Zoodochos Pege
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/15/004 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Samari |
| Dates | 1888-1890 |
| Donor/Creator |
Weir Schultz, Mr Robert Barnsley, Mr Sidney Howard |
| Scope and Content | South-east view. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back. See also photo no: 02/11/23/01 (BRF no: 02/01/15/005). |
| Further information | Zoodochos Pege church at Samari, Messenia, one of the most well-known monuments of middle Byzantine architecture in the bibliography, is of the simple inscribed two-columned cross-in-square type with dome and narthex. Noteworthy in the church is the tripartite two-columned portico on the west side as well as the small blind vaulted chamber which is directly attached to the north portico. The monument, which survives in an excellent condition, lies on a crepidome. The masonry is of the finest cloissoné both in the main church and the attached portico. The lower part of the walls is built of large perfectly cut marble stones which in some cases form symmetrical crosses. Brickwork and dentil courses decorate the windows and the cornices. Glazed ceramic bowls were inserted in the tympanum of the cross-arm windows. An abacus frieze enlivens the northern cross-arm walling. Impressive marble opus sectile decorates the floor while wall-paintings of the finest quality cover the interior. The monument's sculpture parts of the original templon still survive in situ- is noteworthy too. It consists of pieces on a variety of subjects and in varied techniques: low and high relief or inscribed panels, impressive friezes with floral and/or geometrical patterns, pieces which give the impression of opus sectile. The church must have functioned as a burial monument: the marble sarcophagus at the north end of the narthex is now lost. |