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In the passage concerning jewellers, theBook of the Eparch,

published by Leo VI the Wise (886912), states that if a jeweller

discovers a woman offering for sale objects of gold or silver, orprecious stones, he should inform the Eparch of these things so

that he could prevent their being exported to foreign peoples.1

The content of this passage betrays the Byzantine statesintention to control the circulation of jewellery outside its

borders. How realistic was this aim? Was the medieval taste for

objects of personal adornment strictly national or can we

speak of an international fashion for jewellery? As modern

research has pointed out, persons, goods and ideas circulatedquite widely in the Middle Byzantine period (9th13th

centuries),2 I shall attempt to support this point of view on thebasis of the archaeological evidence provided by medieval

earrings, concentrating mainly on the relationships between

the forms and types of jewellery prevalent in Byzantine,

Islamic and Slavic regions.Two well-known examples of Middle Byzantine painting

may speak in favour of our point. On the late 12th-century

fresco of the Church of Hagioi Anargyroi at Kastoria, AnnaRadine, the wife of the donor Theodoros Lemniotes, wears a

pair of gold earrings with a crescent-shaped body (Pl. 1). Gold

earrings of the same type, which are very similar to a pair ofearrings that probably originated in Kievan Rus,3 also adorn

the elegant figure of Desislava (Pl. 2), the wife of Sebastokrator

Kalojan, who in 1259 commissioned the wall-paintings of the

Church of SS Nicholas and Panteleimon at Bojana, near Sofia,in the Bulgarian kingdom.

It is no exaggeration to say that crescent-shaped earrings,

which appeared in the mid-2nd millennium BC, and passed

from Rome to Byzantium4 and from Byzantium to Islamic5 andSlavic6 countries, are the most popular type in the Middle

Byzantine period, as there are a large number of surviving

specimens. They are made not only of gold and silver, aimed atthe aristocracy, but also of other materials such as copper and

tin-plated bronze which could be purchased by people of a

lower social status.

A single gold earring in the Kanellopoulos Museum in

Athens (Pl. 3),7

and a pair in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection,Washingtondc,8 are characteristic examples of the crescent-

shaped type. In the centre of the body is an openworkmedallion with a repoussbust of the Virgin orans surmounted

by a cross with the engraved inscription W, ZW(Light,

Life). As these earrings in Athens and Washington have the

same dimensions and decoration they have been attributed tothe same Constantinopolitan workshop and dated to the 10th

11th century. Inscribed earrings with the same body shape (the

crescent or hilal in Arabic) also seem to have met the taste ofthe Islamic public, as testified by a pair of 12th-century

earrings found in Majorca9 and a pair in the Benaki Museum in

Athens (Pl. 4),10

both of which are attributed to a workshop inIslamic Spain. The central motif over the upper edge of the

semicircular body is symbolic of redemption, as it depicts two

confronted falcons nourished by the Tree of Life, a very popular

motif in both Byzantine and Islamic iconography. The contentof the Arabic calligraphic inscription,11 executed in filigree on

Elegance Over the Borders:The Evidence of Middle Byzantine Earrings

Jenny Albani

Plate 1 Anna Radine, detail. Wall-painting in the Church of Hagioi Anargyroi atKastoria, late 12th century

Plate 2 Desislava, detail. Wall-painting in the Church of SS Nicholas andPanteleimon at Bojana, dated 1259


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Plate 4 Pair of gold earrings, late 12th century. Benaki Museum, Athens

Plate 5 Pair of gold earrings with enamel decoration, first half of 10th century. London,British Museum (PE AF 338)

Plate 6 Gold earring from the Preslav Treasure, first half of the10th century. Natsionalen Istoriko-Arkheologischeski Reservat sMuzei Veliki Preslav, Preslav

Plate 7a-b Gold earrings probably from Crete, 10th centur y. National Archaeological Museum, Stathatos Collection, Athens

Plate 3 Gold earring, 10th11th century. Kanellopoulos Museum, Athens

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Elegance Over the Borders

the crescent-shaped body, is also religious; it has, however, a

more pronounced decorative role than that on the above-

mentioned Byzantine earrings.

On the other hand an iconographic repertoire inspired bynature can be observed on a number of crescent-shaped

earrings which have been dated to the 9th to 10th centuries.

They all consist of a lunate plaque framed by hollow goldspheres and lavishly decorated with enamels depicting

animals, birds and plants, granulation and precious stones,

while around their outer edges gems, fastened to rods or insiderings, alternate with triangular projections composed of

granules. To this group belong two single earrings, one ofwhich is a tomb find from Naupactos,12 western Greece, while

the other, probably from the municipality of Rethymnon,belongs to the collection of the Historical Museum in

Herakleion, Crete.13 Further specimens are two pairs of

earrings in the Kanellopoulos Museum, Athens,14 and in theBritish Museum, London (Pl. 5),15 as well as two single earrings

from the Preslav Treasure (Pl. 6).16 The latter are datable to the

first half of the 10thcentury, which indicates that this type was

also in fashion in the capital of the first Bulgarian kingdom

(6811018). Further outstanding examples of this group are apair of earrings (Pl. 7) and three single earrings in the National

Archaeological Museum, Athens,17 found in Crete together withcoins of Michael II (82029) and Constantine VII

