Original scientific paper

MOSAICS OF THE SYMFERIUS – (H)ESYCHIUS CATHEDRAL IN SALONA

Jasna Jeličić-Radonić ; Ministarstvo kulture, Konzervatorski odjel u Splitu

Abstract

The cathedral of Salona, built at the beginning of the 5th century, was decorated throughout with floor mosaics. The basic arrangement of the mosaic covering, with its Christian symbolism, followed the articulation of the internal space, as is clearly shown by the documentation from Bulić’s research. Apart from the mosaics of the ambulatory, with its inscription of the bishops builders Symferius and Hesychius, certain segments of the floor mosaics of the remaining part of the church divided into nave and aisles are also extant.
The floor mosaics of complex geometrical compositions with Christian symbols of the cross, octagons and hexagon that are repeated incessantly and express the basic idea of the Christian doctrine are characteristic of the mosaic art of 5th
century. Simbolic motifs similar to those in the mosaic of the ambulatory of Salona cathedral and the Early Christian mosaic from so-called Solin bypass are present in the mosaic of the northen porch of the courtyard by the eastern gates of Diocletian’s Place. The production of these marked examples of the Salona 5th century mosaic workshop was considerably influenced by Aquileian mosaic models (Aquileia, Grado, Poreč), which shows the links between these two Early Christian centres of the time, Salona and Aquileia.
The Salona cathedral, built at the beginning of the 5th century by the bishops Symferius and Hesychius, had mosaics in the area of the ambulatory, which is confirmed by the dedicatory inscription, and also by the mosaics in the aisles before the alterations to the internal arrangement of the bishopric church that resulted from the development of the liturgical ritual in the 6th century, when the episcopal seat was totally altered. The Salona mosaic workshop and its masters achieved major works in the new city cathedral, which was completely at the level of its time, and not only in terms of liturgical conception, also expressing the power and importance of the newly founded Salona metropolitan at the beginning of the 5th century.

Keywords

Hrčak ID:

145466

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/145466

Publication date:

3.7.2000.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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