Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine CappadociaDumbarton Oaks
Wharton Epstein
ISBN: 0884021459
price: $45.00
Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church) was the principal sanctuary of a
large monastic center in Byzantine Cappadocia, now central
Turkey. This cave church was carved into the soft volcanic stone
of the region and decorated with frescoes in several stages
between the mid-ninth and mid-tenth centuries. The church
preserves one of the richest ensembles of painting to survive
from the early Middle Ages. The extremely high-quality frescoes
of the final phase of decoration are also the only monumental
works of metropolitan inspiration to survive from the mid-tenth
century, a period identified as a "Renaissance" because
of the dominance of classicizing form in the minor arts.
The author presents the results of a photographic survey carried
out after the recent restoration of the frescoes under the
auspices of UNESCO. She discusses the chronology of the
architecture and the decoration of the church and analyzes the
monument's artistic and historical significance.
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