Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 29 January 2016
dayr al-suryan: new discoveries
Karel C. Innemée Keywords: Art, Iconography, Monasteries, Churches, Wādī al-Natrūn, Coptic, Syriac 1. Introduction 1.1. History of the monastery dayr al-suryan was founded by monks from the neighbouring dayr anba bishoi in the 6th century when a dispute over the human nature of the body of Christ caused a split in the community of that monastery. Those who held the orthodox view that Christ had a human body and therefore the Virgin Mary was his mother in the physical sense, left and founded a new community at a close distance. To underline their theological conviction, the monastery and its church were dedicated to the Holy Virgin. This Monastery of the Holy Virgin of Anba Bishoi became later known as the Monastery of the Syrians (Dayr al-Suryan), after a group of Syrian monks settled here. Until recently this was believed to have happened after a sale of the monastery to a group of Syriac monks at the beginning of the 8th century, but we now know this may have happened around or shortly after the year 800. Before 817, the monastery was attacked by Berbers and must have suffered considerable damage. The monastery was restored and surrounded by a defensive wall, probably with the support of the newly arrived Syrian monks. A mixed population of Coptic and Syrian monks inhabited the monastery from the ninth century onward. During the ninth and tenth centuries, the monastery collected an exceptionally rich library of Syriac (and later also of Arabic) manuscripts.
Moses of Nisibis, an abbot of the monastery in the beginning of the 10th century, played an important role in these acquisitions. He commissioned the wooden doors with ivory inlay in the church and possibly also commissioned wall-paintings in the church (see syrian influences on coptic art). The Syrian population of the monastery gradually died out in the course of the 16th and 17th century and Coptic monks remained as the inhabitants of the monastery.
1.2. History of the church building The Church of the Holy Virgin must have been built in the middle of the 7th century. It was designed as a three aisled basilica with a wooden roof. It had an element that was new for its time: a khurus (from the Greek choros, which means choir). This is an area of the church functioning as a transition between the nave and the sanctuary (haykal). This khurus was built with two half-domes at the northern and southern ends and a dome over the middle. It possibly had an apse at the eastern end. An additional half-dome was constructed at the western end of the nave in a later stage. These four half-domes were later decorated with paintings. The church had a wooden roof that was supported by two rows of five columns and two piers with attached half-columns in the west of the nave. The walls of the nave probably had seven windows on each side, north and south. These were later blocked and plastered over just like the four windows in the 2016 Claremont Graduate University 1 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries khurus. We know that when the church was built, the defensive wall of the monastery did not yet exist, because the windows in the southern wall lost their function when this wall was constructed directly against the church. With its columns, wooden roof, and many windows, the church must have made a much lighter impression than it makes now. Numerous modifications were made to the building in the beginning of the 10th century.
Paintings were added in the upper part of the khurus, two sets of wooden doors with ivory inlay were constructed, one between the khurus and the haykal (914) and a second set between the nave and the khurus (926/27 CE). The abbot Moses of Nisibis (first mentioned 906, d. 943) was the driving force behind these additions. It was most probably at his initiative that the sanctuary was reconstructed. The new haykal took the shape of a square room surmounted by a dome. The inner walls were decorated with delicate stucco works, probably done by artists from Syria. They have certain similarities with stucco work in the mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo as well as stucco work from Samarra.
The current shape of the building is largely the result of much later reconstructions, done between the 16th and the 18th centuries. The wooden roof was replaced by a barrel-vault and in order to support its weight, it was necessary to include the columns into the heavy piers and walls that are now dominating the interior of the nave.
In 1782 the church was re-consecrated1, which means that it had been out of use, probably for renovation work. This must have included a number of activities, such as blocking the windows in the barrel-vault over the nave, but it certainly included the re-plastering of all the walls, except for the three semi-domes. This situation remained unchanged until 1991, when the painting of the Annunciation in the western semi-dome was discovered after a fire had severely damaged the painting of the Ascension that had been painted on a layer of plastering covering it. In 1995, the first tests were made to investigate the possible presence of other paintings underneath the 18th century plaster. This has resulted so far in the discovery of a number of superimposed layers of painting. 2. The Mural Paintings on Layer 1 Shortly after the church was finished, its interior was decorated with simple, mostly decorative paintings in red and yellow ochre. Remains of these paintings are visible in a few places, though later layers of plaster have covered most of them. Some of the clear examples are the orange crosses that can be seen on the upper parts of the walls of the khurus.
3. Paintings on Layer 2 3.1. Dado One of the first, if not the first, part of the paintings of layer 2 was a dado decoration that must have covered the lower part of the walls in the whole church. So far this dado has been found on the walls of the khurus (Fig. 1) and of the southern nave. It consists of a Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 2 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries two-meter high painted imitation of slender columns supporting an architrave that consists of triangular pieces in different colors, probably meant to imitate marble and granite inlay. There are rectangular surfaces that imitate marble inlay work between the columns.
Fig. 1 This dado was the basic decoration. Over it, higher on the walls, several panels with mostly representations of saints were painted in the years afterwards. The main reason for choosing this system of decoration seems to be that the figurative paintings would be out of reach.
3.2. The half-domes.
The church has three half-domes in the south, west, and north. The western half-dome must have been added later, possibly constructed for the main purpose of containing the painting of the Annunciation. It seems likely that originally the church had an eastern apse as well. The 13th century paintings in the half-domes form a cycle with four scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin, divided over three half-domes. These scenes are partly a repetition of the earlier cycle of paintings in the half-domes, originally four in number. The Annunciation in the western half-dome was followed by the Epiphany in the northern conch, possibly by an Ascension in the eastern apse and by a final scene in the southern conch that may have been Pentecost.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 3 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.2.1. The Annunciation.
Discovered in 1991, after a fire that made it necessary to detach the superimposed painting of the Ascension, this painting is one of the most extraordinary ones in Christian Egyptian art (Fig. 2). The central part shows the Virgin seated on a throne, approached from the right by the archangel Gabriel. The Annunciation itself is flanked by four Old Testament prophets. To the left there are Moses and Isaiah, to the right there are Ezekiel and Daniel. Each of them holds an opened scroll in his hands. These scrolls contain texts from their writings that foretell the birth of the Messiah in the Christian interpretation. Three of the four prophets are dressed in the traditional late-antique tunic and pallium, while Daniel wears the oriental dress of a short tunic with trousers and a Phrygian cap, referring to his stay in Babylon.
The backdrop of the scene must represent the town of Nazareth. The architecture is surprisingly symmetrical, which is slightly obscured by the large lacuna in the middle of the painting. This way of representing architecture resembles some of the details in the mosaics of the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, made at the end of the 7th century. Between the pagoda-like towers and roofs of the town there are two trees. The left one, behind Moses, has red lines around its branches to evoke the burning bush, an image often use as a symbolical parallel to the virgin conception: God's fiery presence in the bush did not damage it, just like his incarnation did not affect the virginity of Mary. Fig. 2 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 4 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.2.2. The Epiphany.
