Images: select color images from the Church of Chora, Wikimedia Commons, and Byzantine Legacy; full cycle in black and white in Underwood (1966); select color images in Ousterhout (2002; 2017); select color images from Klein and Ousterhout (2004).
Clavis number: ECMA 112
Other descriptors: Cycle of the Virgin Mary; Life of the Virgin
Location: inner narthex of the Chora Church, Istanbul
Category: mosaics
Related literature: Protevangelium of James; Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew; Nativity of Mary
Featured characters and locations: Anna (mother of Mary), Gabriel (angel), Joachim (father of Mary), Joseph (of Nazareth), Salome (midwife), Zechariah (priest).
1. DESCRIPTION
Material: paint on stone
Size: not provided
Date: ca. 1315–1321 CE
Provenance: a product of Theodore Metochites the last restorer and ktetor of the Chora Church.
Images: individual descriptions provided below. Map of the Inner Narthex adapted from the Chora Museum.
Figure 1: “Joachim’s Offering Rejected”
Inscription: Ή προσέν [εξις τῶv δών δώρων] (?); “The presentation of the offerings.”
Location: northern pendentives (western half only); first bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 1:1-2; Ps.-Mt. 2
Source: Wikimedia; Underwood 1966, p. 86, fig. 82
Figure 2: “Unidentified Scene”
Inscription: None
Location: north lunette; first bay
Related Verses: unknown
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Underwood 1966, p. 88, fig. 83
Figure 3: “Joachim in the Wilderness”
Inscription: [Ό ἄγιος] Ίωακείμ προσευχόμ(εν)ος έν τῷ ὄρει μετἁ τῶν | ποιμένων; “Joachim praying on the mountain with the shepherds.”
Location: southeastern pendentive; first bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 1:4; Ps.-Mt. 2
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Underwood 1966, p. 90, fig. 84
Figure 4: “Annunciation to St. Anna”
Inscription: Ή Ά (γία) Ἄννα προσευχομέ | νη ἐν τῷ παραραδείσῷ; “St. Anna praying in the garden.”
Location: eastern lunette; first bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 2:3-4:1; Ps.-Mt. 2
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Klein and Ousterhout 2004, p. 96, fig. 19
Figure 5: “The meeting of Joachim and Anna”
Inscription: Ή σύλληψις τ(ῆς) Θ(εοτό)κου; “The conception of the Theotokos.”
Location: eastern soffit; separating the first and second bays
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 4:4; Ps.-Mt. 3
Source: Wikimedia; Underwood 1966, p. 96, fig. 86
Figure 6: “The Birth of the Virgin”
Inscription: Ἡ γέννησις της Θ(εοτό)κου; “The birth of the Theotokos.”
Location: eastern lunette; second bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 5:2; Ps.-Mt. 4
Source: Wikimedia; Ousterhout 2002, pp. 38–39, fig. 18
Figure 7: “The First Seven Steps of the Virgin”
Inscription: Ἡ ἑπταβηματίζουσα; “She who takes seven steps.”
Location: eastern soffit; separating the second and third bays
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 6:1
Source: Chora Church; Underwood 1966, p. 104, fig. 88
Figure 8: “The Virgin Blessed by the Priests”
Inscription: Ἡ εὐλόγησις τῶν ίερέων; “The blessing of the priests.”
Location: western half of vault; second bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 6:2
Source: Wikimedia; Chora Church; Ousterhout 2002, pp. 40–41, fig. 20
Figure 9: “The Virgin Caressed by Her Parents”
Inscription: Ή κολακεία τῆς Θ(εοτό)κου; “The fondling of the Theotokos.”
Location: eastern half of vault; second bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 6:1
Source: Wikimedia; Ousterhout 2002, pp. 40–41, fig. 21
Figure 10: “Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple”
Inscription: Τά ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων; “The Holy of Holies.”