Porphyrogennetos (91359). Two pairs of these earrings bear

Kufic inscriptions on the reverse, asking for Gods blessing on

their owners, Aisa and Zaynab. Pointing to the hybridcharacter of their decoration, closely related to both Byzantine

and Fatimid traditions, Coche de la Fert suggested that these

earrings were manufactured in 10th-century Crete for Islamicresidents, probably before the Byzantine re-conquest of 961.18

Surviving silver earrings with a flat crescent-shaped body

are decorated in the same techniques as their gold counterparts(filigree and granulation) but not enamel, thus creating lesscolourful effects. Instead, they have attachments of various

shapes axially f ixed to their lunate body. Typical examples are

the excavated finds from two cemeteries, at Azoros in the

Elasson district19 and in Hagia Trias near Melea,20 in Thessaly.

Another well-known example is a 9th- to 10th-century pair in

the collection of the Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens

(Pl. 8).21 The lunate body is formed of three braided wiresending in spherical beads. A cast cross with flaring arms is

attached to the upper edge of the body, while a convex disc

surrounded by five granulated triangular protrusions projectsfrom the bottom. The same circular motif is encountered on a

bronze crescent-shaped earring, an 11th-century excavated

find from Corinth, the upper part and the right half of whichare now missing.22 A triple braid also forms the lunate body of

an elaborate pair of mid-10th- to early 11th-century silver

earrings found at Veliko Gradite, Serbia, belonging to the

National Museum of Poarevac (Pl. 9).23 From the body, whichends in two biconical beads, is suspended an elongated

attachment composed of conical elements of openwork filigree

and granules. Because of the high artistic level of theirexecution and their exceptional shape, which is unique in

Slavic countries to date, these earrings are thought to have

been imported into medieval Serbia by a Byzantine merchant

for an aristocratic client with a penchant for Byzantine forms.24

Bronze earrings of the crescent-shaped type have the samecharacteristics as those made of silver, but are less elaborately

decorated. A bronze earring of this type was been found in theexcavations at Corinth, Greece (Pl. 10), and can be dated to the

10th century or later. Its lunate body, studded with small

knobs, has a scalloped upper edge and an elongated granulated

projection at the bottom, which terminates in a biconicalbead.25 A group of 11 single earrings, dated to the 9th to 10th

centuries and found together in the excavation of the

6th-century fortress of Boljetin on the south bank of theDanube in Serbia,26 are similar to the Corinth earring (Pl. 11).

The upper edges of their crescent-shaped bodies are scalloped

and pendants are attached at the bottom. Five of these piecesare made of tin-plated copper and are decorated in filigree,while their pendants are pear-shaped. The other six, made of

tin-plated bronze, are cast; their decoration imitates the

filigree technique and their attachment is in the form of a

Plate 8 Pair of silver earrings, 9th10th century. Byzantine and ChristianMuseum, Athens

Plate 9 Pair of silver earrings from Veliko Gradite, mid-10thearly 11thcentury. National Museum of Poarevac



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of Slavic origin. A typical and very well preserved example is

a pair of bronze silver-plated earrings from a cemetery atAzoros, Elasson in Thessaly.30 The axially fixed attachment is

in the form of a granulated cylinder, which is flanked by two

spherical beads with knobs. Three similar specimens, withbiconical beads, were found in the excavations at Corinth and

can be dated to the 10th to 11th century.31 This type is further

represented by a pair of earrings from a Middle Byzantinetomb in the Church of St John Theologos at Stylos,Apokoronas, in the municipality of Chania, Crete (Pl. 12).32 In

form and technique these specimens resemble three pairs of

silver earrings found at Veliko Gradite, dated to the mid-10th

three-pointed star. These 11 earrings have been attributed to a

local workshop which would have been aware of Byzantinemodels.27 As they are all single specimens, they have been

interpreted as samples used by a Slavic artisan-merchant.28

Crescent-shaped earrings with elongated pendants attachedto their bodies are closely related to earrings where the lower

part consists of a thick wire flanked by two beads and axially

decorated with an attachment. This type is considered to havebeen a northern import to Byzantium in the 5th and 6thcenturies during the period of the Vlkerwanderung,29 but is

also widespread in the Middle Byzantine period, from

Macedonia to Crete, with specimens closely related to earrings

Plate 12 Pair of bronze earrings from Stylos, 10th12th century. Byzantine andPost-Byzantine Collection, Chania

Plate 13 Pair of earrings from Veliko Gradite, mid-10thearly 11th century

Plate 15 Earrings from Doniko Brdo, near Kragujevac, 10th13th centuryPlate 14 Pair of bronze earrings, 10th12th century. Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection, Chania

Plate 10 Bronze earring from Corinth, 10th century. Archaeological Museum,Corinth