The northern half-dome contained a 13th century painting of the dormition of the Virgin, part of the decorative program of the same century (Fig. 3). The layer of plaster on which this painting was made was in such bad condition and its fixation to the underlying painting so weak that 2006, after pieces of the painting started falling down, it was necessary to separate both paintings. After removing the Dormition painting, a representation of the Epiphany appeared. The composition consists of three main parts: middle, right, and left. In the middle, there is a representation of the Virgin Mary seated on a richly decorated throne. On her lap, she holds an oval on which the infant Christ is represented with certain characteristics of an adult (Christ Emanuel). Although much of the figure is lost, it is clear that he was dressed in a tunic and pallium, while holding a book in his left hand and making a gesture of blessing with his right hand. Over her head, in the top of the conch, the star of Bethlehem is visible against a dark blue background. On either side of the Virgin, an archangel is standing: to the left Michael, to the right Gabriel. Their names are (partly) legible in Greek inscriptions at the bottom edge of the painting.
The left part of the composition is filled with the figures of the three Magi. The upper part of their bodies is rather heavily damaged while the lower part is better preserved. The figure to the far left is dressed in a tunic and a mantle, and the other two are wearing trousers under a short tunic. All three are wearing Phrygian caps on their heads. Two names, written below the figures of the Magi, are still legible. The one to the far left is called Dikastia, the middle one Melchior. Between the heads of the Magi, although heavily damaged, the heads of their horses are visible. An angel with both arms outstretched is painted in the sky over them.
To the left of the Virgin, the adoration of the shepherds is depicted. Three persons in short tunics with bare legs are standing in landscape with trees in the background and rams (curiously enough no sheep) around their feet. An angel in the sky, symmetrical in position and gesticulation to the angel on the left, announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds.
The fact that the painting shows in the first place the adoration of Christ by Magi and shepherds and has only minor reference to his birth in Bethlehem (the star is in fact the only element), is reason to identify this representation as an Epiphany scene, rather than a Nativity.
The composition shows a striking similarity with a so-called Monza ampulla where the same theme is depicted. Since this is supposed to be a miniature of the apse decoration in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, destroyed during the Persian Conquest at the beginning of the 7th century, the paintings in Dayr al-Suryan may have been meant as a copy of the lost apse in Bethlehem (Innemée 2011).
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 5 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries The composition is framed by a wide decorative border in the arch between the conch and the central khurus. This border consists of rectangular panels, filled with symmetrical patterns of floral and geometrical motives. In contrast to the painting itself, which is almost entirely painted in encaustic, the border is done in tempera with occasional touches of encaustic. The border was painted before the Epiphany, maybe even years or decades earlier.
Fig. 3 3.2.3. The Southern half-dome The church may have had an eastern conch. If this was the case, the most likely subject for its decoration would have been the Ascension, an appropriate theme for an apse. It would also have been a logical sequence after the scene of the Epiphany, in a similar way as in the 13th century cycle, where the Nativity was followed by the Ascension. So far, no evidence exists for this and the matter remains speculative. There is, however, evidence for the existence of a painting under the 13th century layer in the southern half-dome. One can only guess the theme of this painting, but if there was an apse with a representation of the Ascension, the most likely theme for the southern conch would be Pentecost, traditionally the final scene in the iconography of the Christological cycle before the subject of the Dormition was introduced.
3.3. Other paintings in the khurus 3.3.1. Virgin Galaktotrophousa Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 6 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries One of the first paintings discovered in 1996 was a representation of the Virgin breast-feeding Christ (Fig. 4). The position of this painting is remarkable, since normally speaking, a painting or icon of Christ would be expected in this position, with the Virgin and child at the left side of the entrance to the haykal. The Virgin is seated on a delicately decorated throne with a red cushion. She wears a blue tunic with red potamoi and a green maphorion (headscarf) over it. The maphorion is decorated with crosses. Her eyes are looking straight ahead. Her head is surrounded by a yellow halo, against the background of a red half-circle, probably meant to represent the upper part of the back-rest of the throne. With her right hand, in which she holds a mappa (kerchief), she supports the infant Christ, while her left hand supports her breast, depicted unnaturally small. To the left of her head the Greek text Η αγiα is written as a monogram; the name μαρiα, which doubtlessly must have been written at the other side of her head, has been lost. The background of the painting is dark blue and it is surrounded by a black and an orange-red line.
The iconographical detail of the infant Christ sitting on the right knee of his mother occurs in early paintings and becomes more and more rare in later times. The same is the case for the epigraphy: Η αγiα μαρiα as the earliest name used in representations of the Virgin, later to be replaced by ΜΡ ΘΥ, the abbreviation for 'Mother of God'. In these respects the painting is comparable to a painting from room 30 in Bawit, where the same composition with the same epigraphy can be seen. These factors, combined with the fact that a painting of the Virgin would be one of the first subjects to be represented in a church dedicated to her, make it likely to assume that this mural painting belongs to the period around 700 CE.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 7 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 4 3.3.2. Sergius and Bacchus On the other half-column, engaged to the same pier, there is a painting of a standing military saint (Fig. 5). The left part of the painting was covered by the right door-jamb of the haykal doors, constructed in 913/4. It shows a standing, beardless young man, dressed in a blue tunic, covered by a shorter, reddish-brown tunic. He wears a girdle from which a sword hangs in a red sheath. He holds its hilt with his left hand, while his right hand holds a staff. He has dark, half-long hair and his eyes look straight ahead. The head is surrounded by a yellow halo, framed by a black line with white dots on it. At the right side of the head the last letters of a Greek inscription ending in ...γiοc, ...ρiοc or ...τiοc are visible. If this is the last part of the name of the saint, it could be Sergius, Dimitrios or Georgios, all three known to be depicted as young, beardless men. Considering the space available for the inscription, it must have been a short name, which makes Sergius one of the most probable identifications. In early Christian iconography military saints are often depicted standing, instead of mounted on horseback.
On the quarter-column, directly left of the doors leading into the haykal, there are remains of a painting depicting another standing military saint (Fig. 6). In spite of the damage, the high quality of this painting is still recognizable. It is very much similar to the painting at the opposite side of the door. The fact that both have been painted as almost identical counterparts, suggests indeed that we have here St. Sergius and his companion St. Bacchus, usually depicted as youthful soldiers. Here they seem to have been painted as guardians to the sanctuary of the church.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 8 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 5 Fig. 6 3.3.3. Monks on half-columns 3.3.3.1. Anonymous monk Opposite the half-column that carries the painting of the Virgin Galaktotrophousa, there is a painting of a standing monk with raised hands (Fig. 7). The man, whose face has been heavily damaged, has grey hair and beard and is dressed in a brown tunic with clavi, over which he wears a black-and-white striped cape. There is a yellow halo around his head. At the left side of his head is the word abba, very faintly legible. At the right side of his head only faint traces of an inscription were found, doubtlessly the last letters of his name. But since only...ioc could be read, there is no certainty about the identity of the saint. His dress has the characteristics of that of monks from Lower Egypt. 3.3.3.2. Abba Apollo On the attached half-column on the western wall of the northern khurus, a painting has been uncovered that seems to be a counterpart to the standing monk on the column in the southern khurus (Fig. 8). It shows a standing monk in a red tunic and a light-blue cloak. Although the painting is heavily damaged, it is clear that the characteristics of his costume are those of Upper or Middle Egypt. On his shoulders, he wears a black hood that has been drawn back. In his right hand, he holds a staff diagonally in front of him.
