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Pilgrim Treasures. Byzantium-Jerusalem On 1 October 2005 the Hermitage Amsterdam Exhibition Complex opened its fourth exhibition of art from the State Hermitage collections, presenting more than 230 works dating from the 4th to early 20th centuries relating to pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Among the items of special interest are three unique reliquaries intended for the safe keeping of fragments of the Holy Cross, splendid wooden carved crosses, icons with inscriptions in Arabic, elegant depictions of Biblical scenes made in mother-of-pearl, and personal presents from pilgrims to the Russian emperors. All these articles illustrate the Orthodox religious culture and the tradition of pilgrimage to the holy sites which goes back to the 4th century. Over the course of 11 centuries, from the late 4th century until 1453, Byzantium was the center of the world and the bridge between East and West. Byzantium drew unto itself the very best of the preceding great cultures of the Orient, Greece and Rome. Christianity was the guiding force of Byzantine culture. The history of Byzantium begins with the Roman Emperor Constantine, under whom Christians received the right to practice their faith openly in 313. In the year 330, he transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to a site on the Bosphorus where he established the city of Constantinople. His mother, Empress Helen, found the Holy Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified in Golgotha. The passion for pilgrimages dates from the middle of the 4th century. People traveled to the places associated with the earthly life of Jesus Christ, Mary, the apostles and martyrs for the Christian faith. The pilgrims brought blessings (eulogia) back with them from the holy places. These took the form of ampoules, lamps, crosses, seals, icons. During the period of Islamic rule in the Holy Land, pilgrims continued to visit the Sepulcher of our Lord. In the religious articles and pilgrims’ eulogia of this period there are evident traces of a mixture of Christian and Islamic cultural traditions. The mixture of cultures in the Holy Land gave the world a unique and highly complex language of artistic forms. The Byzantine emperors, Popes of Rome, rules of European states and Russian tsars collected artistic treasures from Palestine and Syria and highly valued them. One special feature of the exhibition presented by the State Hermitage is that it brings together in one place works of church art made by masters of the Holy Land, Byzantium, Georgia, and Russia. Among them we find genuine masterpieces of world art, such as the very ancient encaustic icon of the Virgin Mary from the Hermitage reserves; and works in silver, gold and precious stones. All of the brilliance and splendor of Byzantium, which amazed visitors with its refinement and sophistication, is on display in the exhibition. There is wonderful Byzantine and Georgian silver, sewing in golden and silver threads, and very fine mother of pearl work. The exhibition also shows genuine articles which were owned and used by Emperor Peter the Great, Empress Catherine the Great, Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas II, and presents for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Precious items of the jeweller’s craft such as crosses, icons, settings for the Gospel and icons all recreate the sophisticated image of the culture of Imperial Byzantium. The exhibition displays a splendid ritual cover (plashchanitsa) made by the artisan Vustin at the behest of the Patriarch of Antioch for the Balamend Monastery. In 1913 the monastery presented it to Emperor Nicholas II. The cover with its depiction of Christ in his tomb was used in the solemn Easter service. A variety of materials were used to make it, including silk, golden and silver threads, and the very finest silver or golden strip. The elegant Arabic inscription of the artisan Vustin contrasts with the Christian subject and reflects the high culture of Palestine in the 17th- 19th centuries during the so-called Melkite Renaissance. The exhibition gives the visitor an idea of the religious art of the Melkites, the Arab-speaking population of Palestine and Syria. Rare icons with Arabic inscriptions and Orthodox subjects from the holdings of the State Hermitage are a real delight of this exhibition. Among Russian museums only the Hermitage has such a unique collection Melkite icons, and it is presented in full at the exhibition. Equally unusual and beautiful are the icons made on fish heads. As a rule their subjects are associated with miracles in Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. One special form of art that is associated only with the Holy Land is carved mother of pearl shells. The scenes from the Passion are illustrated by very fine carving on this remarkable iridescent material which is the symbol of the Mother of God. There is a quite unique icon of the Resurrection which was presented to Russian heir to the throne Alexei in 1910 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It includes two holy elements: the hill of Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher. The works of art span the period from the 4th to early 20th centuries and are varied in terms of both style and materials used. Alongside golden and silver objects we find clay lamps and bronze crosses. However, the latter played no less important a role in the development of Christian iconography and of what is called Orthodox art of the Holy Land. Only the extensive and diverse collections of the State Hermitage have made it possible to organize an exhibition like this, which is unique in its concept and materials on display, many of which are being shown abroad for the first time. The author of the exhibition’s concept and its curator is Yu. A. Pyatnitsky, senior researcher in the Oriental Department of the State Hermitage and curator of the collection of Byzantine icons. He also has had general editorial responsibility for the scholarly catalogue of the exhibition, which has articles by V.N. Zalesskaya as well as Yu. A. Pyatnitsky (State Hermitage) and Vincent Boule (Hermitage Amsterdam Exhibition Complex). |
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