Plate 11 Earrings from the fortress of Boljetin, 9th10th century




with enamels attributed to Kievan Rus or Byzantium.49

Leaving aside the crescent-shaped type, it is interesting for

our topic to examine a type of earring prevalent in Slaviccountries from the 10th to the 13th centuries which is thought

to have been based on Byzantine models. It consists of a plain

hoop in which an attachment in the form of a stylised bunch of

grapes is fixed axially and occasionally flanked by two, four orsix beads with or without knobs. This earring type is

embellished with f iligree or granulation. It may, moreover, be

cast in imitation of both these techniques. Characteristicspecimens, either in silver or in bronze, are excavated finds

from the medieval Serbian cemeteries of Doniko Brdo in

Kragujevac (Pl. 15),50

Leje,51

Brza Palanka,52

Veliki Gradac53

and Ni.54 Earrings of this type are further encountered in

Kievan Rus, Hungary and Poland and have been interpreted as

Byzantine imports. It cannot, however, be ruled out that a

number of these earrings may have been manufactured bylocal workshops following Byzantine models.55 The pair found

during the excavation of the Middle Byzantine cemetery at

Azoros, Elasson, in Thessaly could have been a Byzantineprototype (Pl. 16). Each of these earrings, made of silver,

consists of a plain hoop, to which two elongated granulated

pendants and four spherical beads with small knops are fixed.56

A more simplified variation of the above-mentioned

earrings consists of a wire hoop on which are strung one ormore, generally three, beads of various shapes: spherical,

cubic, conical etc., plain or decorated. This type of ornament isalso supposed to have originated in the North, as specimens

have been found in Kievan Rus, Germany and Serbia. Typical

examples found in Byzantine territory are the pairs of bronze

earrings from the excavation of the cemetery at Aerino, in themunicipality of Magnesia, Thessaly,57 and from the excavation

at Apokoronas, in the municipality of Chania, Crete (Pl. 17),58

both decorated with three plain spherical beads. In a goodnumber of specimens, the beads are kept in place by a wire

wound around the ring, as for example on the pair of earrings

from the cemetery at Aerino59 and that of the Taxiarchis atErmitsa, Agrinio, in western Greece.60 A pair of silver earringsfrom St Panteleimon, in Ni, Serbia (Pl. 18),61 as well as a pair

found in poor condition in the cemetery of Doniko Brdo,

Serbia, decorated with three ellipsoid beads, are similar in

to early 11th

century, and thought to have been imported by aByzantine merchant (Pl. 13).33 Further parallels are two pairs

of bronze earrings found during the excavation of a cemeteryin the fortress of Belgrade and dated to the 10th or 11th

century.34 A variation of the above-mentioned type, in which

the central attachment consists of only one or two biconical

beads, have earlier precedents in the art of theVlkerwanderung.35 Typical 10th-to 12th-century examples

are a pair of silver earrings from a cemetery in Ierissos near

Ouranoupolis, Chalkidiki,36 a bronze earring found on a smallisland in Karla Lake near Pelion, Thessaly,37 a pair, also in

bronze, from the excavations at Apokoronas, Crete (Pl. 14),38 a

silver pair from the cemetery in Matiane, Kossovo39

as well asfive silver artefacts from an Early Medieval hoard found at the

hill fort of Zawada Lanckoroska in southern Poland.40

Crescent-shaped earrings are also found in a heavier

version, the so-called boat-shaped type. These ornaments,made either of gold or silver or even bronze, were constructed

from two convex sheets in the shape of a full crescent, which

were soldered together. The faces are plain or decorated withfiligree, granulation, enamel and stone inlays. Since examples

of this type are found not only in Constantinople41 and the

Byzantine periphery42 but also in Fatimid Egy pt and Greater

Syria,43 these ornaments must have enjoyed great popularity in

both Byzantine and Islamic regions.The hollow, box-like, lavishly decorated crescent-shaped

earrings, a good number of which have survived in museumcollections,44 have so far been considered typical of the Fatimid

goldsmiths art. Like the boat-shaped type, these are also

composed of two sheets, though these are not attached to each

other but are joined by means of a rectangular strip at thebottom, thus forming a crescent-shaped box. It seems,

however, that even lunate earrings of box-like construction

were not unknown in Byzantium, as attested by two specimensthat have come to light in excavations at Sparta, 45 in the

Peloponnese, and at Valta, in Macedonia.46 It is noteworthy,

moreover, that this box-like construction is furtherencountered on a pair of 11th- to 12th-century lunate earringsfrom Constantinople,47 on a pair of 11th- to 12th- century gold

and cloisonnenamel earrings which probably originated in

Kievan Rus,48 and on a pair of 11th-century silver-gilt earrings

Plate 16 Pair of silver earrings from Azoros near Elasson, 9th13th century.7th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Thessaly

Plate 17 Bronze earring from Stylos, 10th12th century. Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection, Chania



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form.62 Earrings with a single bead of various shapes andtechniques are also very widespread, as is documented by

medieval excavation finds in Lukovit-Muat, Bulgaria,63 in

Prahovo,64 Korbovo,65 Branievo,66 Ribnica,67 in Kurjae near

Poarevac,68 Serbia, in Corinth,69 Greece, as well as by a wall-painting in the Church of St Nicholas at Polemitas in the Mani,

Peloponnese, depicting St Kyriaki.70 This fresco, which can be

dated on the basis of stylistic criteria to the 14th century,

71

alsoreveals the long-lasting appeal of this type to the Byzantines.

If we now turn to the Iranian goldsmiths art of the 9th to

13th centuries we find both simple and elaborate specimens of

the above-mentioned type, which provides evidence of itspopularity in medieval Islamic society. Well-known amongst

these are two exquisite unmatched 12th- to 13th-century gold

earrings in the L.A. Mayer Memorial Institute for Islamic Art in

Jerusalem (Pl. 19),72 as well as a simple 9th-to 10th-centuryearring of gold and sard found in the Nishapur excavations by

the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and now part of its

collection.

