Observation on the system of nubian church-decoration

@Pharaoh

Published in 

Egypt

 · 15 Dec 2023

At this moment we are still far away from a final answer to the question why Nubians decorated their churches the way they did. Although we have a lot of evidence, most of the church­ decoration has come down to us in a fragmentary form. So far the most complete example is the cathedral of Faras and as a result the paintings from Faras have often dominated the discussions on Nubian wall-painting. Not without reason, because this cathedral has provided us with by far the largest quantity of wall-paintings. But in several respects we should ask ourselves whether Faras cathedral, because of this status, is representative for Nubian wall-painting as a whole. Paral­lels between churches such as Faras, Sonqi Tino and Abdallah­-n-Irqi permit us to draw up main lines in stylistic develop­ments, even if certain 'provincial' paintings show a certain and iconographical sense, case apart⁽¹⁾. Nevertheless we can hardly avoid considering the evidence from Faras in any study on Nubian painting.

It seems that by now the main lines of stylistic develop­ment in Nubian wall-painting have been established. But when it comes to iconography the situation is more complex. A development in style can be deduced from comparison of indivi­dual paintings in their relative chronological order. An iconographical analysis, on the other hand, is not only a matter of interpreting isolated paintings. Once the subject and iconological significance of a wall-painting have been established, the next step is to look for its meaning in the wider context of the decoration of the whole church. It is this question which is still largely unanswered: was the decoration of Nubian churches done on the basis of a premedi­tated plan, and if so, how can these iconographical plans be defined? The following paper does not have the pretention of answering this question, it is meant to contribute to a continuing discussion on this subject.

At first sight there seems little structure in the deco­ration of most churches in Nubia. There is no example of a church where sequences of narrative scenes decorate the walls or where one artist or group of artists has decorated the church within a limited span of time on the basis of a tracea­ble plan. This could lead easily to the conclusion that Nubian churches were decorated in a gradual, organic process, with a completely heterogene and informal result. This might hold true for a number of situations, but within the seemingly unorganized display of paintings some fixed points are to be found, be it less than some would expect or like to find.

Before turning to the paintings themselves it is necessa­ry to distinguish a number of aspects in religious painting, even if there is no guarantee that these differences were experienced as such by the Nubian artists and believers.

• In late antique art the representation of a person can in many cases be identified as 'representative', in the sense that it functions as a substitute for the presence of the one depicted. This can apply to both representations of the living (images of the emperor and other authorities), the dead (an­cestors) and to deities and saints (cult-images). In the case of representations of deities, saints and the emperor an important purpose is the veneration of these images as a sign of respect or worship to the one represented. As Ernst Kitzin­ger has shown, the cult of images starts getting accepted and slowly institutionalized in Byzantine Christianity between the sixth century and the period of iconoclasm⁽²⁾.
• A second category consists of scenes in which an event or action is represented. It would be too simple to use the term 'narrative', since the purpose of the representation can be more than just illustrating or narrating an event. Such images are rather scarce in Nubian painting. A number of representations of the Nativity and the Youths in the fiery furnace are known and scenes such as Christ and Thomas (Faras a87) and the Passion-cycle.
• Whereas the afore mentioned images are more or less naturalistic, in the third place more abstract images can be used to represent a theological idea or concept. The best example for this are the numerous crosses, painted on walls in different varieties. Theophanical and eschatological aspects are clearly present in a number of them⁽³⁾.

These three aspects apply to the shape of the painting, not to the function or meaning attached to it. When it comes to this we should make a distinction between at least two different categories of paintings:

• those painted in a well-defined place because of a direct connection between the subject and the function or symbolism of the architecture;
• those in which the person or scene is primarily depic­ted for devotional reasons, without any direct connection to the architecture.

In only a limited number of cases we are able to make a connection between a certain iconographical theme and a place in the church. The most evident example of this is of course the apse-composition: a Christ in Majesty, with or without the four apocalyptic creatures and the Virgin, surrounded by the apostles in a lower zone, is the theme par excellence for the decoration of apses in the Nile-region⁽⁴⁾.

