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Recent Developments in Arts

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 Pseudo-Kûfic Ornament in Byzantine Art
Erkan Kaya

1. Introduction
The etymological concept of the word pseudo-kufic is in Greek “pseudo” means “liar” and
“kufic” (kûfi) is used as a writing font in the Arabic alphabet. These verses because of not
providing a meaningful text mostly have taken their places in architecture as wall
decorations. Besides the front part they also have seen in frescoes. Not only in architecture
pseudo-kufic decoration also encountered in samples of handicrafts, textiles, glass, ceramics
and metals. It requires us to question in which points and the ways that the interaction has
become as the examples of these ornaments used as meaningless texts are having similarities
to the letters of the Arabic alphabet and even some of them have been exactly copied from
letters. Therefore, in this study, the pseudo-kufic applications in Byzantine architecture will
be explained with a statement of how the kufi letters have come to Byzantine architecture
from different regions. Pseudo-Kufic is a style of decoration that was common in the
structures of the Byzantine period located in the south and west of Greece as of the 11th
century (Picture 1).
2. Examples of Pseudo-Kufic
In the late 19th century, the works of some scholar
like Alois Riegl who was a pioneer in art and
history directed the further research in this area
(Pedone & Cantone, 2013, p. 121). In 1846,
Longperier showed that some of the examples
made of the Arabic alphabet had quite a similarity
between them (Spittle, 1954, p. 136) (Longperier,
1846). Archibald H. Christie then published an
article on this issue, and Walter Leo Hildburgh
cited this work many times (Spittle, 1954, p. 136)
Picture 1. Latsoudi, Greece
(Christie, 1922) (Hildburgh, 1936). The first
consistent information about the style of
architectural decoration known as pseudo-kufic is
known to have been provided by Strzygowski who
encountered the flowery kufic in the Islamic
decoration art in 1905 (Megaw, The Chronology
of Some Middle-Byzantine Churches, 1931, p.
103) (Strzygowski, 1905, p. 312). On the other
hand, in recent studies, the similarity of
ideological and cultural interests has been
Picture 2. Hosios Loukas Monastery
discovered in decoration works (Pedone &
Cantone, 2013). It is known that pseudo-kufic is found in the south of Italy, and in Greece,
Sicily and Spain (Spittle, 1954, p. 136). However, most of the studies focused on the Hosios
Loukas Monastery where the first architectural examples are located in Greece (Picture 2).
Bricks were initially used to fill the gaps on uneven walls (Megaw, The Chronology of Some
Middle-Byzantine Churches, 1931, p. 103). Certain shapes were created by evenly aligning
the parts obtained through breaking or cutting the bricks (Picture 3 – 3a). In this regard, the

Picture 3, 3a. Church of the Holy
Apostles in Athens (Frantz, 1971)
Picture 5, 5a. Architectural fragment from
Iconostasis in Church of Theotokos Hosios
Loukas.
Picture 7, 7a. Church of the Holy
Apostles Antigua Agora in Athens
175
imitation of the kufic
calligraphy known as
pseudo-kufic that brings
together various Arabic
letters and is formed with
bricks was developed in
further works produced
after these applications. In
the decorations, the series
composed by aligning the Picture 4. The Soteria Lykodemou
letters does not have any at Athens
meaning (Picture 4)
(Megaw, The Chronology
of Some Middle-Byzantine
Churches, 1931, p. 103). In
addition, it is indicated in
some studies that the letters
in this decorative Picture 6, 6a. Facade detail, from
arrangement can be church of the Holy Apostles in
translated, but these Athens.
translations cannot be understood (Spittle, 1954). In some
occasions, the Arabic writings that were imitated very
well seem to have been conveyed accurately. Stone and
marble slabs that include kufic in Greece that was under
Arab rule after 826 were dated to 960 by M. Soteriou
(Picture 5 – 5a) (Spittle, 1954, p. 139). Soteriou regarded
the emergence of these examples as a result of the
influences of the prisoners who were assimilated into the
country's population in the process of the invasion and
recapturing of the island (Spittle, 1954, p. 139).
According to another view proposed by Dalton, it was
introduced by Muslim artists who came to Greece after
the Bulgarian soldiers in the late first millennium (Spittle,
1954, p. 139).
In the vertical figures of the kufic models that had wide
usage, composing a beaked start with the arrangement of
bricks was a characteristic of this style of decoration
(Picture 6 – 6a). It is thought that this characteristic is
closely related to the existence of Arabic craftsmen in
Greece during the 11th century. Significant proof in recent
years supports the validity of this argument for at least
Athens. In some of the churches dated back to the 11th
century in Greece, the wall decorations consist of kufic
letters (Picture 7 – 7a) (Spittle, 1954, p. 136). In Hosios
Loukas, Holy Apostoloi and Panagia Lykodemou
churches are in the group that should be dated back to the
first half of the 11th century. The kufic writing friezes on
the east wall of the Church of Panagia are a good example
(Picture 8). In the Church of Panagia Lykodemoun, in
addition to the decorations of kufic letters (Picture 9), a
 176

