρίτης, that is Christ (Evangelatou 2003:275).9 What is crucial to retain from this is the importance given to the pearl as a form and material. Christ, in the eyes of the Byzantines, is clearly the most perfect being. He is identified with and called the pearl himself, ὁ μαργαρίτης. A few lines written by important individuals show how common this metaphor was and how it was expressed. Patriarch Photius, in his homily on the Annunciation, written in poetic prose, in the sequence of many hails for the Virgin Theotokos, says at one point: “Hail, much-graced one, because you have stored away ‘the pearl of great value’ (Matt. 13:45–46), you are conveying the wealth of salvation to the ends of the universe” (Homilies V, 7; Mango 1958:121). The “pearl of great value” is a term used by Christ himself in a parable referring to “the kingdom of heaven.” Thus “the pearl of great value” becomes in a sense Christ himself (Matt. 13.45–46). “Manganeios Prodromos” in the twelfth century, wrote a number of poems with references to pearls. One, regarding the Nativity, combines well the ancient idea of the birth of the pearl with the Christian idea of Christ’s conception through the Holy Spirit. After introducing the difficulty of describing the virgin birth and wondering how one could talk about things that cannot be said out loud, he asks: LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 365 Container (the Virgin Mary), how come you carry the pearl, or is it fire that made into a pearl what you received through lightning, transforming spirit into flesh? [Miller 1883:31] The unusual “genesis” of the pearl, its rarity and the exceptional quality of its luster and sheen, made it a precious material for the most luxurious embellishments. The application of the pearl to enhance objects had begun already in the early Christian period, when pearls were applied to the diadems of emperors and other imperial insignia. A representative early example is the marble head of the youthful emperor Arcadius of the late fourth century, now in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul (Bandinelli 1971:figure 340). He is shown with extremely enlarged pearls, clearly to emphasize his imperial stature. Pearls also had a place on ecclesiastical symbols and liturgical objects such as crosses, book covers, and chalices, as well as on representations of celestial places such as the city of Jerusalem (for example, in the mosaic representation of Jerusalem in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome). Another example with an abundance of pearls is the depiction in ivory of the empress Ariadne/Sophia of the fifth century in the Bargello in Florence (Figure 17.8, see color plates; McClanan 2002:171, figure 7.7). Here it is important to note where the pearls are applied. Pearls are placed on her crown and its hanging perpendoulia; her chlamys, her mantle, with double rows defining its exterior borders, and her large collar-like necklace. In addition, the two symbols of power she holds, the scepter and the globus cruciger, are framed by pearls delineating the precise shape of these symbols. All the pearls are applied onto movable objects and surfaces, so that with her every step and gesture, the pearls would move too, creating a dramatic visual effect. What the pearls do here, on the imperial garments and insignia, is to define like a lit diagram, the outline of the objects to be able to be perceived even from afar. Light, especially flickering light with its continuous movement, would have kept reflecting off the delineating rows of pearls. It takes some effort for the modern viewer to imagine the effect of this experience, but it seems to have been quite successful, since the Byzantines kept enriching with pearls their own representation and the objects they surrounded themselves with. The value of pearls, and the personal pleasure of possessing them, can also be drawn from a non-Byzantine source. It is a report from the Book of Gifts and Rarities, where we have an account of gifts given by the Persian king Chosroes (A.D. 591–628) on the occasion of his marriage to the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Maurice. The report begins with the king’s distribution to the imperial retinue of 2,500 “purses of money,” followed by an offering to Maurice himself of “gifts worth ten thousand pieces of money.” These included “a thousand bars of gold, each of them weighing a thousand mithqals, five hundred purses of money in coins [and] a thousand flawless pearls, each of them worth four thousand dirhams” (Qaddumi 1996). Perhaps all these figures are 366 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD exaggerated, as is