Furthermore there is the theme of the Nativity, that we find in a number of Nubian churches (such as Faras, Abd el-Gadir, Abdallah-n-Irqi) painted in the north-eastern corner of the church, maybe because of a connection with the preparation of the bread for the communion. The exact connection, however, remains uncertain; in Sonqi Tino the same theme was painted in the vestibule at the southern side of the church.

Archangels have been painted at the entrances of churches as door-keepers. A good example of this are the angels flanking the entrance to the narthex in Faras (inv. 98, 99).

Even in isolated cases there is sometimes the possibility to connect an iconographical theme to a certain part of the architecture, as in Sonqi Tino where St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist have been painted in the southern pastoforion, in Nubia used as the baptistery and probably also connected with the duties of the deacons⁽⁵⁾.

In most of the cases we find that the theme of the representation is not inextricably connected with the place in the church-building. If we would make a statistics of the themes and places connected with them, the above mentioned onces and maybe a few others would appear, a small percentage. A much greater percentage of Nubian wall-paintings is devoted to representations of (arch)angels, the Virgin Mary and the cross, highly venerated in Nubian Christianity. And as in the case of an icon, the veneration is an interaction between believer and the one represented, not depending on a specific place. Apart from these subjects, we find another category of 'representative' paintings, depicting bishops, members of the royal family and eparchs.

The iconographical program in Faras in the 8^th century

The paintings from Faras cathedral cover more than five centuries. It would be too easy to suppose that the concepts of church-decoration have remained the same during this span of time. For this reason we should try to consider each layer of painting or group of more or less contemporary paintings separately. The first one that we can distinguish as a more or less consistent group consists of the 8^th century paintings generally referred to as 'violet style' (6). Although in style they may be rather homogeneous, an iconographical program does not become clear at first glance. In the narthex and around the entrance to the staircase we find several paintings of angels as doorkeepers (inv. a 89, 98, 99, a83, a84), the painting in the apse and the Nativity (36) in the northern vestibule are familiar phenomena, but furthermore there seems little system (7). This need not be surprising. The beginning of the 8th century is still to be considered a formative period in Nubian painting, a period coinciding with Iconoclasm in Byzantium. In this time we find a signifiacnt influence from Coptic style and iconography as Kurt Weitzmann remarked. He noticed as well the lack of coherence between the several paintings, and explained this from the icon-like character of the paintings, each one being a single devotional image, not related to the neighbouring one (8). This is indeed the impressi­on we get if we imagine ourselves standing in the 8^th century cathedral (9). The devotional character of many of the paintings in Faras is shown by the stains of soot, left by burning lamps in front of them. In the side-rooms, not accesible to the venerating public, no paintings were applied. The devotional character probably not only applies to the 'iconic' images of saints, but also to a a more 'narrative' scene as the Youths in the fiery furnace. Not only the 8th century painting, but also the later two versions in Faras cathedral were painted close to the doors and stairway, the places where the other representations of archangels (especially Michael) were concentrated and apparently connected with the veneration for the archangel. The frontal position of the figures gives the representations of this theme a rather more 'iconic' than 'narrative' character.

The 8^th century paintings show us no portraits yet of Nubian dignitaries.

The ninth and tenth centuries

The first change in this character of the paintings occurs in the middle of the 9^th century (described as the transitional style between the violet and white style): on the northern wall, in the eastern part, a protection-scene with a queen and Michael was painted (al9). In the same period the first two Nubian bishops were represented (a68 and 119) (10).