frieze consisting of repeating the kufic

characters was used in the wall
decoration. This kind of decoration that
is well-known and often used in Islamic
arts is a style that was widely used in the
woven products by Fatimid weavers in
the first half of the 11th century (Spittle, Picture 9. The Soteria Lykodemou at
1954, p. 139). The question here is Athens (Bouras, 2004)
whether the kufic influences started to be
Picture 8. Church of the observed with architecture or with
Holy Apostles in Athens handicrafts. Since we examine the first
(Pedone & Cantone,
2013) examples seen in architecture, the
pseudo-kufic influences in the periods
earlier than these first examples should also be traced back.
Therefore, the works of the earlier periods such as coins,
textiles and bowls that can spread quickly and easily, and the Picture 9a. North facade, The Soteria
influence of these works should be considered. Lykodemou at Athens

In this respect, the dinars (Picture 10) coined by Ebu

Picture 10. The Dinar, coined by Ebu Cafer
el-Mansur, Abbasid, AD. 754-775.
Picture 11, 11a. Coin of King Offa Rex
Picture 11b. Replica of Ebu Cafer el
Mansur Dinari (Spittle, 1954)
Picture 12. Textile from Dalmatic of San
Valerius, 13th century (The Met Museum,
2014).
Cafer el-Mansur who ruled the Abbasid Dynasty
between AD 754-775 in the years 773-774 are a good
example of this influence. This example shows the proof
of the interaction on the coins issued by King Offa who
ruled Mercia in England between 757-796 (Picture 11 –
11a – 11b). The two lines of text included in the Arabic
writing bordure surrounding this coin in a circular form
can also be seen on the dinar. By copying the text on the
original dinar, the words "OFFA REX" that means King
Offa were written in the space between the Arabic lines
in the middle of the coin.
The textile products that had an important place in
moving the Arabic writing characters to the west and
could rapidly spread out to the region should definitely
be discussed. The motifs and the writing characters in the
pieces of textiles in limited number in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York are among the best
examples of the effects of the Arabic and Egyptian
textile in the west (Picture 12). These textile products
that came to the west through trade then heavily
influenced the weaving in Europe (Dimand, 1927, p.
275). The Arab conquest of Egypt in AD 641 may have
increased this interaction. The decorations in Egyptian
(Copt) weaving developed and had an important place
in the Arab world. Accordingly, the textile products that
included Arabic texts rapidly spread out across the
Muslim world and started to be exported to its
surroundings (Dimand, 1927, p. 275). Among the textile
products, there are some examples dated back to the 8th
and 9th centuries. However, these examples include
curved decorations that can be described as belonging to
 177

