Allegory in Byzantium

This monograph opens a new perspective on well-known major works of 6^th century Byzantium: the ivory Cathedra of Ravenna, the Purple Codex of Rossano, the Cypriot silver plates of the life of David held in Nicosia and New York, and the Solomon miniature in Copenhagen.

The leaps in pictorial organization, inconsistencies in pictorial composition and breaks in pictorial narrative that have long puzzled scholars are explained here in novel terms as the intentional narrative form of a hidden allegory. This deeper reading of biblical events works with duplications, juxtapositions, and contrasts which, in the biblical action, describe the underlying work of God in creation and history. The artworks in question share rhetorical techniques of inclusion, mirroring and contrast, while biblical references and realistic details lead to deeper, hidden levels of meaning; they interpret biblical text allegorically, while remaining close to the text both pictorially and exegetically. They challenge the mind of the most attentive observer.