With the beginning of the episcopate of Kyros and the ascensi­on to the throne of Georgios I (both from ca. 866) changes seems to continue. A transition in style of painting to what we call the white style took place. We find Kyros' portrait in the so-called southern chapel (inv. 110). Not long afterwards, by the end of the century, the interior must have been replas­tered, except for the apse. The reason for this renewal is not entirely clear. Large portions were still undecorated, leaving space for more additions. It was certainly not for lack of space that Georgios I had his representation added to the apse-composition. He simply must have chosen the most promi­nent place, under the protecting hands of the Virgin, with Christ in Glory over his head. The newly introduced iconograp­hy of the royal protection-scene is here put in the superlati­ve degree. Someone bold enough to order such an addition can also be supposed ambitious enough to plan a complete redecora­tion of the cathedral, abolishing the informal system of gradually adding individual iconic paintings. Nevertheless, after the replastering the old system of gradual addition of paintings was resumed, but now mainly in the side-rooms of the church, as if the nave and aisles waited for a redecoration that was never accomplished. In the third decade of the 10^th century the church was destroyed by fire and much later, after reconstruction, painting was resumed. But whether or not under Kyros and Georgios I the church was replastered as a prepara­tion for an iconographically planned decoration, the end of the 9^th century appears as a turning-point, not only in the paintings of Faras. It was Georgios' (Kirki) embassy as a prince to Baghdad in 836 that was crucial for Makouria's international position and political self-esteem (11). Under the long rule of king Georgios Nubia has flourished in political economical and cultural respect.

Protection-scenes

The self-confidence of the Nubian royal family becomes clear in the iconography of church-decoration: portraits of kings, their family, and of eparch start appearing in church. Although the system of gradual addition of paintings continues in the 11^th century and later, the portraits seem part of a system. We cannot merely compare them to the well-known pro­tection-scenes in the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessalo­niki. Private donors are never depicted as prominently as bishops and members of the royal family in Nubia. We are rather reminded of the Byzantine coronation-representations, meant to express the divine character of the imperial office. The royal portrait in Nubian churches should similarly express the divine authority of the king. Georgios did this by adding his representation in the centre of the apse, later paintings show the king opposite the apse. This is the case in the churches of Sonqi Tino (12) and Abd al-Gadir (13) and in Faras, not only in the cathedral (inv. 16)(14), but also in the so-called bishop's hall, where Georgios II is depicted, protected by the Virgin and the infant Christ, opposite the Christ in the shallow eastern apse (15). The choice of these positions can hardly be coincidental. We can not suppose any western influ­ence, but these paintings remind us strongly of the western­-European medieval churches, where the western apse or Westwerk was specially furnished for the royal throne. The Nubian kings seem to be represented as the earthly counterparts of the Heavenly King. Thus we could interpret protection-gesture, not only in the royal portraits, but also the bishops' represen­tations as pictorial legitimations of their office. Most of the protection-scenes show the person protected in front of or next to the protector. Another variety of protection-scene, apparently occurring for the first time in the 12^th century, shows the small half-figures of Christ and the Virgin, next to the shoulders of the one protected. The eparch in the apse of Faras and bishop Georgios have been depicted like this (16). This composition reminds of the way that St. Nicholas is often represented in Byzantine iconography, with the Virgin and Christ next to him as half-figures, handing him his omophorion and gospel-book, the attributes of his episcopal rank (17). In all three cases Christ and the Virgin function as legitimizing authorities for the protected person.

Byzantine elements in Nubian iconography

A certain Byzantine influence on Nubian culture cannot be denied (18). From the 10^th century onwards we see this influence getting stronger, also in religious iconography.

In the 6^th and the beginning of the 7^th century, when the Nubians kingdoms had only recently embraced the new religion, Egypt was apparently able to function as a source of inspi­ration for the southern neighbours. This situation gradually changed after the unification of Makouria and Nobadia and the Arab invasion in Egypt. Nevertheless we see a Coptic influence on Nubia until the 9^th century. But as Christian culture developed in the unified kingdom in Nubia and the Coptic Church in Egypt had to admit its submission to the Islamic rulers, Egypt must have lost its attraction as an example. The late 8th and the 9th centuries were a period of prospering for Nubia and of growing political turmoil in Egypt. In the 9th century Byzantium became a new source of inspiration to Makouria. Symbols and expressions of worldly and ecclesi­astical authority were borrowed from Byzantine art and proto­col and found their way also in religious iconography. The general concept of a Christian state, ruled by a king with both worldly and religious authority was a feature common to Makouria and Byzantium, whereas in Egypt church and state had been separated for good.

One of the means to express hierarchy and authority is costu­me. In religious costume Nubia followed the Byzantine fashion closely, to such an extent that new developments are depicted even earlier in Nubia than in Constantinople (19). At the court titles and costumes were imitated from the Byzantine court. Georgios I, as he appears in the Faras apse, is dressed in a costume reminding of the Byzantine imperial dress of the 6^th century. He wears no crown, possibly because it was considered inappropriate in the context of the apse-composition (although in later times the eparch added to the painting does wear his characteristic crown).

