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Epitaphios, detail
Thessalonike, 14th century
Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessalonike, Greece
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Numerous highly specialized ritual objects are required for
the performance of the Orthodox Liturgy, and typically these
were fashioned from the richest materials available, such as
gold, silver, and copper. Although there are significant numbers
of luxurious liturgical objects dating from the Early and Middle
Byzantine periods, examples are fairly rare for the last centuries
of the empire. This situation can be attributed to a general
shortage of raw materials, consequentially leading to the melting
down of both sacred and secular gold and silver objects to acquire
bullion to strike currency. This occurred during periods of
extreme economic crisis facing the state.
Most Late Byzantine liturgical objects that have survived are
found in monastic treasuries, where they have been preserved
through the centuries. Although a great deal of material has
not survived, it is fortunate that numerous contemporary depictions
of the celestial liturgy can provide us with further insight
into these objects’ appearance and usage.
The corpus of extant liturgical objects either exhibits the
continued development of Middle Byzantine forms, or displays
increasing Western influence. This is not surprising, as Venice
overtakes Byzantium as an exporter of luxury goods, and itself
becomes the center of artistic innovation.
Visual Expressions of the Faith
Liturgical Objects | Manuscripts and Frescoes
| Miniature Mosaic Icons | Vestments
and Textiles | Painted Icons
Themes in Late Byzantine Art
1. Introduction | 2. Peoples
of the Byzantine Sphere | 3. Visual Expressions of
the Faith | 4. The Byzantine Sphere
and the Islamic World | 5. The
Byzantine Sphere and the West
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