Mosaics

1- METER THEOU

This mosaic depicts Mary with baby Christ in her womb. Her two hand are outstretched and there are two angels whose hands are veiled to touch sacred one. Around Mary, ‘’Mother of God’’ and ‘’Chora of the unlimited’’. We can say that this name of the museum is named after this Chora Mosaic because Chora means the womb where Christ was born. This type of depiction is named as ‘’blacherniotissa’’.

2-PANTOCRATOR JESUS CHRIST

Signing benediction with his right hand and holding the Holy Book with the left one, Christ is portrayed in a realistic way in the mosaic. His right ear is lower than the left one. His head is surrounded by a nimbus with a cross inside. The inscription around him reads ‘’Jesus Christ’’ and ‘’the Chora of the living’’ which is taken from Psalm 116 (The land of living, the eternal reward for faithful in heaven)

Moreover, this mosaic is made with a special technique; his look catches you wherever you look at him.

3-THE DREAM OF JOSEPH

In this mosaic lunette, we see Joseph thoughtfully in a dream. He is not aware of Mary’s pregnancy. In his dream, an angel announces the good news that Mary will bear a boy named Jesus who comes from the Holy Ghost so not to leave her.

Above him, Mary and Elizabeth is talking. After Joseph has waken up, he takes his family to Bethlehem where Christ will be born. Mary is depicted on a mule pulled by the son of Joseph and followed by Joseph.

4– The birth of Christ (Nativity)

In this scene, we see Mary, in the center lying on a blanket with Christ on her left with a light from heavens on him. There are two animals looking at him, because they are in a stable. Behind Mary, angels are praying and on the right, Gabriel announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds.

On the left below the panel, two women is bathing the baby Christ. And near them, Joseph is sitting broodingly with a halo around his head.

5- The three Magi 

The three Magi (aka three Wise men) are traditional accounts of the nativity celebrations. We see them coming from the East on horses following a star and arriving in Bethlehem. They ask the king Herod where the newborn King of Jews. One of them has a box full of gifts in his hands to present the new King. The King askes them to let him know if they find him so that he could worship him, too.

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Ignatius the Younger

In this mosaic, Ignatius has white hair and no beard. He is thought to be 50 years old in the mosaic. He was a eunuch. His inscription reads: ‘’Ignatios Neos’’

St. John Chrysostom

Having a nickname of ‘’gold mouth’’, Chrysostom is middle aged in the mosaic. His inscription presents: ‘’Ioannis Chrisostomos’’. When the Empress Eudoxia and John Khrysostomos sent him into exile, the church was burned down by the rebels who supported him.

St. Ignatios Theophoros

He was a bishop of Antioch before he was martyred. He has a beard and is of old age. His inscription says: ‘’Ignatios Theophoros’’. Each saint dress in ‘’omophorion’’ a bishop vestment. St. Ignatius the Younger is wearing a cap. They hold Bible in one hand, St. Theophoros and Khrysostomos are signing benediction with their right hans.

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They killed Argyros by drowning him in the bath. And Michael became Emperor. However, about 7 years later, Michael IV died and his nephew Michael V became the Emperor by imprisoning Zoe. This led to a riot against the new Emperor and he was dethroned by Constantine IX Monomachos, the third husband of Zoe. Zoe didn’t have a child during her life.

Therefore, with each husband Zoe had, the faces of the mosaic changed. Interestingly enough, the faces of Zoe and Christ aren’t the original ones, if Michael V destroyed the face of Zoe, why did he also destruct the face of Christ? Maybe, the artist wanted them to be look alike in style.

In the mosaic, Zoe must be 70 years old no matter how she looks like with youthful colors of her skin. She holds an inscripted scroll showing the donations made to the church. The inscription around her says: ‘’Zoe, the most pious Augusta’’

The face of the Emperor belongs to her third husband, Constantine XI. He wears a crown with hanging pearl and holds a purse a pokombion. The inscription around him presents, Constantine, in Christ the God, Autocrat, faithful King of the Romans, Monomachos. The Christ figure which is bigger in size than the other figures. He wears a chiton. He is signing benediction with his right hand and holding an ornamented Holy Book with his left hand.