73

Two more types of earrings may be mentioned which are

rarer but have parallels in both Byzantium and Slavic

countries. The first is the so-called granulated type

Plate 22ab Earrings from Corinth, 11th12th centur y. Archaeological Museum, Corinth

Plate 20 Gold earrings from Thessaloniki, 10th14th century. Museum of Byzantine Culture,Thessaloniki

Plate 21 Earring from Visiko Ravan

Plate 18 Earring from St Panteleimon, Ni Plate 19 Gold earring from Iran, 12th3th century. L.A. Mayer MemorialInstitute for Islamic Art, Jerusalem

a b




I will conclude with the most elaborate and best-known

type of earring, namely the basket-shaped, which suited thetaste of the upper classes in the eastern Mediterranean from

the 3rd century onwards. More than 50 Middle Byzantine gold

pieces are preserved in museum collections in the UnitedStates, Germany, England, Greece (Pl. 24), Turkey, Egypt,

Syria, Israel, Iran and Iraq.84 They consist of a hollow

polyhedral body, to the faces of which three or fivehemispheres are attached. A suspension hoop is fastened to its

upper part. The elaborate adornment of these jewels

openwork, filigree and granulation is often enriched with

gems and enamel. Because of the close affinities of theirdecoration with Islamic goldwork, many scholars ascribe them

to Islamic workshops.85 However, a mid-10th to early

11th-century bronze example found in Constantinople,86 asingle silver earring found in Sparta in the Peloponnese,87 and a

pair of silver earrings found in the excavation at Parapotamos,

Thesprotia, western Greece (Pl. 25)88 may indicate that basket-

shaped earrings were manufactured in both the Byzantine and

the Islamic worlds.This brief survey of medieval earrings has focused on the

interconnections of types, materials and techniques betweenByzantine, Islamic and Slavic jewellery. The crescent-shaped

type may be characterised as a universal one, since variations

of it have been noted in all three cultures. The flat variation

seems to be preferred by Byzantines and Slavs while the box-like construction is associated mainly with Islamic and Slavic

countries.

Elaborate gold earrings, such as the crescent-shaped andthe basket-shaped types, common in the Byzantine and Islamic

worlds, point towards a shared taste for high-status objects.

Although the Byzantines and Arabs were rivals and enemiespar excellence, the emperors and the court of Byzantiumacquired a taste for Islamic objects in the Middle Byzantine era,

up to the mid-13th century, whilst Arabs admired Byzantine

art, architecture, textiles and luxury goods.89 Jewelleryexchanges between Byzantines and Arabs were possible

mainly through diplomatic gifts90 and trade,91 but also through

the mobility of prisoners-of-war with special technical skills.92

represented in the Byzantine Empire by a pair of gold earrings

from an excavation in Thessaloniki which can be dated to

between the 10th and the 14th centuries (Pl. 20).74 They are

constructed of a circular hoop which is embellished with a

triple row of granules flanked by two spherical beads. Slavicexamples (Pl. 21) are local interpretations of Byzantine

prototypes which penetrated the Dalmatian coast and weredisseminated through the Croatian valley of the Sava,viaBosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia. They were manufactured by

local workshops for a local clientele, as is attested by excavated

finds in numerous localities in the above-mentioned regions,and enjoyed great popularity, mainly in the 12th century.75 The

second type, known as early German-Slavic,76 is more modest

but equally widespread over a very large area from Novgorodto Corinth, where it is found in 11th- and 12th-century

contexts.77 A special feature of this type, which is found in

numerous variations, is a fine wire wound around the lowerpart of the ring in an intricate fashion. A close parallel for an

earring of this so-called spiral type, found in the excavations

at Byzantine Corinth (Pl. 22),78 is provided by an excavated find

from Korbovo in Serbia, 79 while another variation of the type isrepresented by finds from the excavations at Corinth,80

Thebes,81 Azoros in Elasson,82 Greece, and Lukovit-Muat,

Bulgaria (Pl. 23).83

Plate 25 Pair of silver earrings from Parapotamos in Thesprotia, late 10th - early 11thcentury

Plate 24 Gold basket-shaped earring, First quarter of the 11thcentury, Benaki Museum, Athens

Plate 23 Earring from Lukovit Muat



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On the other hand, the numerous types, materials and

techniques common to both Byzantium and the Slaviccountries, studied together with Byzantine-Slavic political,

religious and economical relations, may betray a more global

cultural interchange, with the inf luence of Byzantine modelson Slavic jewellery being particularly strong. Diplomatic gifts

between members of the Byzantine and Slavic social lite form

only one aspect of this approach; others may be related to themobility of ordinary people, merchants, artisans and

workshops on both sides.93

AcknowledgementsI would like to thank Georgios Velenis, Emeritus Professor at the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dr Anastasia Tourta, EmeritusDirector of the Museum of Byzantine Culture, Dr Ioannis Kanonidis,Head of the Section of the Archaeological Collect ion of Sculpture,Wood-carving and Pottery at the Museum of Byzantine Culture,Dr Anna Ballian, Senior Curator at the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art,Periklis Fotiadis, Curator at the 10th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities,Dr Tenia Anastasiadou, Curator at the 7th Ephorate of Byzantine

Antiquities, and Dr Anastasios Antonaras, Curator at the Museum ofByzantine Culture, for their valuable advice and assistance in myresearch.

