Pseudo-Kûfic
Ornament in Byzantine Art
177
included Arabic texts rapidly spread out across the
Muslim world and started to be exported to its
surroundings (Dimand, 1927, p. 275). Among the
textile products, there are
some examples dated back to
the 8
th
and 9
th
centuries.
However,
these
examples
include curved decorations
that can be described as
belonging to the Arabs or in
Islamic characters, rather than
merely being kufic characters. Still, this usage shows that there is
an influence in terms of decorations. After this stage, kufic
characters started to spread as an element of decoration, which
dates back to the 10
th
and 11
th
centuries. In the 12
th
and 13
th
centuries, the products of the Islamic culture were spread to many
areas from paintings to textile products. On the other hand, there is
a conventional usage area in any type of decoration. For example,
in "the Virgin and the Child" paintings of Ugolino di Nerio in 1315,
Paolo Veneziano in 1354, and Gentile de Fabriano in 1423, we see
the Islamic writing characters (pseudo-kufic / apseudo-kufic) in many details such as the
edges of the Virgin Mary's scarf and the circumference of the aureole around her head
(Picture 15 – 15a – 15b).
Picture 13. Colourful bowl located in the
trove of sacred relics
of San Marco Basilica
(Walker, 2008).
Pseudo-Kûfic Ornament in Byzantine Art
179
In the architectural sense, pseudo-kufic characters was initially seen not exactly as a style
of writing, but as decorations made by
bringing pieces of bricks on a wall together
with various arrangements. In this regard,
kufic influences can
be observed in the Hosios
Lokas Monastery that has the pieces of bricks
used on the walls as an element of decoration,
and in the fresco in the Katholikon dated to
the 10
th
century (Picture 18 – 18a) (Pedone &
Cantone, 2013, p. 129). Here, there is a
bordure made with the symmetrical repetition
of the letter "Alif" taken from the flowery
kufic. In the fresco of Joshua, the son of
Picture 16. Embossing from the 13th century
(Spittle, 1954).
Picture 17. The Last Supper, San Esteban Church, 1480-
1500. (http://viajarconelarte.blogspot.com.tr/2013/07/la-
iglesia-de-san-nicolas-en-burgos.html)
Picture 18, 18a. Fresco in the Katholikon of Hosios Loukas,
from the 10th century
(Pedone & Cantone, 2013).
Picture 19, 20. Types of decoration from Church of the Virgin Hosios
Loukas Monastery (Megaw, The Chronology of Some
Middle-Byzantine Churches, 1931).