There is a diagonal line below his waist that may be the remainder of a rahtou, the leather apron of Pachomian monks. At the left side of his head, there is the inscription abb. απoλ, at the other side a remarkably large star has been painted on the blue of the background. The meaning of this detail seems unclear so far; it has a similarity with a star Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 9 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries in the background of the famous encaustic icon of Christ from Mount Sinai. It should be a representation of apollo of bawit, the father who founded the monastery in Bawit at the end of the fourth century. Both monks, one in the dress of Lower and the other in the dress of Upper Egypt, seem to be meant as a pair, possibly as representatives of Egyptian monasticism in its (semi)coenobitic and anchoretic varieties. If this assumption is correct, the first monk may represent St. Macarius.
Fig. 7 Fig. 8 3.3.4. Three mounted saints On the eastern wall of the southern khurus, two saints on horseback have been painted, represented with the heads of their horses facing each other (Fig. 9). Both saints wear a blue tunic and a red chlamys, a military cape. The right one holds a spear in his raised right hand which is aimed at an animal but the kind of animal is no longer distinguishable. The lower part of both paintings is missing because the doorway between the khurus and the southern haykal has been cut through the painting.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 10 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 9 The small cavalcade of saints continues on the southern wall, left of the left window. Here is find a painting of victor stratelates , identified by an inscription, this time in Greek: Ο αγiοc ..KTP (Fig. 10). He is represented riding towards the right and wearing a bluish-grey tunic. He holds a spear ending in a cross in his raised right hand. This spear is directed towards a small kneeling figure in front of his horse. This man is dressed in a red chlamys and wears a crown on his head. Furthermore, he has a halo. No inscription reveals the identity of this man. His costume would suggest that he could either be the emperor diocletian or Romanus, the pagan father of the saint and governor of Antioch, but according to the legends, Victor never confronted either of the two in a way as represented here. The fact that he has a halo indicates that he is king (a saint would be very unlikely here), according to late antique iconography. This leaves us with another possibility: the saint could be mercurius of caesarea, killing Julian the Apostate, but a change of the inscription has changed his identity to that of St. Victor. Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 11 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 10 3.3.5. Holy doctor (possibly St. Colluthos) A remarkable painting was uncovered in the middle of the southern wall, between the two blocked windows at the lower level (Fig. 11).
A saint is seated on a small but neatly decorated stool, turned towards the right. He wears a red tunic with a grey pallium. His hair and half-long beard are grey. Much of the painting has been lost, including the face, but his right hand is clearly recognizable. He holds a scalpel or similar instrument in his right hand, which he holds close to the eyes of a much smaller person standing in front of him. His left arm is dropped around the shoulder of the man. The latter is dressed in a red tunic with a greenish cloak over it. He holds a staff in his left hand. A third person stands in the background, his chest bare and the lower part of his body dressed in a red garment. Between the head of the saint and the third person, there is a small open cupboard that stores six red and green bottles. It is evident that we are dealing with a representation of doctor treating patients. The cupboard can be nothing other than a medicine chest. The first question is, of course, which saint is represented here. Several holy doctors are known but there is not a trace of an inscription to be found on this painting. It is most usual to find an inscription next to the head of a saint, but even though the background has been damaged, it seems as if there has never been any inscription here. The prominent place he takes in the decoration of the church suggests that it should be an Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 12 K.
Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries important saint, maybe even so well-known and recognizable that the painter did not find it necessary to identify him with an inscription. The most likely identification is that with St. Colluthos, who was renowned for curing eye-diseases, and who, together with Cosmas and Damian, was always a very popular saint in Egypt.
Fig. 11 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 13 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.3.6. Saints Cosmas and Damian It is evident that the saints in this part of the church have been grouped according to their profession. Right of the painting of the seated doctor, two holy physicians are represented standing, cosmas and damian (Fig. 12). The inscription to the left and right of their heads, again in Greek, reads: O aγioc koc......ami... Cosmas wears a yellow-brown tunic and a grey pallium, Damian is dressed in a grey tunic with a brown pallium. They hold a spoon, scalpel, or spatula in their right hands. In the left hands of the saints, we see an object that is not immediately recognizable. It consists of two cylinders, connected by an angular middle section. Two intertwining black lines emerge from the cylinders. Most probably these are portable medicine chests, a common attribute for doctor-saints.
Fig. 12 3.3.7. St. James Minor and an unknown saint adoring the Cross After the removal of 18th century plaster from the eastern wall of the northern khurus, an arched doorway surrounded by remains of paintings appeared (Fig. 13). Although half of the total surface is lost, the representations are still well recognizable. To the left, there is a male figure with a halo, dressed in a red tunic and a blue pallium. He is turned towards Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 14 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries the right with hands outstretched. Next to his head, there is the Coptic text Aioc .akkboc (left) con MOC (right) (St. James, the brother of the Lord). He is turned towards a crux gemmata (jewelled cross) against a black background in a circle. The circle has an inner ring that is black with red stars and an outer ring that gradually turns from white to red and from which rays are radiating. On the other side, there is a similar figure dressed in a blue tunic with a red pallium. His identity is not to be retrieved anymore, since his head and a flanking inscription have disappeared during the 13th century renovation of the church. The exact interpretation of the composition is unclear. Both saints are represented in a gesture of praying or adoration but there seems to be no biblical event to which the painting refers. There is, however, one apocryphal text that may have been the source of inspiration for this painting. The so-called Apocryphon of St.
James, a text from nag hammadi, relates how St. James and St., Peter were given a revelation by Christ, who appeared to them between his resurrection and his ascension (Williams and Mueller 1977). In this painting, the prominent place of James, who is considered the author of the Syriac liturgy, combined with the fact that the door to the northern pastoforion was enlarged just before this painting was made, are reasons to believe that the pastoforion was turned into a haykal for the first Syrian monks that arrived in the monastery (Innemée 2004).
Fig. 13 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 15 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.3.8. St. Luke and St. Barnabas The panel to the right has the representations of St. Luke and St. Barnabas (Fig. 14). To the left is St. Luke, identified by the inscription O AI.. Okac. Next to him is Barnabas with the inscription O Aioc ….abac. In contrast to the other paintings, the figures are represented in a framework of two arches separated by a column. Also, in other respects, this painting is different from the others on the northern wall: the painting has been done on a black background with a thick layer of encaustic paint, while the others have thinner layer of paint on a white ground. The arches, the deep red of the dress of St. Luke, and the triple dots as an ornament on it have a very close parallel in the paintings in the haykal of Benjamin the near-by monastery of St. Macarius, especially the painting of St. John the Baptist. The resemblance is so great that it might be presumed that both paintings have been done by the same artist.
Fig. 14 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 16 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.3.9. Patriarch Damian (possibly?) In the middle of the northern wall, there is painting representing a standing bishop or patriarch (Fig. 15). He has a youthful face with a short dark beard, is dressed in full episcopal garments, and holds a book in front of him with both hands. A red cloth is draped over his hands. On either sides of the figure, there are representations of architecture. On the left, a tower-like structure that may be church; a ladder is standing against it, giving access to the first floor. On the right, there is a walled building with a gate. It has not been clarified yet what the nature and the meaning of these buildings may be. The identification of the person also poses some problems. Next to his head, there is a barely legible inscription oaγioc ......anoc. The way he holds the book in front of him and the red cloth on his hands is reminiscent of the icon of St. Mark (6th-7th cent.), now in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Judging from his dress, that is more elaborate than that of a normal bishop and his youthful appearance, it may be damian, 35th patriarch of Alexandria (578-605), who was consecrated at a rather young age. There may also be a connection with the painting of St. Pisentios, who was consecrated by Damian. Furthermore, we know that he was a monk in Wadi al-Natrun before becoming a patriarch.