Location: third bay vault
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 7:2; Ps.-Mt. 4; Nat. Mary 6
Source: Chora Church; Ousterhout 2002, p. 18, fig. 22
Figure 11: “The Virgin Fed by an Angel”
Inscription #1: Ἡ Θ(εοτό)κος δεχομένη τ(ὸν) ἄρτον παρὰ τοῦ ἀγγέ(λο)υ; “The Theotokos receiving bread from the angel.”
Inscription #2: Μ(ήτ)ηρ Θ(εο)ῦ; “Mother of God.”
Location: eastern soffit; separating third and fourth bays
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 8:1; Ps.-Mt. 6; Nat. Mary 7
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Underwood 1966, p. 126, fig. 92
Figure 12: “Instruction of the Virgin in the Temple”
Inscription: Ἡ Θ(εοτό)κος δεχομένη ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ; “The Theotokos receiving instruction in the temple.”
Location: western soffit; separating the third and fourth bays
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 7–8; Ps.-Mt. 6; Nat. Mary 7
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Underwood 1966, p. 129, fig. 93
Figure 13: “The Virgin Receiving the Skein of Purple Wool῾
Inscription: Ἐνεγκόντες οἱ ὑπηρέται ταῖς παρθένοις | τοῦ λαβεῖν ἔρια ἔλαχε τῇ ΜαΙριὰμ τὸ πορφυροῦν; “The servants having brought the wool for the virgins to take, the purple fell to Mary’s lot.”
Location: western lunette; third bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 10; Ps.-Mt. 8
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Ousterhout 2002, p. 44, fig. 25
Figure 14: “Zacharias Praying before the Rods of the Suitors”
Inscription: Ἡ πρὸς τὰς ῤαύδους προσευχή; “The prayer before the rods.”
Location: western soffit; separating the second and third bays
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 8:2–9:1; Ps.-Mt. 8; Nat. Mary 7–8
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Underwood 1966, p. 135, fig. 95
Figure 15: “The Virgin Entrusted to Joseph”
Inscription: Ἡ πρὸν Ίωαήφ παράδοσις; “The handing over to Joseph.”
Location: western lunette; second bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 9:1–2; Ps.-Mt. 8; Nat. Mary 8
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Ousterhout 2017, p. 46, fig. 31
Figure 16: “Joseph Taking the Virgin to His House”
Inscription: Ὁ Ἰωσὴφ παραλαβὼν τὴν Θ(εοτό)κον ἀπέρΙχεται ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ; “Joseph, taking the Theotokos, goes to his house.”
Location: western soffit; separating the first and second bays
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 9:2
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Ousterhout 2017, p. 34, fig. 17
Figure 17: “The Annunciation to the Virgin at the Well”
Inscription: Ὁ εἰς τὸ φρέαρ εὐαγγελισμὸς; “The annunciation at the well.”
Location: southwestern pendentive; first bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 11:1; Ps.-Mt. 9; Nat. Mary 9
Source: Church of Chora
Figure 18: “Joseph Taking Leave of the Virgin” & “Joseph Reproaching the Virgin”
Inscription #1: Ἰδοὺ καταλιμπάνω σε ἐν τῷ | οἴκῷ μου. Εγὼ γὰρ ἀπέρχοΙμαι οἰκοδομεῖν; Μ(ήτ)ηρ Θ(εο)ῦ; “Behold, I am leaving thee in my house while I go away to build.”
Inscription #2: Μαρία, τί | τὸ δράγμα [sic; δρᾶμα?, πρᾶγμα?] τοῦτο; “Mary, what is this thy deed?”
Inscription #3: Μ(ήτ)ηρ Θ(εο)ῦ; “Mother of God.”
