Tag Archives: Constantinople

Nuove considerazioni sui capitelli compositi con foglie d’acanto ‘a farfalla’

Author: P. Baronio

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Aim of the paper is to analyze a particular type of acanthus capital with windblown leaves, known as ‘butterfly-winged’, in architectural sculpture of the Early Byzantine period. The goal is to delineate, as far as possible, the dynamics of production and spread of composite capitals with butterfly acanthus. This is a rare type, known mainly from examples in Ravenna and Istanbul datable between the late 5th and the first half of the 6th century. Through the re-examination of the Ravenna material, it has been possible to identify numer-ous unpublished architectural elements obtained by reworking butterfly-acanthus capitals and to consider the important role played by patrons and workshops in their production.

L’edificio di Gülhane a Costantinopoli: nuove osservazioni

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In 1921 the discovery of an impressive hexagonal building with a semi-circular hall in Istanbul, next to the Topkapı Palace, was made by the archaeologists of the French Army. This complex was considered for a long time the baptistery of a nearby (never found) basilica. This article suggests its identification with a huge dining room, part of a residential complex built in 5th century and modified during 6th century. The particular plan of the hall called “sigma” and few traces in literary sources suggest a link with the Imperial family, maybe with a property of the Theodosian dinasty.