Damian was of Syrian origin but this should not be counted as a reason to depict him here, considering it is unlikely that this painting was done after the arrival of the first Syrian monks.
Fig. 15 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 17 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.3.10. St. Pisentius and St. Apakir On the left part of the northern wall, saints pisentius and Apakir are represented (Fig. 16). Their identity can be established by the inscriptions on either sides of their heads and their attributes.
The saint on the left is dressed as a bishop, wearing an omophorion with both ends in front. The inscription on either side of his head is still well legible. abb...icenti is written left of his head, right of his head tcinti. This must be St. Pisentius, whose name is followed by his title (tcinti means "the foundation"; it is also the name of the community close to Dayr al-Bahari, where he lived). He was born around 568 and consecrated as bishop of Koptos in 598.
On the left of the other saint, there is the inscription O αγiοc and on the right the letters απαk... He carries the attributes of a doctor, a medicine box and a scalpel, similar to those of Cosmas and Damian on the opposite side of the church. This must be St. Apakir, a martyr from the time of Diocletian, who had a reputation as a doctor.
Fig. 16 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 18 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.4. Paintings in the nave Not all walls in the nave have been investigated yet. For most part, only the southern wall has been bared of its 18th century plaster. On layer 2, a painting representing the three Old Testament Patriarchs was discovered in the year 2000 and in 2014, two other paintings and an inscription in Syriac and Coptic were discovered which appeared to belong together, forming a painted cenotaph for Abbot Maqari, who died in 889 (Innemée, Ochała, and Van Rompay 2015).
3.4.1. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Between two blocked windows, there is a painting of the three Old Testament Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, enthroned in Paradise with the souls of the blessed, represented as small, naked, genderless figures on their laps (Fig. 17). They are dressed in brown and reddish brown tunics and pallia. Only the middle one wears a white pallium. All three have almost identical, severe faces and long, white hair. A peculiar detail is that the three arch-fathers are feeding the blessed fruits. In the background, there are four trees from which similar naked figures are picking fruits. The fruit trees in the background and the fact that the Patriarchs are feeding the blessed with fruits may reflect the influence of such literary compositions as the Hymns on Paradise by Ephrem the Syrian. There are several references to fruit and fruit trees in this text and these passages must have inspired the painter (Brock 1990).
Fig. 17 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 19 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.4.2. St. macarius the egyptian and the Cherub Further to the left, on the other side of the blocked window, another painting of similar dimensions as that of the Three Patriarchs has been uncovered. It shows a holy monk and a cherub, standing on his right side and taking the saint by the hand (Fig. 18). St. Macarius the Great is only one monastic saint in whose life a cherub plays a prominent role and thus the identification of the theme is not difficult. The Vita of Macarius tells how at a certain moment, while celebrating the liturgy, a cherub appeared to him, who later guided him through the desert and showed him a place to live (Toda 2012: 396). The cherub in the painting is of the same size as Macarius and has a human face with piercing eyes, the head surrounded by a halo. These elements correspond with the text, but in addition three heads have been added, following the description of the cherubim as they appear in the vision of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1). From behind this halo, the heads of three animals appear, that of a lion on the left, a cow’s head on the right, while on top a bird’s head appears. The creature has six wings, painted in green and covered with eyes, of which two cover the body, except for the feet, which appear from underneath. From underneath these wings, the cherub’s two hands appear, the right one opened, while the left one grabs the wrist of St. Macarius.
Above the cherub, a number of Coptic or Greek letters are visible: two vertically written words of which the second one ends in AB+. The rest of the text is hidden behind the 13th century layer of painted plaster that covers this part of the painting.
Macarius has a grey beard and grey hair and is dressed in a brown tunic and a mantle or cape that is white with a pattern of fine black lines. His head is uncovered, while on his shoulders there is a brown cover that may be a withdrawn hood. He stands under an arch of which only a part is visible. Right of his head there is a Syriac inscription that says “[Ab]ba Maqari the Great.” The arch rests on an ornamented red capital or part of a frieze or beam. Below this, there are two small haloed figures, dressed in the same costume as Macarius and can therefore be identified as monks. Only the one standing in front is clearly visible, while the second is almost completely overlapped by the first. He is turned towards Macarius with his hands in front of him, the palms kept together. Underneath the monks, we see intertwining branches, green leaves, and fruits. This detail, the monks and the fruits, is not at once easy to identify. The color is similar to the fruits that are depicted in the adjacent painting of the three patriarchs and their size is rather small, seen in relation to the main persons in the scene. It would therefore be possible to identify the fruit as grapes. Nevertheless, this detail of the painting remains difficult to identify. One possible explanation is that a story about macarius alexandrinus, may have been attributed here to Macarius the Great.
This story, related by Rufinus in his Historia Monachorum and also occurring in certain redactions of Palladius’s Historia Lausiaca, tells how Macarius received a bunch of grapes, but out of humility, passed it on to a brother who seemed to be ill. This one, in turn, gave it to another and this was repeated until the grapes came back to the sender.2 If this is the explanation for this detail, the question remains why it was added to the painting. The rather awkward way in which the two monks have been squeezed between the figure of Macarius and the frame suggests that the painter conceived it as an afterthought, when the figures of Macarius and the cherub had already been painted.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 20 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries To the left of this painting, there is another blocked window and the surface underneath has been divided in two almost equal parts. The top part contains a Syriac inscription while the lower part has a Coptic text. In these texts, the death of Abbot Maqari, on the Sunday of Pentecost in the year 889, is commemorated. These inscriptions give the opportunity to date the three paintings to this year or very shortly afterwards. The Syriac text wishes the deceased abbot to repose in the bosom of Abraham and to be in the ranks of saints such as antony and Macarius. This explains the connection with the two paintings mentioned here. The element of the grapes, refused by Macarius out of humility, occurs again in the scene with the Patriarchs, this time as a heavenly reward. Fig. 18 3.4.3. Two saints on horseback Further to the left, separated from the panel of St. Macarius by another blocked window, there is a painting representing two saints on horseback (Fig. 19). Due to the narrow dimension of the space available, the painter had to depict them in a frontal position, which leads to an unusual form of foreshortening in the perspective of the painting. The right one of the two is of an advanced age and has a severe face that is comparable to that of the Three Patriarchs and Macarius, with a grey, pointed beard and grey hair falling over his shoulders and back.
The similarity of the faces in the three paintings is of such a kind that there can be no doubt that we are dealing with the work of the same master. On his head, he wears a crown or a diadem consisting of a yellow band with yellow and red round objects (gems?) on top. He wears what seems to be a dark red tunic, over which he wears a yellow girdle that is worn over the chest like a zone stratiotiki or officer’s sash. From the shoulder, hangs a shoulder-guard of the ancient Roman type. This and the sash Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 21 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries seem to indicate a rather conservative iconography, depicting elements that belong to long-past era.3 Over this, he wears a wide brown cloak, fastened at his right shoulder with a knot. His left hand holds the bridles, while his right arm is raised over his head, holding two spears. The spearheads are pointed towards two small figures between the legs of the horse. The right one of the two wears a crown that looks similar to the crown of the saint on horseback, while he also has a halo. On a small square surface that has been left blank in the green background the name Alexandros is written in Greek and Syriac. The second figure, which also has a halo, seems to wear some kind of bonnet and is not identified by an inscription.