Location: western lunette; first bay
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 8, 9:2; Ps.-Mt. 10; Nat. Mary 10
Source: Byzantine Legacy; Underwood 1966, p. 148, fig. 99
Additional Images
Flight of Elizabeth and John
Location: outer narthex
Related Verses: Prot. Jas. 23–24
Source: Byzantine Legacy
Dormition of the Virgin
Location: inner narthex
Inscription: The dormition of the bearer of God
Related Verses: Dormition of the Virgin by the Apostle John
Source: Wikimedia
Harrowing of Hell
Location: parecclesion (side chapel)
Related Verses: Acts of Pilate (Gospel of Nicodemus) Rec. B 24
Source: Wikimedia; Chora Church
2. RELATION TO APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE
Seventeen of the eighteen mosaics directly relate to scenes present throughout the Protevangelium of James, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, and the Nativity of Mary (see the descriptions above). More specifically, figures 7, 8, 9, and 16 relate to scenes only present in the Protevangelium of James. Figures 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 13 relate to scenes that are present in both the Protevangelium of James and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. Lastly, figures 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, and 18 relate to scenes present in the Protevangelium of James, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, and the Nativity of Mary. Since the majority of figure 2 was destroyed, its relation to apocryphal literature is unknown.
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cartlidge, David R. and J. Keith Elliott. Art and the Christian Apocrypha. London and New York: Routledge, 2001 (pp. 21–46).
Klein, Holder A., and Robert Ousterhout. Restoring Byzantium: The Kariye Camii in Istanbul and Byzantine Insitute Restoration. New York: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, 2004 (p. 19).
Lafontaine-Dosogne, Jaqueline. “Iconography of the Cycle of the Life of the Virgin.” Pages 161–94 in The Kariye Djami: Volume Four Studies in the Art of the Kariye Djami and Its Intellectual Background. Edited by Paul Underwood. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966.
Millingen, Alexander Van. “The Church of S. Savior in the Chora, Kahrie Jamissi.” Pages 321–26 in Byzantine Churches in Constantinople. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1912 (pp. 321-326).
Ousterhout, Robert. Finding a Place in History: The Chora Monastery and its Patrons. Nicosia: The A.G. Leventis Foundation, 2017.
__________. “Introduction: The History of the Kariye Camii.” Pages 11–18 in The Art of the Kariye Camii. London: Scala Publishers Ltd, 2002 (p. 18).
__________. “The Inner Narthex: Cycle of the Life of the Virgin.” Pages 35–47 in The Art of the Kariye Camii. London: Scala Publishers Ltd, 2002.
__________. “The Virgin of the Chora: An Image and its Contexts.” Pages 91–109 in The Sacred Image East and West. Edited by Robert Ousterhout and Leslie Brubaker. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995.
Sevcenko, Ihor. “Theodore Metochites, the Chora, and the Intellectual Trends of his Time.” Pages 17–91 in The Kariye Djami: Volume Four Studies in the Art of the Kariye Djami and Its Intellectual Background. Edited by Paul Underwood. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966 (pp. 19–55).
Underwood, Paul A. “The Cycle of the Life of the Virgin.” Pages 60–86 in The Kariye Djami: Volume One Historical Introduction and Description of the Mosaics and Frescoes. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966.
__________. The Kariye Djami: Volume Two Plates 1–334 The Mosaics. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966 (pp. 86–151).
4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“The Beautiful Mosaics and Frescoes of the Chora.” The Beautiful Istanbul.
“The Chora.” Wikipedia.
Freeman, Evan. “Picturing Salvation – Chora’s Brilliant Byzantine Mosaics and Frescoes.” Smart History. Includes video.
Hanson, Matt. “On the Fringes of Byzantium: The Mystical Mosaics of Chora Church.” Daily Sabah. Posted 8 September 2018. Online: https://www.dailysabah.com/arts-culture/2018/09/08/on-the-fringes-of-byzantium-the-mystical-mosaics-of-chora-church.
“Kariye Camii | Pictorial Decoration: Sequence & Style.” Colombia Medieval Center for Art History and Archaeology Projects.
“Late Byzantine Art.” BCcampus.
“Monastery of Christ at Chora.” The Byzantine Legacy.
Entry created by Joseph Foltz and Darby Alvarenga, under the supervision of Christy Cobb, University of Denver, 3 December 2023.