Notes1 Liber Praefecti , 2.4.

, ,

, o

: J. Koder (ed.),Das Eparchenbuch Leons des Weisen (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae XXXIII), Vienna, 1991, 86.For an English translation of the passage, see B.H. Rosenwein (ed.),

Reading the Middle Ages. Sources from Europe, Byzantium and the

Islamic World, Peterborough, 2006, 137.2 F. Gabrieli, Greeks and Arabs in the Central Mediterranean Area,

DOP 18 (1964), 601, 63; M. Canard, Les relations politiques etsociales entre Byzance et les Arabes,DOP 18 (1964), 523; G.C.

Miles, Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the AegeanArea,DOP 18 (1964), 20; I. Nikolajevi, Depotfund bronzenerKunstgegenstnde aus Rakovac ein Beispiel des Exportsbyzantinischer Kunst, in H.L. Nickel (ed.),Byzantinischer

Kunstexport: seine gesellschaftliche und knstlerische Bedeutung fr

die Lnder Mittel- und Osteuropas, Halle Wittenberg, 1978, 229; A.Bank, Byzantinsiche Kunstexport in Ruland undTranskaukasien, in Nickel, ibid., 28; . Gerolymatou, , (11-12 .),in Chr. ngelidi (ed.), . ,

[ .

. , 13],Athens, 2004,3678; eadem,, (9-12 .)[ . .

, 9], Athens, 2008,passim.

3 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Inv. no. 1979.278.Ia,b): H.C. Evans and W.D. Wixom (eds),The Glory of Byzantium:

Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, ad 8431261,(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), New York, 1997, 308, no.210, fig. 210.

4 J.D. Dodds (ed.),Al-Andalus. The Art of Islamic Spain , New York,1992, 300, no. 70. Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 247, no. 171; A. Lester, AFatimid Hoard from Tiberias, in N. Brosh (ed.),Jewellery andGoldsmithing in the Islamic World. International Symposium, The

Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1987 , Jerusalem, 1991, 26.5 R. Hasson,Early Islamic Jewellery Art , Jerusalem, 1987, 10.6 M. Corovi-Ljubinkovi, Les influences de lorfvrer ie byzantine

sur la parure de luxe slave du IXe au XIIe sicles,Actes du XIIeCongrs International dEtudes Byzantines (Ochrid 1016 sept. 1961),

vol. III, Belgrade, 1964, 359.

7 Inv. no. .197: M. Borboudakis (ed.), . , Athens, 1994, 303, no. 148,fig. 148; E. Kypraiou (ed.), Greek Jeweller y. 6000 Years of Tradition,

Athens, 1997, 229, no. 281; and N. Chatzidakis and C. Skampavias(eds), The Paul and Alexandra Kanellopoulos Museum, Byzantineand Post-Byzantine Art, Athens, 2007, 66, no. 58.

8 D.O.C. Inv. no. 51.27: M.C. Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine andEarly Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection.

Volume Two. Jewelry,Enamels and Art of the Migration Period ,Washington DC, 1965, 923, no. 133, pl. LX V. The Dumbarton Oaksearrings and a similar example in the Kanellopoulos Museum (Pl.3) have been considered to be forgeries: S.A. Boyd and G. Vikan,Questions of Authenticity among the Arts of Byzantium, (DumbartonOaks, Byzantine Collection, Publications, No. 3), Washington DC,1981, 2021, no. 9; A. Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Byzantinisch,

Islamisch oder Internationaler Stil? Email- und Krbchen-ohrringe aus dem stlichen Mittelmeerraum, in U. Koenen und M.Mller-Wiener (eds), Grenzgnge im stlichen Mittelmeerraum.

Byzanz und die islamische Welt vom 9. bis 13. Jahrhundert,Wiesbaden, 2008, n. 6. In my opinion, the arguments against theauthenticity of these jewels are not strong enough: the words Lightand Life, engraved on the cross, are not related to the Virgin but, asusual in Byzantine iconography, to the cross (see, for example, theincised crosses with the inscriptions C which decorate thecentre of two patens (one in Pliska and one in Washington DC) andwhich have been dated to the 9th11th centuries: M. MundellMango, The Significance of Byzantine Tinned Copper Objects, , Athens, 1994, 222).Furthermore, the antique form ofsigma (), which appears onthese earrings, could ref lect the predilection of aConstantinopolitan workshop for antique models as C.Skampavias, Curator at the Kanellopoulos Museum, suggested in arecent entry on the Athens earring: Chatzidakis and Skampavias(n. 7), 66, no.58. C. Mango has also regarded the -shapedsigma inan inscription of the citadel of Ankara, related to the EmperorMichael III and dated by H. Grgoire to 856 66, as a sign ofdeliberate antiquarianism. In 1192 the antique form ofsigmareappears in a painted inscription in the Church of Panagia

Arakiotissa at Lagoudera, Cyprus, whose frescoes have beenattributed to a Constantinopolitan master: C. Mango, Byzantineepigraphy (4th to 10th centuries), in D. Harlfinger and G. Prato(eds),Paleografia e codicologia greca. Atti del II Colloquiointernazionale (Berlino-Wolfenbttel, 1721 ottobre 1983), I,

Alexandria, 1991, 2434, fig. 21; H. Grgoire, Inscriptionshistoriques byzantines, Ancyre et les Arabes sous Michel lIvrogne,

Byzantion IV (1927/28), 437ff.; A. Nicolads, Lglise de la Panagia

Arakiotissa Lagoudra, Chypre: Etude iconographique desfresques de 1192,DOP 50 (1996), fig. 33.