the Arabs or in Islamic

characters, rather than merely
being kufic characters. Still,
this usage shows that there is
an influence in terms of
decorations. After this stage,
kufic characters started to
spread as an element of
Picture 13. Colourful bowl located in the
trove of sacred relics of San Marco Basilica
decoration, which dates back
(Walker, 2008). to the 10th and 11th centuries.
In the 12th and 13th centuries,
the products of the Islamic culture were spread to many areas from
paintings to textile products. On the other hand, there is a
conventional usage area in any type of decoration. For example, in
"the Virgin and the Child" paintings of Ugolino di Nerio in 1315,
Paolo Veneziano in 1354, and Gentile de Fabriano in 1423, we see
the Islamic writing characters (pseudo-kufic / apseudo-kufic) in
many details such as the edges of the Virgin Mary's scarf and the
circumference of the aureole around her head (Picture 15 – 15a –
15b).
In addition to King Offa's coin, an early example, and the textile
products, the indicators of the interaction are also seen in other
examples of handicrafts. On and inside a bright and very colourful Picture 14, 14a. Enamel
Ciborium in Limoges, France.
bowl located in the trove of sacred relics of San Marco Basilica, a
church in Venice, Italy, there is a writing bordure influenced by flowery kufic writing
(Picture 13). Although this example dated to the 11th and 12th centuries is a late one compared
to the beginning of the interaction, it has an important place in forming a chain that gives
information regarding the development in handicrafts. The works in which the pseudo-kufic
influences can be seen are excessive in number in the 12th century. Emaye Ciborium located
in Limoges, France, and dated back to the 12th century can be shown as an example of these
works (Picture 14 – 14a). There is a bordure formed with kufic characters that are repeated
one after another on the body of Ciborium. It can be stated that Ciborium that includes
Byzantine decoration characteristics and subjects is a work having the traces of the
interaction by being combined with the Islamic style of decorations. In the 13th century, the

Picture 15. Ugolino di Nerio,The Picture 15a. Paolo Veneziano,The Picture 15b. Gentile de Fabriano, The
Virgin and the Child Virgin and the Child Virgin and the Child.
 178

pseudo-kufic influences continued to be seen

in handicrafts that had common usage. On an
enamel plate made through the process of
embossing in the 13th century (Picture 16),
there is an ancient Greek text given along the
lower edge, and also a pseudo-kufic text line
along the edges of the plate that is curved from
the two short edges to the long edges. This line
has an order that repeats some shapes within
itself. Pseudo-kufic influences are also seen in
the painting art. In "The Last Supper" painted Picture 16. Embossing from the 13th century (Spittle, 1954).
by a Spanish artist in the 15th century and that
is in the Church of San Esteban located in
Burgos, Spain, the edge of the tablecloth is
surrounded by a pseudo-kufic writing line
(Picture 17).
In the architectural sense, pseudo-kufic
characters was initially seen not exactly as a
style of writing, but as decorations made by
bringing pieces of bricks on a wall together
with various arrangements. In this regard, kufic Picture 17. The Last Supper, San Esteban Church, 1480-
influences can be observed in the Hosios Lokas 1500.
Monastery that has the pieces of bricks used on
the walls as an element of decoration, and in
the fresco in the Katholikon dated to the 10th
century (Picture 18 – 18a) (Pedone & Cantone,
2013, p. 129). Here, there is a bordure made
with the symmetrical repetition of the letter
"Alif" taken from the flowery kufic. In the
fresco of Joshua, the son of Moses' sister, there
is another pseudo-kufic writing line made with
the repetition of Arabic letters like the letter
"Sin" in particular under the bordure near the
cloth dangling from the edge of the helmet.
Picture 18, 18a. Fresco in the Katholikon of Hosios Loukas,
These traces of the interaction that we can from the 10th century (Pedone & Cantone, 2013).
describe as the example of the influences in

Picture 19, 20. Types of decoration from Church of the Virgin Hosios Loukas Monastery (Megaw, The Chronology of Some
Middle-Byzantine Churches, 1931).
 179

Picture 21. Apse wall of Church of the Virgin Hosios Picture 22. Church of the Virgin Hosios Loukas.
Loukas

