Original scientific paper
THE SCULPTURE OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN CASTELLUM ON THE ISLET OF OSINJ AT THE MOUTH OF THE NERETVA
Jasna Jeličić-Radonić
; Konzervatorski odjel - Split
Abstract
The islet of Osinj at the head of the so-called Little Neretva which parts from the main Neretva river near Opuzen. The late Medieval church of St. John was built in a bay with a small harbour in the western, lower, section of the island. A path leads to Gradina hill (76 m) which rises above the eastern side of the island and dominates the surrounding area. This was the site of a late antique fort with an early Christian church. Conservation work on St. John's in 1980 revealed pieces of the early Christian interior furnishings built into the walls of the late Medieval church. Fragments of the s labs and pilasters of the chancel screen, of shafts and bases columns, and of stone vessels were also uncovered. When the Gradina terrain was cleared in 1985 a section of the stone base of the chance l screen was discovered slabs and pilasters lying near it. Preserved square mortices for the placement of the pilasters and the longitudinal grooves for the slabs show the exact distribution of the elements of the chancel screen and the entrance to the presbytery. The remains of the s labs found in both churches were sufficient to renstruct several sections of the chancel screen. The chancel screen was obviously composed of two pairs of slabs with the same symbolic representations of Christ. The front side had slightly wider stone slabs showing monograms of Christ and the cross, while lateral slabs had only crosses inscribed in rhombuses and circles with double bands. The early Christian sculpture of the presbytery is characteristic of its time, as strictly geometrical representation of Christian symbolism was typical of the middle of the 6th century. The chancel screen in early Christ an church in Osinj was produced in local workshops. The sculpture di splays the influence of two cultural circles: the slabs show the characteristic motifs of the Brač workshops influenced by the mass production work of the Salona region, which supplied many of the early Christian edifices throughout the length of the Adriatic. The influence of Narona left traces in the decoration of the pilaster found in Osinj. It is not uncommon to find a multiplicity of stylistic influences at the head of the Neretva delta, on the top of the island of Osinj, whence access to the river and to sea going routes could be controlled. This divergence of styles is clearly reflected in the design of the sculpture found in this early Christian church , which was constructed within a Byzantine fort at the time of Justinian ' s reconquest.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
114546
URI
Publication date:
10.12.1997.
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