9 It belongs to the collection of the Museo de Mallorca, Palma deMallorca (Inv. nos 23812/23813): Dodds (n. 4), 300, no. 70.

10 Inv. no. 1862: Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 4212, no. 279, fig. 279.11 On the Athens pair it reads: For the name of God, the merciful and

the compassionate. May God bless the Prophet Muhammed: Evansand Wixom (n. 3), 421. On the Majorca pair it reads: In the name ofGod, the merciful, the compassionate: Dodds (n. 4), 300, no. 70.

12 M. Petrikaki, , 42 (1987),1. , 175, pl.86a.

13 Inv. no. 327:Byzantine Art, An European Art, Ninth Exhibition heldunder the auspices of the C ouncil of Europe, Athens, 1964, 3823, no.440.

14 Inv. no. 449a-b: M. Brouskari, The Paul and Alexandra KanellopoulosMuseum. A Guide, Athens, 1985, fig. on 144.

15 Inv. no. PE AF 338: D. Buckton (ed.),Byzantium. Treasures ofByzantine Art and Culture from British Collections , London, 1994,133, no. 142, fig. 142; Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 244, no. 166, fig. 166.

16 Natsionalen Istoriko-arkheologicheski Reservat s Muzei VelikiPreslav in Preslav (Inv. nos 3381[I] and A3381[8], B3381[9]): Evansand Wixom (n. 3), 3345, no. 228, figs 228A and B.

17 . Coche de la Fert, Collection Hlne Stathatos: Les Objetsbyzantins et post-byzantins, vol. II, Li moges, 1957, 1826, pl. II/nos45; G. Ch. Chourmouziadis, The Gold of the World, Athens, 2003,fig. 191.

18 Coche de la Fert (n. 17), 246;Byzantine Art (n. 13), 3812, no. 437.Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 421, no. 279, fig. 279; Miles (n. 2), 17, fig. 11.

19 They belong to the collection of the 7th Ephorate of Byzantine

Antiquities (Inv. no. 268-269): D. Papanikola-Bakirtzi (ed.),Everyday Life in Byzantium. Byzantine Hours. Works and Days inByzantium, Athens, 2002, 435, no. 564, fig. 564; L. Der iziotis and S.Kouyoumtzoglou, , in I. Kakouris et al. (eds), . , Athens, 2004, 68, pl. 25b.




20 Deriziotis and Kouyoumtzoglou (n. 19), 72, pl. 27.21 Inv. no. .. 3184: Kypraiou (n. 7), 208, no. 240.22 G.R. Davidson, Corinth. Volume XII: The Minor Objects, Princeton

NJ, 1952, no. 2035, pl. 108.23 D. Mini and M. Tomi, Ostava srednjovekovnog nakita iz Velikog

Gradita, Starinar XXIII (1972), pl. I/4.24 Ibid., 130.25 Davidson (n. 22), 253, no. 2034, pl. 107.26 S. Ercegovi-Pavlovi, Ostava nauinca sa rimsko-vizantijskog

kastela iz Boljetina na Dunavu, Starinar XX (1969), 8493, figs111a. For the date of these earrings, see eadem, Prilog prouavanjunauince u Srbiji od 9. do 13. stoljea,Starinar XXI (1970), 50.

27 Other examples of tin-plated copper and tin-plated bronze arewidespread in the Middle Byzantine period. This technique wasalso used on liturgical objects and utensils of this period to imitatesilver: P. Sevrugian,Liturgisches Gert aus Byzanz. Die Berliner

Patene und ihr Umkreis , Berlin, 1992,passim; Mundell Mango (n. 8),221ff, esp. 226.

28 Ercegovi-Pavlovi 1969 (n. 26), 95.29 Davidson (n. 22), 250.30 In the collection of the 7th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, Inv.

no. M 297-298: Papanikola-Bakirtzi (n. 19), 436, no. 566, fig. 566.31 Davidson (n. 22), 253, nos 203133, pl. 108.32 It belongs to the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection in Chania

(Inv. no. M 26): J. Albani, In der Hoffnung auf ewiges Leben.Grabbeigaben aus der byzantinischen und nachbyzantinischenSammlung in Chania, Kreta, in W. Hrandner et al. (eds), Wiener

Byzantinistik und Neogrzistik. Beitrge zum Symposion Vierzig

Jahre Institut fr Byzantinistik und Neogrzi stik der Universitt

Wien im Gedenken an Herbert Hunger (Byzantina et NeograecaVindobonensia, Bd. XXIV ), Vienna, 2004, fig. 7.

33 Now in the National Museum of Poarevac: Mini and Tomi (n.23), 12930, pl. I/1, 2, 3. For examples from Croatia, see Corovi-Ljubinkovi (n. 6), fig. 2.

