Metamorphosis
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/01/01/04/001 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Amphissa |
| Dates | 1888-1890 |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | Upper row: 'Longitudinal Section' (right) - 'North Elevation' (left). Lower row: 'Ground Plan' (right) - East elevation (left). Fragments of the iconostasis (upper right corner) - Brick ornaments (lower right corner). The drawing is entitled: 'The Church of the Transfiguration, Salona, Greece'. A note (R. Traquair drawing) survives in the lower right hand corner. Further annotation in ink survives. |
| Further information | The church dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ (Metamorphosis) at Amphissa, Phocis, is of the four-column cross-in-square architectural type with Athenian dome and narthex. It is dated to the first quarter of the 12th c. The walling of the building, in regular cloisonné, is characteristic of the middle-Byzantine Greek-mainland church-building tradition (‘Greek School’). Along the base of the walls the stone masonry has been arranged into a series of large well-shaped crosses. In some cases these are surrounded by dentil courses, an ornamental element which is used in abundance in the exterior of the church. Pseudo-Kufic inserts decorate the ashlar blocks mainly in the north side of the building (in the filling of the tympanum of the north gable archivolt). A double figure enclosing a cross also occurs once in each of the attached piers which support this and the corresponding archivolt on the south façade. In both cases, however, these appear in a debased form. Only fragments of the original sculptural decoration of the church have survived. |