Among the symbols of power, apparently taken over from Byzan­tium we encounter a special type of crown known as kamelauki­on. In three paintings from around 1000 from Faras we find this headdress. This type of crown, in its later and more more ball-shaped form, was introduced by Alexius Comnenus as the official imperial crown, but existed already in an earlier shape, corresponding to the crowns that are worn by Georgios II in the mural in the bishop's hall, by the Virgin in the protection-scene of queen Martha (inv. 19)(20) and the Virgin enthroned ( inv. 32 )(21).

Constantinos VII Porphyrogenitos (913-959) mentions the K. a number of times. In De Ceremoniis he mentions how in 638 Heraclius crowned his son Heraclonas after removing the kame­laukion, the headdress of the caesar, from his head (22). In De Administrando Imperio the same author alludes to the use of the kamelaukion outside the Byzantine empire during the 10th century. He writes that the headdress should be reserved to the Byzantine court only, advising his son Romanos II to refuse to give the kamelaukion as a gift to kings of the northern barbarians (23). There is indeed evidence that foreign kings imitated the Byzantine regalia, including the use of the kamelaukion. Bulgarian, Russian and Norman kings are docu­mented and depicted wearing it. In the same passage Constanti­nos Porphyrogenitos mentions that a kamelaukion, given to Constantine the Great by an angel was kept as a votive-crown in the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, together with other regalia. This 'divine origin' of the crown seems to have been used as a justification for the claim of its exclusive use by the Byzantine emperor. On special occasions, i.e. great feasts of the Church, the emperor would be allowed to use it and the other regalia, but had to return them to the custody of the patriarch immediately afterwards (24). In this context it is significant to see the Nubian king wearing this crown in a painting in Faras cathedral.

In the Byzantine Church the kamelaukion was from a certain time worn by patriarchs and developed into the mitra. The main difference between the imperial crown and the ecclesiastical one is the absence of the characteristic pendants in the latter (in the painting of Georgios II the pendants are pre­sent). The first known representations of the crown as an episcopal attribute are a number of led seals with patron saints (Achilles, Basil, and Nicholas) of patriarchs of Con­stantinople, dating from the 10^th and 11^th centuries (25). This does not imply that patriarchs or metropolitans themselves had the right to wear it in this time. It can also be interpreted as a saint's attribute. In Faras we find the Virgin wearing the same crown in early 11^th century paintings, so that at least here we can affirm its iconography as a saint's headdress. The fact that here, as in the Byzantine tradition, the pendants have been omitted, points at a familiarity with Byzantine iconography. The other type of crown (not based on any Byzan­tine model, as far as known), the one that Queen Martha wears, corresponds to the crown of the Virgin in the great Nativity from Faras, now in Khartoum (inv. 18). The representation of this crown for both the queen and the Virgin Mary seems to underline the concept of the derivation of the royal power from heavenly authority.

The influence of Byzantine culture and its expression in church decoration has not been limited to representations of bishops and kings. The church of Naqa al-Oqba must have had an interesting interior decoration, of which only three fragments have been saved, now in the Coptic Museum in Cairo. On the basis of one of these fragments, descriptions and some photographs of Firth we may suppose that on the western wall, oposite the apse, there has been a painting of the Last Judgement. The fragment, preserved in Cairo, shows what Firth describes as follows: “The central part of the west wall contained a fresco of a pig swallowing people who are rising from graves, a crocodile faces the pig on the other side”. On the northern wall: "...a group of persons being swept away or buried; on the opposite wall was a group of persons in a garden, apparently the Blest in Paradise”. A photograph of a detail of the western wall shows eight figures, wrapped up like mummies, appearing from sarcofagi. A ninth person, a naked man, lies resting on his elbow. Over these figures, separated from them by decorative band, is the lower part of an enthroned figure and a part of a wing in the right cor­ner(26). These fragments have all the characteristics of a judgement scene, if we interpret the people described as being swallowed as being spit out instead. This identification is interesting in connection with the dating of the painting. Godlewski dates the apse-painting to the 7^th century (27). This dating may be too early for the painting on the western wall, but even is we date it two centuries later, it is still an interesting case. The earliest surviving Byzantine representa­tion of the Last Judgement dates back to the 10^th century, while B. Brenk supposes a late 8^th or 9^th century origin for this theme in Byzantine iconography (28). The place on the wes­tern wall corresponds to the traditional position in Byzantine art (often in the narthex of the church) and the Medieval West. Again we find a Byzantine theme, taken over at a very early stage. If the identification of a Last Jugdment is correct, a dating to the 9th century would be a very accepta­ble one.