34 G. MarianoviVujovi, Sredjovekovne nekropole u Srbijievidentirane kroz arheoloka iskopavanja, Starinar XXXVII (1986),208, figs 12.

35 Davidson (n. 22), 250, 253, no. 2030.36 Presently in the Christian Museum of Ouranoupolis (Inv. no. 33,

33): I. Touratsoglou,Makedonien. Geschichte Monumente

Museen, Athens, 1995, fig. 378.37 K. Grundmann, Magula Hatzimissiotiki. Eine steinzeitliche

Siedlung im Karla-See,Mitteilungen des Deutschen ArchologischenInstituts. Athenische Abteilung 62 (1937), 678, pl. 36.

38 It belongs to the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection in Chania(Inv. no. M.K. 11): Albani (n. 32), fig. 14.

39 Marianovi-Vujovi (n. 34), fig. 24.40 They belong to the collection of the Archaeological Museum of PAU

in Cracow: H. Zoll-Adamikowa, M. Dekwna and E.M. Nosek, TheEarly Medieval Hoard from Zawada Lanckoro ska (Upper VistulaRiver), Warsaw, 1999, fig. 44, nos 5963.

41 E.g. an earring from the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Inv. no.53.12.26) which is said to have been found in Constantinople: Ross(n. 8), 94, no. 135, pl. L XV; Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 247, no. 171, fig.171.

42 E.g. the excavation finds from Corinth: Davidson (n. 22), 254, nos20457, fig. 57, pl. 108.

43 E.g. a pair of earrings from a hoard in an unglazed earthenwarevessel found in Tiberias, which has been dated by means of coins tobetween 1021 and 1040, now in the Israel Museum (Inv. no. IAA74-2138) in Jerusalem: Lester (n. 4), 267; Evans and Wixom (n. 3),4189, fig. 275A, no. 275. Moreover, an unmatched pair of earrings(Inv. nos J68 and J69) from Egypt or Syria, now in the L.A. MayerMemorial Institute for Islamic Art, Jerusalem, has been dated to the10th11th centur ies: Hasson (n. 5), 76, no. 95, figs 95a95b.

44 E.g. the specimens in the Benaki Museum for Islamic Art, Athens(Inv. no. 1864), in the L.A. Mayer Memorial Institute for Islamic Art,Jerusalem (Inv. nos J234, J76; Harari Collection), and in theMuseum fr Islamische Kunst, Berlin (Inv. nos I.1986.58, I.1986.59,I.1994.39 and I.2334): A. Ballian (ed.),Benaki Museum, A guide to

the Museum of Islamic art, Athens, 2006, f ig. 39; Hasson (n. 5), 789,nos 100, 102, pls 100, 102; A. von Gladiss, Schmuck im Museum frIslamische Kunst , Berlin, 1998, 90, 934, nos 16, 223, pl. 8.

45 Now in the Mystras Museum (Inv. no. 1415):Byzantine Art (n. 13),381, no. 434.

46 L. Toska and G. Chatzakis,

(), 15(2001), 162, 166, fig. 11.

47 Formerly in the collection of J.B. Balaschow, St Petersburg: N.P.Kondakov,Histoire et monuments des maux byzantins , Frankfurt,1892, 3236, figs 10102.

48 In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Inv. no. 1979. 278.Ia,b): Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 308, no. 210, fig. 210.

49 Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Inv. no.17.190.2051,2052): Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 3089, no. 211, fig. 211.

50 D.M. Petrovi, Srednjevekovna nekropola na Donikon Brdu(Gradac cod Krag ujevca), StarinarXIIIXI V (196263), figs28/2,3,4; Marianovi-Vujovi (n. 34), fig. 6.

51 Marianovi-Vujovi (n. 34), fig. 12.52 Ibid., fig. 14; S. Ercegovi-Pavlovi, Prilog prouavanju

srednjovekovnih nekropola u istonoj Srbiji, Starinar XVII (1966),pl. IV/1.

53 D. Mini, Srednjovekovna nekropola na Velikom Gradcu kodDonjer Milanovca, Starinar XX (1969), fig. 8; eadem, Spiralnouvijena uca na srednjovekovnom nakitu iz Srbije, Starinar

XXXVIII (1987), pl. I/14.54 S. Ercegovi-Pavlovi, Srednjovekovna nekropola u Niu, Starinar

XXVII (1976), pls I/5, 6, I X/5, 6, X V/1, 2.55 Ercegovi-Pavlovi 1970 (n. 26), 501; Zoll-Adamikova et al. (n. 40),

1135.56 In the collection of the 7th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities (Inv.

nos M 241-242): Papanikola-Bakirtzi (n. 19), 435, no. 565, fig. 565.57 It is kept in the archaeological site of Nea Anchialos (Inv. no. E.E 5.1-

E.E 5.6); ibid., 434, no. 562, fig. 562.58 It belongs to the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Collection in Chania

(Inv. no. X 3/24.10.97): Albani (n. 32), fig. 20.59 It is kept in the archaeological site of Nea Anchialos (Inv. no. E.E

86.1- E.E 86.4): Papanikola-Bakirtzi (n. 19), 562, no. 779, fig. 779.60 Ibid., 5612, no. 778, fig. 778.61 Marianovi-Vujovi (n. 34), fig. 15.62 Petrovi (n. 50). fig. 29.63 V. Jovanovi, Razmatranja o srednjovekovnoj nekropoli Lukovit-

Muat kod Lovea u Bugarskoj, Starinar XXXVIII (1987), pl. I/tombs 5, 9, 10, pl. II/tombs 27, 21, 17, 18, 19, 20, pl. III/tomb 52, pl. IV/tomb 80, pl. V/tombs 95, 101, 118, 128, 134.

