Descrizione

Original bdg. Dust wrapper. 4to. (32 x 24,5 cm). In English. 175 p., color ills. "The book brings together the extant mosaics of the Great Palace (Büyük Saray Mosaic Museum), Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya Museum), the Virgin Pammakaristos (Fethiye Museum), St. Saviour in Chora (Kariye Museum) and Istanbul Archaeological Museums. Except for the few panels brought from elsewhere and now kept in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, all of the mosaics in this book were made in Istanbul, known then as Constantinople. Chronologically, the earliest of these mosaics is from the late Roman period and the latest from the early fourteenth century. Even if they are far from giving the development of the art of mosaic in the capital these pavements reflect the importance that was afforded to this art. In this volume they are grouped under the name of the monument to which they belong. Constantinople suffered so many natural disasters and had to be rebuilt so many times that the mosaics which decorated the buildings of the late Roman/early Byzantine period, lie under modern buildings in the debris of fires and earthquakes. Unless some of these are encountered accidentally during construction work and salvaged, there is almost no hope of bringing them to light.".