If Nubia has absorbed Byzantine influence, it has cert­ainly not done so in systematic way. In iconography several themes and details can be traced back to Byzantine origins, but a system for church-decoration, as it developed in the Byzantine reach in the course of the 10th and 11th centuries, has never rooted in Nubia, as far as we can see. A good illustration of this eclecticism is the occurrence of the eparch's crown, next to all the Byzantine-inspired ceremonial crowns and costumes(29).

Drawing up conclusions one could say that in Nubian wall­painting there is no strict iconographical system or program to be distinguished, at least not one, uniform system. For a number of paintings there is a meaningful connection with the part of the building where they have been painted, but, except for such an important theme as an apse-decoration, there appear no strict rules from the paintings that have come down to us. This need not be surprising altogether. A more or less uniform decoration-scheme for churches starts developing in the Byzantine reach after Iconoclasm, when religious art became officially integrated in liturgy and theology. Egypt and Nubia never went through a similar crisis, so that here a traditional process of organic and only partly planned decora­tion could continue.

Devotional images make up the majority during the 8th century, the time that Nubian painting is still under influence of Coptic art. In the second half of the 9^th century, under the rule of king Georgios I, and later we see the increasing development of portraits of bishops and members of the royal family in church-decoration. This is accompanied by a growing influence by Byzantine culture, in costume, iconography and protocol. This process seems linked to the strong position of Nubia, the weak position of Egypt in the 9th and 10th centu­ries and the fact that Byzantium could function as a model for a Christian empire.