64 M. Jankovi, Dve srednjovekovne nekropole u istonoj Srbiji,

Starinar XXI V-XXV (197374), pls IV/12, VI/4, VIII/5, 6.65 Ibid., pl. XI/5, 6.66 M. Popovi and V. Ivanievi, Grad Branievo u srednjem veku,

Starinar XXXIX (1998), fig. 34/3.67 D. Mini, Ribnica - praistorijsko i antiko nalazite,

srednjovekovno naselje sa nekropolom, Starinar XXXIII-IV (198283), pl. IV/6.

68 G. Marjanovi, Srednjovekovni grob iz okoline Poarevca,Starinar XVIII (1967), pl I/5.

69 Davidson (n. 22), 252, pl. 109, no. 2024.70 N. B. Drandakis,B

(B , . 141),Athens, 1995, 148, f ig. 10.

71 Ibid., 150.72 Inv. nos J269 and J237: Hasson (n. 5), 33, no. 26, figs 26 and 37, no.

32, fig. 32.73 Inv. no. Roger Fund, 1939 (40.170.153): M. Jenkins and M. Keene,Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of A rt , New York, 1983,36, no. 15.

74 They belong to the Museum of Byzantine Culture (Inv. no. KO262/2): Kypraiou (n. 7), 224, no. 274.

75 G. Marjanovi-Vujovi, Rasprostranjenost nauinca naroskanogtipa u Srbiji, Starinar XXVII (1976), 1089, pls I, II, III/I.

76 Davidson (n. 22), 250, 252, no. 2025.77 Ibid., 250; see, for example, 2523, nos 202529, pl. 108.78 Ibid., 252, 108, no. 2025.79 D. Mini (n. 53), pl. I/1; Jankovi (n. 64), pl. XII/3.80 Davidson (n. 22), 2523, no. 2028, pl. 108.81 Petrika ki (n. 12), pl. 69.82 It belongs to the the collection of the 7th Ephorate of Byzantine

Antiquities (Inv. no. M 111-112): Papanikola-Bakirtzi (n. 19), 434, fig.560, no. 560.

83 Jovanovi (n. 63), pl. II/tomb 6, pl. III/tombs 26, 27.84 Cf. A. Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Mittelbyzantinische Ohrringe mit

Filigran und Granulation, in L. Wamser (ed.),Die Welt von Byzanz -Europas stliches Erbe. Glanz, Krisen und Fortleben einer

tausendjhrigen Kultur, Munich, 2004, 324.


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Albani

85 Evans and Wixom (n. 3), 41819, nos 274, 275, figs 274, 275.86 R.M. Harrison,Excavations at Saraane in Istanbul. Vol. 1. The

Excavations, Structures, Architectural Decoration, Small Finds,

Coins, Bones, and Molluscs, Pri nceton, 1986, 267, no. 597.87 Inv. no. 1416:Byzantine Art (n. 13), 381, no. 435.88 Inv. no. A.E.. 615: . Preka-Alexandri,

, 478 (199293), . ,169, pl. 40.2.

89 O. Grabar, Islamic Art and Byzantium,DOP 18 (1964), 701; A.M.H.

Shboul, Byzantium and the Arabs: the Image of the Byzantines asmirrored in Arabic Literature, in M. Bonner (ed.),Arab-ByzantineRelations in Early Islamic Times (The Formation of the ClassicalIslamic World, vol. 8), Aldershot, 2004, 245, 248.

90 O. Grabar, The Shared Culture of Objects, in H. Maguire (ed.),Byzantine Court Culture from 829 to 1204 , Washington DC, 1997,11529, esp. 122, 124; S.M. Stern, An Embassy of the Byzantine

Emperor to the Fatimid Caliph Al-Muizz,Byzantion XX (1950), 244;Canard (n. 2), 55; P. Soucek, Byzantium and the Islamic East, inEvans and Wixom (n. 3), 4079.

91 Canard (n. 2), 39, 54; Soucek (n. 90), 404; Gerolymatou (n. 2), 924,108, 111, 11718, 1237, 1346.

92 A. Ballian, Byzantium and Islam: Relations and Convergences, inM. Evangelatou et al. (eds),Byzantium: An Oecumenical Empire.

Byzantine Hours. Works and Days in Byzantium , Athens, 2002, 237.93 Corovi-Ljubinkovi (n. 6), 379; Gerolymatou (n. 2), 95, 172. The

10th and 11th centuries are considered as the period of the densestByzantine imports into Slavic countries since the Justinianic era aswell as that of the greatest cultural influences: Ercegovi-Pavlovi(n. 27), 51; L. Niederle,Manuel de lantiquit slave, tome II: Lacivilization, Paris, 1926, 86, 218. D. Obolensky,The ByzantineCommonwealth. Eastern Europe, 5001453, London, 1971, 27290.

Documents

17 Albani Opt Sec