Identification of materials in post-Byzantine textiles from Mount Athos

Numerous textiles of inestimable historical significance have been preserved in the monasteries of Mount Athos for several centuries. However, our knowledge regarding the materials used in these objects is very limited. In the present study, microsamples extracted from ecclesiastical textiles (16th – 19th c.) of the monastery of Xeropotamou (Mount Athos) are investigated using Optical Microscopy (OM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to a Photodiode Array Detector (HPLC-PDA) and Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with an Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX). The first goal of the study is to identify the colouring materials of the historical samples, which were of silk nature (OM). The presence of Prussian blue is revealed using FTIR and organic colourants such as cochineal, dyer’s broom (Genista tinctoria L.), fuchsin, indigo carmine, old fustic (Chlorophora tinctoria L.), soluble redwood (Caesalpinia trees), weld (Reseda luteola L.), young fustic (Cotinus coggygria Scop.) and indigoid dyestuff source(s) are identified using HPLC-PDA. Dyestuff extraction from silk substrates is achieved using the TFA method, which preserves the contained glycosides. Thus, the report provides further evidence to support the efficacy of the TFA method to extract various organic colourants from historical silk samples (second goal). Finally, metal threads included in some historical samples are studied using OM and SEM-EDX. The latter is employed to analyse the composition of the metal surfaces. Silver (Ag) and gold (Au) are detected on the surfaces of the majority of the samples. Two samples were manufactured only with Ag.     

The Byzantine wall paintings from the Protaton Church on Mount Athos,Greece: tradition and science

The present work is a study of the wall painting complex in the Protaton Church (1295) on Mount Athos, Greece. These paintings, high in artistic value, are themselves a monument—representative of the Macedonian iconographic style. What follows is historic data set against the results of analytical investigations: the fruit of extensive research aimed at determining precise details about the applied painting techniques for the wall paintings. Hitherto it has been held that what was traditionally defined as “Byzantine fresco” was executed only on wet plaster with limewater as the sole binding medium. Now, however, through the application of instrumental analytical investigations, it is possible to demonstrate that a mixed technique involving both al fresco and al secco was employed. Furthermore, it was determined, on the basis of results from gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS), that egg together with a modest amount of animal glue were the organic binding media used for the Protaton art work. It is certain that the scenes were initially begun on wet plaster. During or even after drying the painting was completed using the aforementioned protein binding media, thanks to which a more resistant cohesion to the painted layers was secured.     

Holy mountain and supreme council: Mount Athos at the beginning of a new era

Abstract

The establishment of the Supreme Council of Judicious Ordinances, itself a product of modern Ottoman reform begun by Mahmud II (1808–39), added to the establishment of a new framework for an increasingly centralised concept of ‘Beneficient Re-Orderings’ (tanzimat-i hayriye) in the Ottoman Empire. Created on 27 Zilhicce 1253 (24 March 1838) as part of Mahmud's strategy to dismantle the Grand Vizirate and shift the locus of power closer to himself, the Meclis-i Vala-yi Ahkam-i Adliye consequently figured prominently also in the famous Hatt-i ?erif (imperial decree) of Gülhane of 3 November 1839, by which date the Tanzimat are usually understood to have begun 'officially’.     

Central administration versus provincial arbitrary governance: Patmos and Mount Athos monasteries in the 16th century

Abstract

The confiscation of monastic properties ordered by Selim II in 1568 served as a catalyst precipitating a process of negotiation and mutual accommodation between the centre – represented by the sultan and his jurisconsult- and the periphery articulated by the monks. Even in formulaic imperial orders, it is apparent that the monastic communities successfully negotiated the terms for the normalisation of the affair, whereas the jurisconsult accommodated the Porte's interests to the local society's needs. On the local level, the judge functioned as a mediator, addressing the monks' requirements, even if he had to transgress a number of Islamic rules and imperial orders. Thus, this case study illustrates the gradual transformation of a polity in dialogue with local communities.     

Prehistorian at Cambridge

J. Maxwell Atkinson and Paul Drew. Order in Court: The Organization of Verbal Interaction in Judicial Settings. Atlantic Highlands, N. J.: Humanities Press, 1979. ix + 275 pp. Notes, references, and index. (Published in Oxford Socio‐Legal Studies Series, J. Maxwell Atkinson, Donald R. Harris, and R. M. Hartwell, general eds.) $30.00.     

Protective Structures for the Preservation of Medieval Buildings and their Remains: Case Studies from Monastery Hilandar and Mount Athos

The objective of this study is to establish a methodology for temporary protective structures, that is, the guidelines for planning, design, and implementation of future protective structures. The basic method of this paper was the observation and analyses of temporary protective structures as well as the evaluation of the results achieved in implementation of these rules in completed structures, within the Hilandar Monastery complex on Mount Athos, in Greece. Mount Athos was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its cultural and natural values. The Holy Mount Athos is a unique monastic complex in the world and only males are allowed past the entrance. Having performed the evaluation of certain types of temporary protective structures, the given results were offered as recommendation for their design and implementation. The most significant accomplishment of this paper is verification of the designed, calculated, and completed protective structures through practical application within the Hilandar Monastery complex, in accordance with all the factors of site management.     

评《新编剑桥中世纪史》

《剑桥中世纪史》(以下简称《老版》)第一至八卷在1 91 1年至1 936年间出版。此后虽有略加修改的多次重印本,但无论从思想观点还是从行文版式看,都与时代要求相距甚远。因此早在80年代后期,西方史学界就酝酿重编事宜,90年代组织作者队伍着手撰写。1 995年,书名为《新编剑桥中世     

Two biographies on Braudel

Fernand Braudel. By Giuliana Gemelli. (Paris: Editions Odile Jacob, 1995), 376 pp.

Braudel. By Pierre Daix. (Paris: Flammarion, 1995), 565 pp.     

试论滚兔岭文化的两个问题

通过滚兔岭文化因素分析,提出黑龙江沿岸的乌里尔文化和经松嫩平原西来的角状把手等文化因素与滚兔岭文化的形成密切相关。乌里尔文化是滚兔岭文化的重要源头。滚兔岭文化虽与蜿蜒河—波尔采文化关系密切,但本质上属于截然不同的两个考古学文化。他们之间可能是对立的关系,若同意滚兔岭文化是古代挹娄的遗存,就不能同时把蜿蜒河—波尔采文化也视为挹娄的物质文化。     

楚文字新读二则

本文是关于战国楚文字材料的二则札记,对大府镐铭的第二句作了新的释读,把楚简中一般读为“冢”的字改读为“豬”。     

二则金文考

从字形分析入手,重新隶释出战国王命虎符铭文中的“虎”字以及九年戈铭文中的“■”字。     

敦煌变文作品校录二种

语补。“医王、大医王” ,佛经里常见 ,如《大乘本生心地观经》卷八有云 :“大医王应病与药 ,菩萨随宜演化。”《大智度论》卷二十三又说 :“佛如医王 ,法如良药 ,僧如瞻病人 ,戒如服药禁忌。”(2 3)□ :原字残去半边 ,仅剩右半部“易” ,究竟为何字 ,难以确定。(2 4 )该行残损