common in these kinds of documents. Still, it is interesting to see that the pearls have become the high point in the record and are given their separate cost value. When taken at face value, a flawless large pearl was worth the equivalent of ten slaves.10 The Byzantines applied pearls to objects to emphasize not only their shape but also to highlight important images, especially on works of enamel. The contrasting white of the pearls, strung like a chain one next to the other around the images, gives them luminescence. The medallion of Leo VI from a votive crown in the treasury of San Marco is a good example of the treatment given to images through pearls (Figure 17.9, see color plates; Buckton 1984:number 8). A book cover from the late ninth/early tenth century, now in Venice in the Marciana library, will suffice to show the effect of pearls on such works of art (Figure 17.10, see color plates; Buckton 1984:number 9; Evans and Wixom 1997:number 41). The book cover is decorated on both sides with enamel plaques. In the front center is Christ on the cross, surrounded by medallions with busts of apostles and evangelists. The back has a similar arrangement, with the Virgin orant within a cross and with ten medallions with busts surrounding it. Over the centuries, the book cover suffered the loss of several enamel plaques and the pearls that framed them. The restorers, in order to re-create the effect of the Byzantine original, completed the Crucifixion side by replacing its lost medallions and pearls with ones from the back cover. The striking difference between the front and back is quite evident. Clearly, the addition of the pearls makes the front surface richer. The pearls have the added quality of luminosity and luster, which emanate all around them when they are struck by light. Through this reflective quality of their surface, the pearls allow for a more precise definition of the forms they frame. When the Gospel book with covers such as these was lifted and shown to the congregation, everyone would have been able to recognize what it was and would have seen its multicolored enamel plaques and the pearls that decorated it. This object, as with most of those with pearls and multicolor enamels, was meant to be physically experienced in space. Chalices were treated in a similar way. A tenth-century cup in the treasury of San Marco, a gift of emperor Romanos I, demonstrates this use of the pearl quite successfully (Figure 17.11, see color plates; Buckton 1984:number 11). Colorful enamels of the Virgin and the apostles define the upper border. They are again framed by rows of strung pearls, which by their placement at the top, middle, and base of the chalice define its form. When the cup was raised by the priest at the Great Entrance, the animated light of the surrounding candles would have shined on its reflecting surface, offering the observer a truly radiant presence of the body of Christ. This gesture holds not only a symbolic value; it demonstrates the splendor of the chalice itself. The pearls that define the upper rim and lower border also display the magnificent large size of the chalice and possibly made the reading of the donor’s name in the inscription more legible. LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 367 The gospel book, the paten, and the chalice represent the embodiment of Christ. Since the spirit resides in the matter, since Christ is the true pearl, there was no doubt that pearls were the most appropriate and most valuable material to display on these objects. Even on silk-embroidered chalice covers, we find the same attention given to their decoration. An epigram written by Prodromos that was to be used on an agion potyrokalymma, a cover for a holy chalice, mentions the pearls on this purple and gold embroidered textile. Irene, the wife of Andronikos and the mother of Maria Komnene (mentioned above in the earlier epigram), donated it. And this one, embroidered by me, I offer myself to you, the one newly created and embellished with pearls, and you in exchange you make me whiter than snow (redeeming my sins) and make like a pearl the grace of your image. The fire of the spirit imprints you and makes you into a pearl By striking the virginal shell, I offer this cover to you coming under your protection I, devoted Sebastokratorissa Irene. To the king of all, to the one having become pearl I offer this gold embroidery as a gift I, the pious Irene Sebastokratorissa, so that you in return lighten me up with the spiritual pearl (Christ). [Miller 1883:38] What becomes most evident from these texts is the emphasis given to the brightness and translucency of the pearl. In theological terms, the