Monastery of St Catherine

Name of structure: Monastery of St Catherine
Extended name of structure: Church of the Transfiguration
Type of structure: Church
Country or main area: Egypt
Region within country or main area: Sinai
City or area within region: Sinai
Date of structure: 548-65
Century of structure 1: 6 AD
Century of structure 2: 6 AD
Specific place of mosaic: Church of the Transfiguration: apse and triumphal arch; Chapel of the Burning Bush: apse
Brief descriptive contents of mosaic: Church: Arch: Scene of the Transfiguration with Moses and Elias, roundels of saints and Old Testament prophets.
Triumphal arch: archangels, Lamb of God, Virgin and John the Baptist; scenes of Moses and the Burning Bush and of Moses receiving the Law.
Chapel apse: Cross on gold background and inscription.
Date of mosaic: Church 6C; Chapel: 10C
Century of mosaic 1: 10 AD
Century of mosaic 2:
Silver tessera at site: Yes
Gold tessera at site: Yes
Colour tessera at site: Yes
Were other materials found at site (i.e., glass cakes)? Unknown
Has analysis been done? Yes
Samples taken from where? Apse (Brill, 1999)
Excavation and restoration campaigns: 1958-65: team from Michigan-Princeton University led by G. Forsyth and K. Weitzmann
2005-9: team from Centro di Conservazione Archeologica led by R. Nardi
Bibliography of mainly technical resources:

Nardi R. &  Zizola C., La conservazione del mosaico della Trasfigurazione, Monastero di Santa Caterina, Sinai (CCA, Centro di Conservazione Archeologica, Roma, 2006): online at http://www. cca-roma.org/node/26


Brill, R., Chemical analysis of early glasses, 2 vols, (New York: Corning Museum of Glass, 1999), IX P, 254-58.


Forsyth, G. H. & Weitzmann, K., The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai - The Church and Fortress of Justinian: Plates (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973).


 

URLs:
Comments:

According to Brill the 'tesserae were collected at the suggestion of Athur A. Houghton, Jr., who visited the monastery in the early 1960s (?). They came from the large apse of the church and were dates by Prof  Weitzmann to 6C' (Brill, Chemical analysis, vol 1, 111).


You Tube video of Roberto Nardi restoration: 'Monastero di Santa Caterina. Sinai. Conservazione del mosaico della Trasfigurazione'

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