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There is a decorated inscription which is mostly erased around them, which says: ‘’The images which impostors cast down here pious emperors have again set up’’. The inscription commemorates the restorations made by Basil I and Michael III after the Iconoclast period, during which this mosaic was hidden.

It was uncovered in 867 by Photius the Patriarch. And from that time, even after the conquest by Mehmed II, this mosaic was never veiled again. Although all mosaics were made after iconoclastic period, it is the oldest mosaic of Hagia Sophia.

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Mary the Virgin is depicted smaller than the Emperor and Empress. Christ the Child is seated on her lap making benediction with his right hand and holding a roll on his left hand. Mary is accompanied by the monograms of ‘’Mother of God’’ MP OV. They are depicted in a humanistic style. Christ has a cruciform nimbus around him.

Empress Eirene

With her distinctive physiognomy with blonde hair, Empress Eirene is holding a scroll of parchment of donation made to the Great Church. She is dressed in a royal red garment with embellished jewelry and gold. She has a gold imperial crown and pear shaped earrings. Her inscription reads ‘’Eirene’’, the most pious Augusta which shows her devoutness.

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Emperor Komnenos II

The son of Alexios Komnenos, Joannis Komnenos II is presenting a money purse to Mary and Christ. He is attired in royal jeweled clothes and wears a cap shaped crown called ‘’camelaucum’’ . He is facing to Mary. He has a darker complexion than his wife.

He has an inscription around him telling: ‘’John in Christ the God, faithful king born in the purple, Autocrat of Romans, the Kommenos.’’

Alexios

On the right of Empress Eirene and Emperor Komnenos, there is a panel allocated to their son, Alexios with the inscription around ‘’Alexios in Christ, faithful King of the Romans, the born in the purple’’ In this mosaic, Alexios is about 17 years old (1122) with a dark complexion like his father and even the selected tesserae in the mosaic reflect a gloomy tone. He has a black nimbus around his head as well. He died of tuberculosis at an early age after this depiction. By looking at their different styles, this panel is believed to date a later year than his parents.

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His mosaic (Alexander Panel) probably dates to 912. In the mosaic, he was depicted unaccompanied with his red crown and ornate red boots with pearls holding an orb in his right hand and an akakia (a cylindrical purple silk roll containing dust, symbolizing the mortal nature of men) in his left hand. He wears a royal garment a sagion and a skoramargion. We see him in his older ages.

In the mosaic, there are four inscriptions, three of which are cruciform monograms and one of which reads Alexander.

Emperor Alexander Mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Photo Credit Dumbarton Oaks

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Once located in today’s Sultan Ahmet District, the Great Palace of Constantinople was built by Constantine the Great. The Palace area extended from Hippodrome to the coastline. Destroyed in Nika Riot in the 6th century, the Great Palace was rebuilt by Justinian I. The mosaics, decorating the floors of the museum today date back to that restoration time. The mosaics are just one seventh of the original work.

The Great Palace was a complex with libraries, churches, meeting halls and even a stadium. It was also the administration building of Constantinople and surrounded by churches and palaces like Daphne and Kathisma Palaces. The Palace was entered by the Bronze Gate, aka Chalke. The building went under restorations under Basil I and Justinian II. After the conquest of the city, the Palace was used as a prison.

The mosaics of the Palace were discovered during the excavations between ’35-’38 and ’51-’54. Later, in a Turkey-Austria joint project, the mosaics were worked on and in 1987, they were placed in its current preservation hall.
The mosaics, covering the courtyard of the Great Palace, were removed and after a long process of restoration including the re-attachment of the mosaics with a special kind of wax and mortar. The mosaics were cleansed and polished again.

The Great Palace Mosaic Museum was inaugurated in 1987. The mosaics in the museum mostly depict the animals and humans in nature , mythological, pastoral motifs and hunting scenes.