The second horseman seems to be a young man. His face is heavily damaged, but one can see the contours of a haloed face without a beard and with red dots on the cheeks, possibly meant to depict a blush. The hair is dark and falls over the shoulders as in the case of the first horseman. He wears a dress similar to that of the other saint: a brown tunic with red roundels on the knees and what seem to be red decorative applications on the shoulders. He wears similar braces over his tunic, while his cloak is white and decorated with a pattern of small crosses, composed of red dots. His left hand holds the bridle while he holds a cross in his right hand. The identification of the younger horseman raises a problem, though here at least a hypothetical identification can be proposed. On the left of his head, there are traces of an inscription in Coptic and Syriac, painted in white on the dark background. The Coptic text reads [aγi]OC aπa …. It is unusual for a warrior saint to be called Apa, a title more often employed for monks and clerics. A saint whose name is frequently preceded by this title, however, is Menas. In icons and other representations, he is usually depicted as a young man and since there is no legend concerning him killing enemies or monsters, he is never represented as such before the 18th century.
The horses have been depicted symmetrically, the heads turned towards each other. Both of them have an elaborate harness, yellow with green and red ornaments, as to suggest gold with precious stones. On the breasts of the horses, the strips of the harnesses come together in a decorated phalera or breast-shield.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 22 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 19 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 23 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 3.4.4. Joseph To the left of the entrance to the khurus, there is an area where four subsequent layers of plaster with painting and/or inscriptions are visible. On layer 1, appearing through a lacuna in layer 2, we see decorations in red and yellow ochre. On the second layer, we see a piece of green background with a red and black framing and, below, a figure of a saint (Fig. 20). The first painting is only partially visible, because it is covered by the plastering of layer 3, carrying a Syriac inscription (6.3.). The lower painting is only for a small part covered by this re-plastering and shows the upper part of a saint's figure. The Greek text left of his head reads: αββα υωcηφ and on the right there are the remains of a word: ΠΡ[.]Φ[...] that could be read as 'profitis'. In that case, the painting would represent the Old Testament patriarch Joseph. His halo, partially plastered over in order to create a surface for a later inscription (see 6.2.), was rather crudely restored with red paint.
To the left of this painting, there is a semi-column that is part of the original construction of the church. It is partially covered by masonry and plaster, added in the 13th century. On this semi-column, there is a painting that can be dated to the 8th century and that represents a figure dressed in a monk’s costume. There is an inscription that reads πατριαρ[Χ]ΙΣ to the right of his head. His name should be on the left side of his head but this part is still covered by later plaster. We are dealing here with an unusual case where a patriarch is represented as a monk. The only detail that distinguishes him from a ‘normal’ monk is the mappa or enchirion (a napkin-like strip of textile) in his left hand. Fig. 20 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 24 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 4. Paintings on Layer 3 The third layer of plaster was not applied all over the interior walls of the church but only on the upper parts of the khurus walls. It covers parts of the floral and geometrical decoration that were applied in the 7th and 8th centuries, but was apparently meant as an extension to the figurative paintings in the lower zones of the khurus. Around the central dome that covers the khurus, fragments of a Coptic text were found that mention a certain Moses who was hegumenos and oikonomos of the monastery. It is most likely that this was Moses of Nisibis.
In this case, the rest of the paintings in this upper part of the church were probably commissioned by him and that would mean that they should be dated to the beginning of the 10th century. The two other persons mentioned in the text are a certain Haroon and a deacon Johannes. So far these two persons have not yet been further identified.
4.1. Abgar and Constantine After removal of 18th century plaster from the upper eastern wall, a row of three blocked windows appeared, corresponding to the windows in the southern and northern wall. Between these windows, two paintings have been uncovered, belonging to layer 3. Because of the bad state of preservation, the identification was uncertain initially but after the discovery of Syriac inscriptions underneath, this problem could be solved. The right painting shows the remains of a person on horseback (Fig. 21). The horse is black with a pattern of white spots or decorative shaving. Almost nothing is left of the rider. The upper part of the frame shows an overlapping fragment of a lance, from which we can deduce that the rider is a warrior. In the sky over the head of the rider, there is a half-circle with stars and a decorated cross inside, from which rays are radiating. The Syriac text underneath reads: "The king, when he saw the sign of the cross from heaven believed in (Ch)rist." This is a clear allusion to the vision of constantine I. Fig. 21 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 25 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries The space between the middle and the left windows was filled with a painting, of which only a fragment of a figure holding a piece of cloth is left (Fig. 22). On this piece of cloth, a part of a haloed head is visible. These iconographical indications point already in the direction of abgar, and the inscription under the painting confirmed this.
It reads: "...and he sent him the image."
Fig. 22 The paintings of Abgar and Constantine clearly fit into an iconographical context. On the southern wall, the conversion of the chamberlain of the Candace by St. Philip and St. Andrew converting and baptising the dog-headed cannibals have been represented. On the northern wall, an inscription indicates that gregory the illuminator was represented here. The paintings in this part of the church have a common theme: the conversion of the foreign peoples. Abgar and Constantine take prominent places on the eastern wall as the first Syrian king and the first Roman emperor respectively to embrace Christianity. It can also be seen as a Syrian statement, showing Abgar at an equal level with Constantine.
The dating of these paintings is an interesting but not yet completely solved question. As mentioned above, the text around the dome could point at Moses of Nisibis. We also know that Moses of Nisibis had the wooden haykal-doors constructed in 913/4. This must have been done shortly after the rebuilding in its present shape of the haykal. The paintings of Abgar and Constantine on the upper eastern wall have been carefully made between the three windows that were blocked when the dome over the haykal was constructed. This suggests that the windows were still open when the paintings were made and that they therefore antedate the rebuilding of the haykal. This would mean that Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 26 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries the "conversion-paintings" on layer 3 date from before 913/4. The first known representation so far of Abgar is the icon in St. Catherine's monastery, dated after 945, the year that the mandylion was transferred to Constantinople. The fact that this painting of Abgar was apparently made at the order of Syrian monks suggests that at that time the mandylion was still in Syrian hands. Although these are mere indications and no hard evidence, a dating to the beginning of the 10th century seems tempting.
4.2. St. Philip and the chamberlain of the Candace The southern wall has three windows and the right one has been permanently closed. Between the left and the middle window in the upper zone, there is a beardless man seated on a two-wheeled chariot, holding a tablet in his hand with a Coptic inscription (Fig. 23). In a T-shape, above, right of his head, there is a Coptic inscription πiεθω(sj) nkantakh (the black man of the Candace). This is an illustration of Acts 8:27, which describes the conversion of the chamberlain of the Ethiopian queen by the deacon Philip. Of the figure of Philip, nothing but his raised hand in gesture of speech is preserved. The second scene of this story was depicted on the same level between the middle and the right window. A Coptic inscription reads: πiciουρ (the eunuch). Although heavily damaged, the scene is clearly recognizable as the baptism of the eunuch, probably taking place under a sort of red canopy. A part of his bare shoulder and the hand of Philip over his head have been preserved and in the lower part of the scene two feet between wavy lines, representing water, are visible.
