Architrave Slab of the Entrance into the Gate Church of Funa

Abstract

The gate church of the Theodorite castle near the village of Funa appeared in 1459 and existed to 1778. Left unattended later on, it became decayed, quickly dilapidated, and finally turning into ruin after the earthquake of 1927. The experts’ conclusions concerning its origin are based mainly on the typical features of the architectonics and carved decoration of the structure, correlated with the traditions of Armenian architecture and Seljuk ornamentation. The most exquisite architectural detail of the building is the large slab with relief ornamentation that overlapped from outside the doorway of the south entrance. Two iconographic sources are published for the first time to supply new information about the slab in question along with the results of a substantive study of a large fragment of the artefact which was found by chance outside the castle short time ago. Almost a half of the composition that adorned the outermost part of the architrave survived. Its completely lost middle part can be reconstructed reliably by the photograph taken by N. N. Klepinin and the drawing by D. M. Strukov. The ornamental motif of the slab is one of the most popular in mediaeval art, being typical of the eastern decorative tradition. It is still not possible to discover the origin and exact date of the architrave which was secondary used in the church of 1459. Stylistically, structurally, and technologically it is comparable with carved architectural details of many main buildings of the capital town of Theodoro, which were erected in the 1420s. Therefore, the slab in question possibly has the same chronology, but still it could be made even earlier.