Savior in Chora/Kariye Camii

Name of structure: Savior in Chora/Kariye Camii
Extended name of structure: Kariye Camii
Type of structure: Church
Country or main area: Turkey
Region within country or main area: Marmara
City or area within region: Constantinople
Date of structure: (5C, 9C), 1077-81, 12C, 1315-21
Century of structure 1: 11 AD
Century of structure 2: 14 AD
Specific place of mosaic: Nave; outer narthex; inner narthex.
Brief descriptive contents of mosaic:

Nave: panel above the west door: Dormition; templon panels of Christ and the Virgin with Christ child.
Outer narthex vaults and ceiling: Christ, scenes of the Life of Christ, saints, flora, ornamental patterns; wall panels: Virgin, saints.
Inner narthex: vaults and ceiling: scenes of the Life of the Virgin; Virgin with Christ child and angels, Christ enthroned with Methochites; wall panels: saints, scene of Deesis with Isaac Komnenos and Melane the nun; south dome: Christ with figures from his genealogy, angels; north dome: Virgin and Christ child, figures of the genealogy of Christ, angels.
Date of mosaic: 1315-21
Above are all 14th century mosaics but Hawkins found evidence of 12th century mosaics - see  Cormack article
Century of mosaic 1: 14 AD
Century of mosaic 2: 12 AD
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? No
Samples taken from where? n/a
Excavation and restoration campaigns:

1877: team led by Paspates
1898
1929: General Directorate of Foundations
1947: Byzantine Institute of America
1966: team led by P. Underwood from Dumbarton Oaks Research Institute
Bibliography of mainly technical resources:

Ousterhout, R. G., The Architecture of the Kariye Camii in Istanbul (Washington, D.C: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1987).


Underwood, P. A., 'The Deisis Mosaic in the Kahrie Cami at Istanbul', in Late Classical and Medieval Studies in Honor of Albert Mathias Friend, Jr., ed by K. Weitzmann, S. der Nersessian, G. H. Jr. Forsyth, E. H. Kantorowicz, &  T. E. Mommsen (Princeton, 1975).


Underwood, P. A., The Kariye Djami (New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966).

Oates, D., 'A summary report on the excavations of the Byzantine Institute in the Kariye Camii', 1957-58', DOP 14 (1960), 223-31.


Underwood, P.A., 'Notes on the Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1955-1956', DOP 12 (1958), 295-6.


Cormack, Robin, ‘The Talented Mr. Hawkins’, in eds A. Holger Klein, Robert G. Ousterhout and Brigitte Pikarakis, The Kariye Camii Reconsidered (Istanbul: Istanbul Arastirmalari Enstitusu, 2011), 499-510, see p. 506 for details of Hawkins discovery of evidence of 12th century mosaics.


 
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