Great Palace Mosaic Museum: Mosaics 

List of Mosaics

1. Shepherd carrying a lamb: In this mosaic, the shepherd who is known as “the Good Shepherd” carries his lamb on his back.
2. There is a fisherman sitting on a shore and holds a rod with a fish. There is also a fish basket and the remains of a second fisherman.
3. The gooseherds: A boy and a girl herding two geese are depicted in this mosaic.
4. Herdsman milking a goat: An old bearded shepherd is milking his goat and a boy is holding a milk jug. This scene reflects the pastoral life.
5. A man is feeding his mule.
6. In this mosaic, two children are seated on a dromedary and one of them with a wreath around his head is holding a bird in one hand and reins with the other hand. There is also a guide in front of them.
7. Hoop-trundling: Four children are trundling hoops in this mosaic panel. Hoop-trundling was a popular sport and believed to be healthy activity. Two boys are wearing blue shawls while the other two wearing green ones, which represents the rivalry of ‘the Blues’ and ‘the Greens’ -two political fractions of the time.
8. Small boy and his dog: the boy who has a larger head compared to his body is petting his dog. He wears a red tunic and he is bare-footed.
9. Mother and the dog: A mother is breastfeeding his baby. The scene is a representation of the depiction of Isis with her child Horus. A dog on the left of the woman is looking at her with its raised head.
10. A woman figure carrying a jug on her shoulder.
11. A philosopher sitting on a rock.
12. The donkey and its owner: A donkey is kicking its owner with its back feet up in the air.
13. The fight between a hunter and a wounded leopard.
14. Hunting the tiger: Two hunters with sleeveless tunics with badges on have spears on their hands. They are thought to be the guards of the Palace.
15. A hunter carries a sword , a shield and a spear.
16. Hunting Rabbits: The dogs are attacking the rabbits on its neck and abdomen. The hunter is depicted to have just released the dogs.
17. The Lion and The Elephant: The elephant is depicted as attacking a male lion around the lion’s neck with its trunk.
18. The stag and the snake: In some ancient texts, the stag is seen as a rival of the snake. It can also draw a snake out of its hole with its breath. the deer was also a symbol of fertility and the animal of Artemis.The stag is illustrated with an erect penis in the scene. And the snake is curled around the stag’s body.
19. The Eagle and the Snake: The eagle with its wings up has caught the snake which is rolled around the eagle’s body. It is the symbol of victory of light over darkness. It is a widely used motif from Roman times.
20. Leopard hunting a deer
21. Bear hunting a lamb
22. Leopards hunting a deer.
23. The struggle of lion.
24. This lion griffin has an eagle head with manes, a body of a lion and wings. It is depicted as attacking a deer on the back, and bloods are dripping from its claws.
25. The tigriss-griffin: This tigriss(female) Griffin has two horns and wings and a wild look in its face. Crimson drops of blood come out of its mouth.
26. The lion-griffin has an eagle head and wings and a long tail.
27. The Bear Family: In this mosaic panel, we see a group of bear. One is climbing an apple tree, one is eating an apple and one of them is attacking a man who falls on his knees.
28. Stallion, Mare and Foal: This scene symbolizes rural life. They all have smaller heads compared to their bodies.
29. The Monkey as a Bird-Catcher: The monkey under a date tree is holding a long stick in his hands and trying to catch birds. He has a wooden cage on its back wtih a bird on it. Monkeys are known to have been used in some chores.
30. Animals are grazing.
31. Bellerophon and the Chimaera: Chimaera is the monster with three heads( the lion-head with tree forked-tongue, the snake-head as the tail, and a goat-head on its back) Bellerophon is attacking the lion with its spear on his horse- Pegasus, which is destroyed mostly. You can see just the feet of Pegasus and spear of Bellerophon.
32. The child Dionysos Riding on Pan’s shoulder: Dionysos, the God of wine is depicted as a child on the shoulders of Pan, the God of satyrs and herds. It is half-goat and half-man. Dionysos has a wreath of leaves on his head and holds the horns of Pan. They are followed by an elephant with a man on it.
33. Workers in the field.
34. A wellhouse.
35. The okapi-headed Leopard-Griffin.
36. Mounted huntsman in oriental garb hunting gazelles.
37. Hunting the lion with bow and arrow.
38. Reclining woman and branch of a tree (South western hall)
39. Mountain Goats. (South western hall)
40. Lioness and cub. (South western hall)
41. Marten and its prey.
42. Leg of a Hunter. (South western hall)
43. Wolf attacking a flock of sheep.
44. Hunter and Dog – South western hall.
45. Detail from a portrait.
46. Flight of Birds.
47. The figure of mustachioed mask.
48. Mask figure with acanthus beard.
49. Details from the pastoral compositions in the Great Palace mosaics.

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