The overall objective of the present study aims at exploring the history of liturgical textiles and their distribution and use through the years, eventually focusing on the core of the current work, being the recording, analysis and investigation of the extant Byzantine epitaphioi originating from the Western Coast of the Black Sea. The history of Byzantium and its neighbors, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Moldavia and the Balkans, bind these regions together in various ways. Their interactions through wars, treaties, diplomatic affairs, religious issues and cultural exchanges, promoted the distribution of luxurious textiles which may be found today in monasteries and museums as a reflection of their history. Despite the fact that Byzantine textiles have not been thoroughly studied in the past years, Epitaphioi appear to have attracted significant interest from scholars and researchers.
The work presented here explores the style, function, iconography, manufacturing technology, production, distribution and preventive conservation of Byzantine epitaphioi of the Western coast of the Black Sea, attempting to better understand them and provide answers to the following research questions: what is the geographic distribution of these epitaphioi; what typologies may be developed according to the epitaphioi’ style, iconography, and function? How preventive conservation can assist in preserving and studying epitaphioi and what are the most appropriate scientific tools and procedures to achieve these?
To achieve the objectives of this study and to provide answers to its research questions, a critical review of existing secondary sources was performed. Hence, an extensive investigation of available bibliographical data was carried out cross-referencing information from a variety of sources and providing suggestions for future research.
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