pearl is associated with purity and perfection, especially for its flawless and unblemished whiteness—qualities most often attributed to the Virgin Mary. All this however, connects with the brightness and purity of light itself, the most precious and valuable “substance” on earth, something considered divine and not in the hands of man. We have to realize that when speaking of light, until electricity, the only kinds of light known were that of the sun and fire. Both are constantly changing, one on a daily cycle, the other by the moment. Fire, oil lamps, and candles all give a light which is continuously in motion, as if alive, on objects that can reflect it. Nature and its abundance of gifts depend on light and its effects on all other bodies. Light is the main natural substance that makes everything else exist and have a visual presence. Since light can hardly be physically held or touched and can only be perceived, its presence and value is measured through the materials that best reveal it. The Byzantines recognized the importance of light and its effect on objects, which led to the qualities most appreciated in materials in Byzantium: reflectivity, luster, shine, iridescence, and so on. The art of creating objects of value was to bring together or to combine carefully selected materials with light. The tenth-century encyclopedia/dictionary the Suidas defines light (φῶς) in the following way to explain its perfection, transparency, and splendor and the energy it transmits to all things: 368 THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD For light is energy and perfection with the property of being transparent. Light is not distinguished by anything else but by its appearance. Thus light is the energy of the transparent, in so far as it is transparent itself, this is its nature and its perfection. Given the fact that transparency exists in latent form, as soon as light came into being and took shape and perfection, light made itself actively transparent. . . . This means that every physical body that receives the clearness of light, when it falls on something smooth and glistening, it acts in such a way that it reflects the same clearness, as for example on silver and on mirrors and water and many other things. For this reason then the moon receiving the light of the sun illuminates things here (on earth). This we call the light’s reflection (φωτὸς ἀντανάκλασιν), which activates the same energy from those that receive it as from those that have (can produce) it [Bekker 1854:s.v. φῶς]. How well the Byzantines understood the value of light’s reflective and dynamic properties, and how effectively they were used to their best potential, not only on portable objects but also on large-scale surfaces such as marble revetments, is best exemplified by the awe-inspiring experience one had when entering the great church of Hagia Sophia. Once again, Prokopios described in few words the effectiveness of the materials applied in its interior. Hagia Sophia, he says, “abounds exceedingly in gleaming sunlight. You might say that the [interior] space is not illuminated by the sun from the outside, but that the radiance is generated within, so great an abundance of light bathes this shrine all around” (Mango 1972:74). Notes 1. The figures in this type of source have to be taken with reservation, since from the outset they were most likely exaggerated to impress, a practice that continued over the centuries. 2. Additional examples are: The Road to Byzantium: Luxury Arts of Antiquity, eds. F. Althaus and M. Sutcliffe, London: Fontana, 2006; Trésors de Byzance : manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 2001. 3. I am limiting my discussion to works of art produced with materials found in nature and not manmade, although I will not discuss ivory here. All works clearly were made by human hands, but my differentiation is, for example, between glass mosaic tesserae or enamel work and a marble piece or a pearl. 4. Another contemporary, Paul the Silentiary, the court poet of Justinian, is more specific in his naming of the marbles, which his audience must have recognized from the location of their provenance. He is more flowery in his choice of words in his description of the marbles used in Hagia Sophia: “The iron with its searching tooth has quarried for use green slabs from Carystus and gathered in a harvest of many-colored marbles from the Phrygian hills some rosy to see mingled with misty white, others gleaming softly with flowers of purple and of silver. There is a wealth of porphyry too, uplifted, that once filled a riverboat on the broad Nile, and now shines bespangled with bright stars. You may see the