References

1. W. Godlewski, 'Some remarks on the Faras cathedral and its paintings'. Journal of Coptic Studies2 (1992), pp. 104-105.
2. E. Kitzinger, 'The cult of images in the age before Iconoclasm'. Dumbarton Oaks Papers8 (1954), 83-150.
3. E. Dinkler, 'Beobachtungen zur Ikonographie des Kreuzes in der nubischen Kunst'. Nubia, recentes recherches, Warsaw 1975, 22-30; P. van Moorsel, 'Die Nubier und das glorreiche Kreuz'.BABESCH47, 125-134.
4. P. van Moorsel, 'The Coptic apse-composition and its Living Creatures'. Etudes Nubiennes, Cairo 1978, pp. 325-333.
5. The identification of the southern pastoforionas a diakonikon, as we know it in the Byzantine church, is not beyond doubt in the Nile-region. But also in Deir al-Ahmar in Sohag the archdeacon Stepen has been depicted over the entran­ce to this room, seemingly more than a coincidence.
6. In the following articles this group is discussed, accompanied by useful plans and axionometric reconstructions: S. Jakobielski, 'Remarques sur la chronologie des peintures murales de Faras aux VIIIe et IXe siecles' Nubia ChristianaI, Warsaw 1982, pp. 142-167; M. Martens-Czarnecka, 'Faras pain­tings of the period between mid 8th and mid 10th century' Etudes et Travaux. XVI (1992), pp. 119-134.
7. M. Martens, 'Faras paintings', p. 132, seems to consi­der the 8th century paintings carefully planned, but does not further explain this opinion.
8. 'Some remarks on the sources of the fresco paintings of the cathedral of Faras' E. Dinkler (ed.), Kunst und Geschichte Nubiens in christlicher Zeit, Recklinghausen 1970, pp. 334-336.
9. Jakobielski, 'Remarques', pp. 148/149.
10. What is often referred to as a protection-scene from the late violet style (inv. 75) is not a bishop protected by a saint, judging from the costume and the position of the feet (K.C. Innemee, Ecclesiastical dress in the Medieval Near East, Leiden 1992, p. 205. It is even doubtful whether it is a pro­tection-scene at all.
11. G, Vantini, ' Le Roi Kirki de Nubie a Baghdad: Un ou deux voyages?' Kunst und Geschichte Nubiens, pp. 41-48; W. Adams, Nubia corridor to Africa, Princeton 1984, p. 455.
12. S, Donadoni, 'Les fouilles a l'eglise de Sonqi Tino', E. Dinkler, Kunst und Geschichte Nubiens, p. 215, Abb. 191.
13. B. Rostkowska, 'Contribution a l'iconografie des per­sonnages laics dans les peintures murales en Nubie', Etudes Nubiennes, Cairo 1978, pp. 247-252. Judging from the shape of the crown and the fact that an eparch is depicted on the adjacent wall (Griffiths, LAAAXV, pl. XXV, nr 12) it is more logical to interpret the protected figure as a king.
14. K. Michalowski, Faras, die Wandbilder in den Sammlungen des Nationalmuseums zu Warschau, Warsaw 1974, nr. 56, pp. 254­259. It is not clear whether the king was protected by Christ or the Virgin or not; at least no traces of a protector are visible.
15. Michalowski Die Wandbilder, nr. 34, pp. 184-185.
16. Michalowski, Die Wandbilder, nr. 19, p. 147; Innemee, Ecclesiastical dress, pl. 34.
17. The oldest known examples of this iconography date back to the 13th century, like the icon in St. Catherines monaste­ry; K.A. Manafis (ed.), Sinai, treasures of the monastery of St. Catherine, Athens 1990, p. 177, fig. 51, but this does not exclude older examples.
18. This was noticed already by W.H.C. Frend in 'Nubia as an outpost of Byzantine cultural influence' in Byzantinoslavi­ca XYIX (1968), pp. 319-326.
19. K.C. Innemee, 'Byzantine elements in Nubian liturgical vestments' in Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentum XXXII (1989), pp. 181-185; i.dem, Ecclesiastical Dress in the Medie­val-Near East, Leiden 1992, pp. 157-161.
20. Michalowski, Die Kathedrale aus dem Wustensand, Einsie­deln 1967, pl. 78.
21. M. Martens-Czarnecka, Les elements decoratifs sur les peintures de la Cathedrale de Faras, Warsaw 1982, p. 71, fig. 114-115.
22. De CeremoniisII, 27, ed. Reiske, Bonn 1829, p. 628.
23. De Administrando Imperio XIII, ed. G. Moravcsik, CFHB, Washington 1967, p. 66
24. Const. Porph., De Administrando Imperio, XIII, pp. 66, 69.
25. E. Piltz, Kamelaukion et mitra, Uppsala 1977, pl. 162, 163.
26. C.M. Firth, The Archaeological Survey of Nubia . Report for 1910-1911, Cairo 1927, p. 235, pl. 17a, 30c; CopticMuseum, inv. nr. 11476.
27. W. Godlewski, 'The early period of Nubian art', Etudes nubiennes, conference de Geneve I, 1992, p. 289.
28. B. Brenk, 'Die Anfange der byzantinischen Weltgerichts­darstellung', Byzantinische Zeitschrift 57 (1964), pp. 107­126; Idem, 'Weltgericht', E. Dinkler (ed.), Lexikon der Christlichen IkonoQraphie, Freiburg i.B. 1972, Tome 4, col. 513-516.
29. A Sassanian origin for the eparch's crown still seems defensible: In the early 8th cent. paintings at Qusayr ‘Amra one of the kings, probably Chosroes II, wears a crown very similar to the eparchs crown; Martin Almagro e.a., Qusayr ‘ Amra, Madrid 1975, lam. XVII; the horns or wings on the crown are hardly visible here. They do appear on the copy of A. Musil from the beginning of this century; cf. D. Talbot Rice, Islamic Art, Norwich 1979, ill. 19. For Sassanian crowns see also: R. Gobl, Sassanische Numismatik, Braunschweig 1968, Tab. XIV.