Summary
Ballian Anna, Church Silver and Ottoman Art: From Constantinople to Mount Athos
Although the material in the treasuries and sacristies of Mount Athos is a long way from being published and studied in depth, a few preliminary thoughts can be expressed about the nature of silverwork from the 16th to the early 18th centuries. Broadly speaking, Athonite silverwork is not different from the silverwork of other large monastic centres insomuch as the patrons and the style of art commissioned by them remain the same, both of these being centred on the Ottoman capital and its art.
In the 17th century the continuities with the previous period are clear. In addition to the patronage groups that flourished in the 16th century, such as the princes of Moldavia and Wallachia, and the Christian elite of the capital, that is to say, the Christian officials in the service of the Ottoman administration and high-ranking prelates, there are now also a considerable number of monks, hieromonks (priest-monks) and ex-abbots, while from the 18th century onwards the collective patronage of guilds and communal bodies make their appearance. This social expansion of patronage has its equivalent in the art of the Ottoman capital sponsored by Muslim patrons. Patrons from the military and administrative hierarchy came to the fore, as well as the sponsors from the ranks of the master-craftsmen (ustas).
The integration of Ottoman art into the monastic environment was a long and varying process. The Gospel-cover (fig.I) is an early example of coexistence showing Byzantine art juxtaposed to Ottoman art, while a typically Christian liturgical object such as the chalice (fig, 2) Ottoman decoration is adopted and fully appropriated. The Iznik panels and the window glass of the Iviron katholikon (figs 3-2) are probably the earliest case of a large scale intervention in the decorative program of an Athonite monastic church. They can be dated to the end of the 16th century and seem to follow closely the changing modes of patronage in the Ottoman capital.
A group of benediction crosses in Iviron monastery (figs 7-6) with mounts represent a good example of 17th-century Ottoman art: an expensive courtly art consumed by the ruling elite and of high local and foreign appeal. This is best seen in the Ottoman diplomatic gifts presented to the Tsar and Russian prelates by Ottoman officials including the patriarch and Greek Christian officials and merchants ( figs 5 and 8). The manufacture of some of these goods can be traced to Greek jewellers and workshops in Galata working in an early Ottoman floral baroque style. In the 18th-century, patronage from Constantinople does not appear prominent on Mount Athos, while collective communal and guild donations and local silversmith's workshops play an increasingly greater role. From the mid-century local production increases, though the standard of workmanship does not compare to that of Constantinopolitan 17th-century works. A typical example is a group of caskets and other works of art that were made mainly by Greek-Vlach companies of goldsmiths that travelled around the Balkans and were the bearers of a uniform, schematic style with an emphasis on the Central European baroque, a style that was implemented up until the 19th century.
