Metamorphosis
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/04/031 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Amphissa |
| Dates | 1905-1909 |
| Donor/Creator |
Traquair, Mr Ramsay |
| Scope and Content | North gable (detail). Further annotation in pencil survives at the back of the photograph. |
| 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. |