Original scientific paper

SARCOPHAGUS IN BALE

Branko Fučić ; Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti u Zagrebu

Abstract

The sarcophagus of the parish church in Bale dates from the 7th-8th century. Its carved ornament is not only decorative; it also bears a deeper meaning, the Christian belief in life everlasting and the redeeming power of the cross. In the artist's iconographic interpretation the arcade with trees under the arches is an architectural abbreviation: it is the »heavenly Jerusalem«, paradise, the eternal abode of the blessed; the trees are part of Eden, »locus refrigerii et pacis«, or perhaps the »trees of life« described in the Apocalypse (Ch. 22)
The cross represented on the shorter side of the sarcophagus is not composed of two dessicated pieces of timber; this wood is alive, and it is sprouting. The cross is a fertile tree on which has matured the noblest fruit - the redeeming sacrifice of Christ. The cross is the only »noble piece of wood« among all the trees that surround it. Such a notion of the cross was formulated in the song by Venantius Fortunatus (530-610) »Lustra sex qui jam pergit«.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

165211

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/165211

Publication date:

15.12.1986.

Article data in other languages: croatian german

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