Fig. 23 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 27 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 4.3. St. Andrew and the dog-headed cannibals In the lower part, between the left and middle window, there is a scene, which was at first puzzling: a standing man with grey hair seems to address five figures with dog-heads (Fig. 24). The scene can be identified as St. Andrew preaching in the land of the dog-headed (kynokephaloi) cannibals. This apocryphal story is in the first place known from 4 the Acta Andreae et Matthiae apud anthropofagos.
Between the middle and the right (walled-up) window, a second baptism scene was found (Fig. 25). The same man as in the scene of the dog-heads (St. Andrew) is shown, baptising two people. There is reason to believe that this represents the baptism of the cannibals, who have undergone a metamorphosis. In another version of the same story, a Syriac poem attributed to Ephraim the Syrian, it is described how the converted savages' appearance changes in that of 'children of light' (Van Esbroeck 1999).
Fig. 24 Fig. 25 4.4. St. Gregory the Illuminator The northern wall of the upper part of the khurus has three windows as well. Over the middle window, we see half a circle that looks as if it is suspended from the upper border of the painting. There is a schematic representation of a town against the background of a starry sky (Fig. 26) within this circle. Such half-circles in the upper parts of paintings are most often meant to represent the spheres of heaven, from which a hand of God or other divine intervention appears. A town within such a circle might therefore be intended as a representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem. To the right of this, there are the remains of a standing man with a halo around his head. No remains of inscriptions have been found which could help us identify this scene.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 28 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 26 The second scene, painted under the first one between the two open windows, has almost completely disappeared, except for a piece of bluish-grey background, on which we seen the shoulder and part of the halo of a figure. Most fortunately, an inscription to the left of this figure has been entirely preserved. It reads γρhγορiοc πiερμενiοc, St. Gregory the Armenian, i.e. St. Gregory the Illuminator. Since he is well-known for his preaching of Christianity in Armenia, we can consider (the remains of) this scene a counterpart to those on the opposite wall where the theme is also conversion and baptism. If this is the iconographical theme for the decoration of this part of the church, the unidentified scene with the town in the half-circle should also fit within this framework, but since we have scarcely any known parallel for an iconographical programme like this, a solution is not yet available.
The scenes represented in the upper part of the khurus show themes that are rare in Christian iconography. So far there is no solid evidence for the reason why they were represented here but since the common subject is conversion and baptism of foreign people, there may have been a context connected with Pentecost. As mentioned above, Pentecost is a likely theme for the painting still hidden in the southern semi-dome and in that case, the paintings in the upper part of the khurus were meant as an extension to this theme.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 29 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 4.5. Crosses On the eastern and southern walls of the khurus, right of the right windows and left of the left windows, the remains of four crosses were found. These crosses, all different in shape, are painted in mainly red and green and are surrounded by a frame that consists of broad red line with a row of white dots on a black background in the middle.
4.6. Dormition, Assumption and glory of the Virgin Just under the level of the paintings of Abgar and Constantine, there are important remains of a sequence of paintings representing the events surrounding the death of the Virgin Mary. This series of representations must have been painted later, though probably not much later. This can be deduced from the slight overlap of these painting with the higher paintings of Constantine and Abgar. The thin layer of plaster that was applied for these paintings was still clean enough to add the Dormition sequence, but it had already some cracks. This suggests an interval of a few decades at most between both sets of paintings. Although they were made in a period that the population of the monastery had a significant Syrian component, we find only Coptic inscriptions accompanying the several scenes.
There is a representation of the Dormition (Fig. 27) at the far left.5 The Virgin lies on a bed, surrounded by the twelve apostles, who are seated in two rows on either side of the bed. They are not individually identified, but both groups of six have the explanatory text NI AoctoO.. Apart from these persons there are six women, three on either side, who are swinging censers. This is a rather remarkable detail since the handling of censers is traditionally a male activity in the orthodox churches. The Coptic inscription in the painting calls the six women NI APEN.., virgins, without any specific names. Behind the bed, a large winged figure stands, most probably to be identified as michael the archangel, who is by tradition the psychopompe or the one accompanying the souls of the dead to the hereafter. The only remains of his name are the letters …..H. He is standing with his hands stretched out in a gesture as if he is expecting to receive the soul of the Virgin. This detail is also unusual; Christ takes this position in all known representations of the subject.
The oldest representations of the Dormition are post-iconoclastic, the earliest dated examples are from the 10th century. Since the paintings on the upper walls of the khurus have probably been commissioned by Moses of Nisibis in the very beginning on the 10th century, the Dormition painted here is possibly one of the earliest known so far. To the right, there was a scene that is now almost completely missing. The only part that survives of the representation is of a group of men at the far right, looking up with expressions of amazement (Fig. 28). At the top of the edge, there is fragment of a Coptic inscription reading: ΠCωMA nti "The body of...". This is a strong indication that the now missing scene represented the assumption of the body of the Virgin.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 30 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 27 Fig. 28 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 31 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries The centre of the sequence is taken by a representation of Christ and the Virgin, sitting side by side on a throne (Fig. 29). He holds her left hand by the wrist and raises it as if in a gesture of triumph. At the left side of the head of the Virgin, there is a representation of the sun while the moon is visible right of the head of Christ. This scene is considered a representation of the reunification of the body and soul of the Virgin in heaven and her reception by Christ. This representation is also quite exceptional. There seems to be no direct parallel in Christian iconography from the same period thus far. A throne shared by two or more deities or emperors is know from earlier periods. Late-antique examples of such a representations, where the sun and moon also flank the throne, are two miniatures from the Virgilius Romanus, showing Jupiter and other deities on a throne.6 A panel painting from Tebtynis (lost during WW II) shows two deities, seated on a throne in a similar way (Rondot 2013: 122-125).
Fig. 29 4.7. Paintings in the dome The three Hebrews in the fiery furnace: Of the paintings in the dome over the khurus only very little has been preserved and only few fragments have been uncovered. The only fragment that could be identified so far shows a part of a winged figure, holding a staff in the direction of flames (Fig. 30). The most likely identification for this fragment is the episode from the Book of Daniel of the three men in the fiery furnace. Further to the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 32 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries right, there is a fragment of what seems to be the leg of a throne. This might be the throne of king Nebuchadnezzar. If this is the case, and if there was indeed a sequence from the book of Daniel in the dome, this would be a quite unusual phenomenon. Old Testament scenes in the eastern part of the church with a typological significance, especially in relationship to the Eucharist, are quite common in Coptic churches but so far no Old Testament scenes have been found in domes.
Fig. 30 5. Paintings on Layer 4 At a certain point in time, the church must have been in state of neglect and in need of total renovation. An exact date for this moment cannot be given, but on the basis of the style of the paintings done after this renovation, it is assumed that it may have been in the course of the 13th century. It must have taken place after 1155 in any case, since the inscription on the partial plastering over the painting of Joseph dates to that year. Layer 4 covered this inscription. Windows that had been blocked by the construction of walls and buildings surrounding the church were walled up, plastered over, and the total interior was re-painted, partially with themes that were present in the paintings from the 7th-10th Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 33 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries centuries. In 1782, the church was renovated once more and before the interior was plastered anew, the loose plaster, mainly the top layer with its 13th century paintings, was hammered down. The only 13th century paintings that were left uncovered were those in the three half-domes. During the uncovering and conservation work in the past years, a number of preserved paintings of this layer have been discovered on the southern wall and on two columns in the nave. Elsewhere, just fragments remain.