flashing emerald of the Laconian rock and the dazzling marble with mazy veins, which the deep gullies of the Iassian heights have sent, showing slanting streaks of livid white and red. From the cliffs of Lydia comes the stone whose pallid flowers mingle, intertwined with scarlet, and near by is gleaming jasper shining with yellow gold, which the Libyan sun has nurtured in the steep clefts of Moorish hills and warmed with golden light. There are marbles from the icebound Celtic mountains, on whose black-shining flesh pools LIGHT AND THE PRECIOUS OBJECT, OR VALUE IN THE EYES OF THE BYZANTINES 369 of milk seem to have been of milk seem to have been spilt at random, running this way and that; and precious onyx pale with transparent metal . . . all is assembled here in mingled grace” (see Wright 1936:229–230). 5. The secondary spaces of Hagia Sophia have suffered when their marble revetments were used as spoils in various mosques built in Constantinople after the Turkish occupation. 6. Most likely, this is one of the copies made for distribution to high officials of the court on that day. The decision to strike such an object instead of casting it might have depended on the desire to have each copy be pristine, with sharper detail and a limited edition. 7. The added pearls around the central medallion are not exactly attached according to the Byzantine system, which would have required stringing them like a necklace on a wire which was applied on the metal cross. But the effect is very similar and is close enough to give the same attention to the important location of the True cross relic. 8. Another special place for the use of gold in Byzantium was in mosaic tesserae on the vast wall surfaces of churches and palaces. There, gold leaf in a highly developed technique was “sandwiched” between two layers of glass and was applied on the walls, creating an otherworldly feeling inside those spaces. In a similar way, gold was applied as background to icons and manuscript illustrations to evoke a heavenly space. This is however a separate topic that should be addressed in a different paper. 9. Examples of such references can be found in Epiphanios of Cyprus, Homilia V, In laudes S. Mariae Deiparae (dubia aut spuria), PG 43, 489A/D, 496B/C; Proclos of Constantinople, Oratio VI, De laudibus S. Mariae, PG 65, 753A, Oratio V, De laudibus S. Mariae, PG 65, 720C; Basil of Seleukeia, In SS. Deiparae annuntiationem, PG 85, 436A; Photius of Constantinople, On the annunciation (I, §7), ed. Laourdas, Ὁμιλίαι, 61:3–5, Homilies, V, p. 121; Leo VI, In B. Mariae annuntiationem, PG 107, 24D–25A, In Christi nativitatem, I, PG 107, 36D; and Symeon Metaphrastes, In lamentationem SS. Deiparae, PG 114, 213D. 10. Lippard (1984:91–96) cites Michel Balard, Genes et l’Outre-Mer (Bratiana, Actes des Notaires genois), where slave transactions were recorded by Lamberto di Sambucco at Caffa in 1289–1290. From this he gives the price of a male slave at about 380 ab and a female at about 420 ab (1 ab equals 1 kipchak dhiram). Thus the value of one flawless pearl was that of 10 slaves. For this reference, I would like to thank Anthony Watson. THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Figure 17.1. Cut-glass bowl with precious stones and pearls, tenth/eleventh century (San Marco Treasury, Venice). Figure 17.2. Purple and gold embroidered peplos, 1261 (Museo di Sant’Agostino, Genoa). 99Papadopoulos_insert_re2.indd 488 2/27/12 1:42 PM PLATES Figure 17.3. Marble revetment in the narthex of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, sixth century. Figure 17.4. Book-matched pattern on a revetment in the naos of the church of the Chora, Constantinople, 12th /14th century. 99Papadopoulos_insert_re2.indd 489 2/27/12 1:42 PM THE CONSTRUCTION OF VALUE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Figure 17.5. Gold medallion with Virgin enthroned and Baptism, seventh century (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.). Figure 17.7. Reliquary cross of Justin II (565–578), restored front view (Vatican collection, Vatican City). 99Papadopoulos_insert_re2.indd 490 Figure 17.6. Marriage belt, gold seventh century (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.). Figure 17.8. Ivory panel of Empress Ariadne/Sophia, fifth century (Bargello, Florence). 2/27/12 1:42 PM PLATES Figure 17.9. Medallion of Leo VI, detail of votive crown, late ninth century (San Marco Treasury, Venice). Figure 17.10. Silver gilt book cover with enamels, precious stones and pearls, tenth/eleventh century (Marciana Library, Venice). Figure 17.11. Chalice of Romanos I, tenth century (San Marco Treasury, Venice). 99Papadopoulos_insert_re2.indd 491 2/27/12 1:42 PM