The perception of icons in the late Byzantine world: some evidence in a treasury inventory of Hagia Sophia

Paul Hetherington

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Byzantine Studies and History Historical and Religious Studies of Rome Archaeology and Historical Studies

Abstract

Abstract In 1396 an inventory of the treasury of Hagia Sophia was commissioned. It was written by three educated laymen who all had experience of court culture, and they listed some 180 items. Their descriptions of the few icons that they listed is of interest for several reasons: they do not mention the date or period of the icons, nor their style, condition, size, donors or any inscriptions that they displayed. Their only way of describing them was by the title of the subject of each icon. This suggests that, at any rate for laymen, the subject of an icon was of overwhelming importance, and this factor alone was thought to be sufficient to identify an icon in an inventory of this kind.

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