5.1. The half-domes In the 8th century, the church probably had a triconch in the east, with semi-domes at the northern and southern ends of the khurus and an eastern apse. A fourth semi-dome must have been added within decades after the construction of the church at the western end of the nave. These four semi-domes contained a cycle of paintings of which the annunciation in the west and the epiphany in the north have been uncovered, after separation of the superimposed 13th century paintings. The apse, replaced by a square haykal in the 10th century, probably contained a painting of the ascension, while a fourth painting is still hidden under the 13th century painting in the southern semi-dome (Innemée 1995).
5.1.1. The southern semi-dome The layout of the paintings in the southern semi-dome has a remarkable but slightly awkward character, with a division running in the middle (Fig. 31). On the left, there is the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel, standing on the right, addressing the Virgin, who stands under a canopy. The right part of the semi-dome has a representation of the Nativity, with the Virgin lying on a red mattress and the manger behind her, surrounded by Joseph, the shepherds and the Magi as diminutive figures.7 5.1.2. The western semi-dome The third scene in the sequence of the life of the Virgin was the Ascension, where she was depicted in a central position, surrounded by the 12 apostles, and in the upper part of the composition, Christ, lifted by two angels, (Fig. 32). This painting was severely damaged by fire in 1988 and in 1991, it was taken down to reveal the 8th century Annunciation underneath (see 3.2.1.). The painting has been transferred to the museum of the monastery.
5.1.3. The northern semi-dome The 13th century cycle of the life of the Virgin ended with the Dormition in the northern semi-dome (Fig. 33). The masonry of this dome was in a bad condition and the superimposed layers of painted plaster started detaching. It was therefore necessary to separate the two layers of painting. The painting of the Dormition was mounted on a new support and transferred to the museum in 2006. The Epiphany that appeared underneath (3.2.2) was restored in the following years.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 34 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 31 Fig. 32 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 35 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 33 5.2. severus of antioch and dioscorus On the easternmost column in the northern nave, there is a standing figure with monk's cap. The inscription next to the head is clear and readable: 6 Letters in Greek: (ΔI)οcκ(O)ροc and an inscription in Syriac: Dioscorus the patriarch (Fig. 34). He is depicted in the costume of a monk with the rank of a priest. No episcopal vestments can be recognized. He wears a phelonion covered with medallions, nine originally, of which six are still visible. Under the phelonion, a red sticharion with an epitrachelion are visible. The epitrachelion is decorated with a rectangular field covered with circles with dots inside. The lower part of the painting is missing; here the 18th century plaster is directly applied on the brick of the column.
The counterpart of this painting is to be found at the opposite side of the nave, where a similar head is visible (Fig. 35). This might be St. Severus, who is often depicted as a counterpart of Dioscorus. On the northern face of this column a third figure is visible, in a lesser state of preservation. Apart from the vague contours of a standing figure in the dress of a monk, nothing could be distinguished.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 36 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 34 Fig. 35 On the easternmost column in the southern nave, there is a painting that shows a standing figure is a costume that has both monastic and liturgical elements (Fig. 36). He wears a monastic hood (qalansuwa) in combination with a tunic, an epitrachelion and a phelonion, decorated with nine medallions, containing portraits of Christ, two angels and six saints, maybe apostles. This remarkable outfit has a counterpart on the column on the opposite side of the nave, where patriarch Dioscorus was represented. This could mean that the painting uncovered now also represents a patriarch, maybe patriarch Severus of Alexandria, who also occurs as a counterpart to Dioscorus in the wooden doors between the khurus and the haykal.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 37 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 36 5.3. Three mounted saints and a standing figure Directly right of the painting of the three patriarchs, there is a fragment in which a figure on horseback, turned towards the right is visible (Fig. 37). Only part of the breast and back of the horse with a fragment of the horseman are visible, but it is evident that he was wearing a military costume, judging from the pteriges, the armour protecting his waist. Immediately to the right of him, there is standing figure depicted frontally and holding a cross. To the right of him, there is a second soldier on horseback, also turned towards the right. This horseman is facing another one who is almost symmetrically in front of him. Since only a narrow strip of the composition has survived, there are no ways to identify Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 38 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries the persons. The only thing that can be said is that the riders are dressed in military costumes. It is most likely that they are saints but we cannot even speculate about their identity.
Fig. 37 5.4. Scenes from the Book of Daniel 5.4.1. The Three Men in the Fiery Furnace Further to the right there is a large composition depicting the story of the Three Men in the Fiery Furnace, an episode from the book of Daniel (Fig. 38) (See also biblical subjects in coptic art). Only the lower part of the composition is missing while the second of the three men has faded away altogether.
Fig. 38 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 39 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries The angel, dressed in white, is standing on the left, holding a staff in his outstretched arms, protecting the three men, who are facing him. All three are dressed in Persian costume: short tunics, trousers, a cloak, and a bonnet on the head. Their gestures are identical. All three figures hold their hands raised in front of them. Of the middle of the three men only very vague contours have survived. This must be due to a blocked window under the 13th century plaster. Possibly humidity has permeated the plaster and destroyed the painting. To the right of the men and the angel, there is the small figure of king Nebuchadnezzar, seated on a throne under a canopy. There are three standing men in front of him. This part of the painting is again heavily damaged so that identification of these men remains uncertain.
5.4.2. The Prophets Daniel and Habakuk In the far right of the eastern wall, there was a representation of the prophet Daniel, standing frontally. Also this painting has almost completely disappeared due to a blocked window underneath. At the right edge of the painting, a fragment has survived that depicts an angel, lifting a man by his hair (Fig. 39). This must be the prophet Habakuk, lifted by his hair and brought to Babylon by an angel to feed Daniel (Daniel 14: 34-39). Fig. 39 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 40 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 6. Inscriptions Apart from wall-paintings with their epigraphic texts, numerous inscriptions of various kinds have been uncovered on the walls of the church of the Holy Virgin. There is the usual graffiti, but apart from these there are a number of commemorative Syriac texts that shed light on the history of the monastery, its community, and its church.8 Below a selection of three such texts is given.
6.1. Inscription of Mattay and Yacqub The northern wall of the nave, just east of the lateral entrance, has a large number of inscriptions, many of them graffiti by visitors (Fig. 40). The place must have been attractive for such texts due to the presence of the relic-shrine of the church nearby, in the north-east corner of the nave. Among these inscriptions one is of particular importance since it commemorates reconstruction and restoration works in the monastery, commissioned by Mattay and Yacqub, two brothers from Tikrit (Van Rompay 2001). Translation 1. “[ . . . . . . ] 2. [ . . . . . . ] gifts [ . . . . . . ] praise 3. that their names be written [in the book] of life, 4. for with them and among them [dwells] the Lord 5. and in the rank of messengers and p[riests] among the monk[s] 6. and true leaders [ . . . . . . w]ise [ . . . ] 7. the hea[ds] of this holy pl[ace], A[b]raham 8. and [Jo]seph, priests [ . . . . . . ] Christ, 9. I mean, that true high priest [ . . . ] 10. Ma[tta]y and Yacqub jointly built and constructed this monastery of the holy Mother 11. of God [in the year thousand and] hundred thirty according to the Greeks, in the days 12. of our blessed and God-clad patriar[ch]s, [Mar Jac]ob and Mar 13. Dionysius of Syr[i]a. And they completed [ . . . . . . ] this [p]lace.
