The Beribboned Cross in Christian Art of the Early Islamic Period in Iraq and the GulfBulletin d’Études Orientales 68, 2020-2021Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/QBM2Z8I5/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.AgnieszkaLicThe Beribboned Cross in Christian Art of the Early Islamic Period in Iraq and the Gulfhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/QBM2Z8I5https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/QBM2Z8I5https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/QBM2Z8I5JulieBonnéricNarmin Ali MuhammadAminBarbaraCouturaudChristianity in Iraq at the Turn of Islam: History and ArchaeologyBeyrouthPresses de l’Ifpo2023291-304Bulletin d’Études Orientales 68, 2020-2021One of the most wide-spread motifs in Christian art of the early Islamic period in Iraq and the Gulf is the beribboned cross. It derives from the Sasanian composition of a fire altar decorated with fluttering ribbons. The symbolic meaning of ribbons in the Sasanian period was associated with the notion of authority and kingship, known as <i>xᵛarənah</i> (Avestan) or <i>farr </i>(Middle Persian). The same notion could also have been expressed in this period by other motifs such as, among many others, a pair of wings, or a ram and a pomegranate. It has been argued that the combination of such motifs (multiplication of farr symbols) in a single composition expresses <i>farrah afzūn</i>, which should be translated as: ‘may glory be increased’. This provides context for the possible reading of the representation of a cross (which can be understood as a Christian symbol of farr) decorated with ribbons as a Christian expression of <i>farrah afzūn</i>, the increased glory of Christ, the victorious King of Kings.
Lic, Agnieszka. “The Beribboned Cross in Christian Art of the Early Islamic Period in Iraq and the Gulf.” In Christianity in Iraq at the Turn of Islam: History and Archaeology, edited by Julie Bonnéric, Narmin Ali Muhammad Amin, and Barbara Couturaud, 291–304. Bulletin d’Études Orientales 68, 2020-2021. Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo, 2023.
Agnieszka Lic, The Beribboned Cross in Christian Art of the Early Islamic Period in Iraq and the Gulf, in Christianity in Iraq at the Turn of Islam: History and Archaeology, ed. Julie Bonnéric, Narmin Ali Muhammad Amin, and Barbara Couturaud, Bulletin d’Études Orientales 68, 2020-2021 (Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo, 2023), 291–304.IraqNestoriansPersian gulfVII CEVII-XVIII CEVIII CEZoroastrianismarchaeologycrossgloryiconography