14. May God res[spond (and) re]ward them with the me[asu]re of the just and let them en[ter] into the edifice [not] 15. made by hands. Yea and Amen and Amen!”
The date of the Seleucid era that is mentioned here corresponds to the year 818/19 CE and this inscription is the first dated evidence for building activities by Syrians in the monastery. It is probable that these building activities included the construction of a perimeter wall on the south side of the church, which blocked the access of daylight to the southern nave.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 41 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Fig. 40 6.2. Commemorative text On the left side of the entrance from the nave into the khurus, a small part of the painting of Joseph (…) has been plastered over to create a surface for a commemorative inscription that was apparently important enough to be put in this conspicuous place. The dating is most probably to be read as 1155/6 CE. So far it is not clear to what misfortunes and following restorations this text refers.
Translation 1. In the year thousand and four hundred and s[even]ty and seven according to (the era) of the Greeks [...] to this monastery of [...
the abbot and [..]..[..]....[.] because they are (or: were) [.]. [...
..[...] of [...] hands (?) ... that which enters from these monasteries which (are) in Egy[pt ...
and the monastery with all its belongings while it did not stop .[...] them [... 5. and not much according to the decision ..[..]...[...] fathers [...
which had remained ten years while there was no Syrian priest [...
[..].. and from beneath they were near to destruction without [...
[.] which is .[...]. with the patriarch in 'bdn' the tow[n ...
[.] of Go[d] in the monastery while it was not able [...
10. ..[...]... according to the will of God and the pled[ge] of the pa[t]riarch [... which more ... inner part (?) of the house of the koinobion while they had worked hard [...] ... [...
[..]... but [..] ... or something which .[...] to the work [...
[..] and with the grace of God everything came to completion while [...] ...[...] strength [...
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 42 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 6.3. Calligraphy of Cyriacus Next to the entrance to the khurus, slightly lower on an attached half-column, there is an unusual calligraphy, consisting of a Syriac inscription with its mirror-image attached to it (Fig. 41). It runs: “Saintly Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch”. Cyriacus was patriarch from 793 till 817 and this calligraphy may be the first evidence of Syriac presence in the monastery.
Fig. 41 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 43 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 7. The Chapel of the 49 Martyrs The chapel of the 49 martyrs is located directly north of the church. It is a later addition, possibly constructed in the 10th century. The eastern wall of the sanctuary contains three niches. The outer niches are surrounded by stucco decoration in a style that corresponds to the stucco in the sanctuary of the main church. The central niche has no stucco decoration. All three niches contain paintings, the central one even in two superimposed layers.
The central niche (dimensions1.95 x 1.05 x 0.50 m) contains a representation of the enthroned Virgin Mary (Fig. 42). She is seated on a throne and holds the child frontally in front of her on her lap. Above the throne, on either side of the head of the Virgin, there are two roundels with half-figures of angels. This niche has been plastered and decorated at least twice. Before the 18th century, plaster was applied as both painted layers were heavily damaged in the middle. The damaged area looks as if the surface was hit with a large, blunt object. At the edges of this damaged area, the remains of an older underlying painting are visible. These remains, partially uncovered, show that the earlier painting represents a Virgin Platytera (holding Christ, surrounded by a circular frame, in front of her), flanked by two persons of whom the left one may be a bishop or a hegumenos, judging from the fragments of clothing that are visible.
Fig. 42 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 44 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Flanking the central niche, there are two smaller niches (1.45 x 0.60 x 0.08 m), both framed by stucco-work in Fatimid (See also fatimids and the copts) style, most likely dating back to the same period that the stucco in the haykal was made, the beginning of the 10th century. In each one, there is a standing saint with a halo and a codex in the left hand. The right saint has been identified as mark by a Syriac inscription (Fig. 43).
Fig. 43 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 45 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries The painting of the saint in the left niche has been damaged to such an extent that the lower part of the figure has disappeared by wearing off of the paint (Fig. 44). Also in parts of the face the paint has disappeared, revealing the underlying sketch of the face. Just as in the central niche, a deep hole in the lower part of the painting has destroyed several layers of plaster. This hole shows a cross-section of three older layers of unpainted plaster, 10 cm thick, between the masonry and the painted plaster.
Fig. 44 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 46 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries Over the two lateral niches, remains of paintings have been found. Over the left niche, there is the lower part of a standing figure in liturgical costume (Fig. 45). Judging from this costume, the figure must be a bishop, wearing a grey tunic, a red and yellow phelonion and a white omophorion with a red decoration on it. There is no clue concerning the identity of this bishop since nothing remains of the upper part and no inscription has survived.
Fig. 45 Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 47 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries 8. Iconography, Painting Technique, and Authorship The paintings of Dayr al-Suryan give the rare opportunity to follow the development of Christian wall-painting in one church from the 7th till the 13th centuries. This development over a period of more than 600 years has several aspects: the iconography of the themes depicted, the system according to which the paintings were arranged in the decorative program of the church interior, and the painting technique used in the consecutive phases.
So far, a number of iconographical themes have been found in the paintings, especially those of layer 3, for which there is no parallel elsewhere in Christian painting and this has raised questions concerning the (Syriac) sources of inspiration for these paintings. Concerning the iconographical program of the paintings, a number of observations have been made so far, for instance the fact that the Epiphany painting is located in the north-eastern area of the church, a place traditionally associated with the baking and the preparation of the bread for the communion. The composition of the painting is probably based on the apse of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a toponym that literally means ‘house of bread’. There are other elements in the iconographical program that seem to have topographical symbolism, such as the conversion scenes on the upper parts of the walls of the khurus, but a complete analysis will be possible only after all wall-paintings still hidden under plaster are uncovered.
The paintings were all executed on a dry layer of plaster and the term ‘fresco’ should therefore be avoided. The first layer of paintings, mostly consisting of geometrical and simple decorative patterns, was done in tempera technique and relative cheap pigments such as red and yellow ochre. The second layer was made for the most part in the 8th century and here most of the paintings were done in encaustic technique. This is a surprising fact, since the encaustic technique, in which pigments are mixed with molten beeswax as a medium, was generally believed to have been forgotten in the 7th century (Innemée 2006). Although here more physical analysis will be needed, it can already be established that it must have been the so-called Punic wax method that was used here. In this variety of the encaustic technique, the melting point of the paint is lowered by mixing the wax with soap and natron, an ingredient available in large quantities in Wadi al-Natrun (Freccero 2002: 87). This technique allows the paint to be applied with brushes, instead of heated spatulas. In some of the paintings the brush-strokes are clearly recognisable, while in some cases hairs of the brushes were found in paintings.
The fact that so many of the paintings on layer 2 were done in the encaustic technique is a proof that this way of painting was still in use in the 8th century, but apart from this a number of different hands can be distinguished in the style and technique of painting, showing that apparently it was not practiced by just a few masters, but by several painters throughout the century. The paintings from the 9th century and later were done in tempera with just a few touches of encaustic for the green. While the 8th century paintings were probably done by Egyptian masters, it is still an open question who was responsible for the later paintings, made after the establishment of the Syriac community in the monastery. In some case the iconography betrays typically Syrian influences, which may be taken as an indication that Syrian painters were at work here, but more research will be needed to say anything with certainty.
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia 48 K. Innemee, Dayr al-Suryan: New Discoveries