Picture 23. Katholikon wall of Hosios Loukas

both frescos and textiles show how the transition into the reflections in architecture can be.
It is known that the Katholikon having a lean design with few decorations is the structure
with the oldest date. In this structure, nine types of decorations made with arranging bricks
are shown with a drawing (Picture 19) (Megaw, The Chronology of Some Middle-Byzantine
Churches, 1931, pp. 138-139). The examples regarding the simple configuration of the kufic
form in the structure are specified as a group of six types (Picture 20). Although the bricks
used here are larger in size, the craftsmanship seems to be poorer compared to those in other
places (Picture 21, 22). The old type of brick that the structure has makes one think that the
Katholikon could be built in an earlier date (Picture 23).
3. Discussion
The present study originally aimed to examine the pseudo-kufic decorations in architecture,
but it is impossible to evaluate and explain the influences only in the architectural sense. As
a matter of fact, the early examples should be looked into in order to be able to explain the
sources of the reflections in architecture. For this reason, it was necessary to determine the
point of origin by identifying the pseudo-kufic influences in textile products, handicrafts and
coins, rather than the architectural examples. The first examples of the applications were
investigated, and how the process developed chronologically was determined. The fact that
the first example of pseudo-kufic, for now, is a coin, and in parallel to that and earlier, Islamic
decorations are seen in textile products was influential in determining the chronology.
However, in order to have a clearer chronological development, more examples should be
 180

found, handicrafts and textile products should be examined through an in-depth study, and
based on the present study, the applications and similarities in architecture should be
included chronologically. Therefore, the early examples that could influence the architecture
were examined in this study. There is a need for a new study on the pseudo-kufic influences
in the Byzantine architecture that should be conducted on the architectural characteristics
that were mentioned in this paper with several examples.
As a result, the beginning of the interaction was through the export of the products decorated
with Islamic characters that can be seen in Egypt, Syria, Damascus and Tiraz regions, and
the weaving of Emevi and Abbasid, as well as their spread to other regions in the periods of
migration and invasion. The spread and use of coins by means of trade were an important
influence that could lead a king to make a copy of them. The pseudo-kufic influences in the
western world started to be seen as of the 7th century in works such as handicrafts, weaving
and coins. The first example that include the application of the pseudo-kufic usually seen on
the walls in the Byzantine architecture reached the present day from the 10th century. The
use of pseudo-kufic decorations increased in the 11th century, and its influence continued in
the 12th century.
4. References
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Bouras, C. (2004). The Soteira Lykodemou at Athens. Architecture. Deltion of the Christian
Archaeological Society, 11-24.
Byzantium and the Arabs: Relations in Crete and the Aegean Area. (1964). Dumbarton Oaks Papers,
18, 1-32.
Christie, A. H. (1922). The Development of Ornament from Arabic Script-II. The Burlington
Magazine for Connoisseurs, 41(232), 34+37-38+41.
Dimand, M. S. (1927). Egypto-Arabic Textiles Recent Accessions. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bulletin, 22(11), 275-279.
Frantz, A. (1971). The Church of the Holy Apostles. 20, 1-44.
Frieder, B. (2008). Chivary & the Perfect Prince: Tournaments, Art, and Armor at the Spanish
Habsburg Court. Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press.
Heilo, O. (2010). Seeing Eye to Eye: Islamic Universalism in the Roman and Byzantine Worlds,7th to
10th Centuries.
Hildburgh, W. L. (1936). Mediaeval Spanish Enamels and Their Relation to the Origin and
Development of Copper Champlevé Enamels of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Longperier, A. d. (1846). De l’emploi des characteres arabes dans l’ornementation chez les peuples
Chretiens de l’occident. Revue Archéologique, 696-706.
Mack, R. (2001). Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. California: University
of California Press.
Megaw, A. H. (1931). The Chronology of Some Middle-Byzantine Churches. The Annual of the
British School at Athens, 32, 90-130.
Megaw, A. H. (1932). Byzantine Architecture in Mani. The Annual of the British School at Athens, 33,
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Miles, G. C. (1956). The Arab Mosque in Athens. The Journal of the American School of Classical
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Pedone, S., & Cantone, V. (2013). The pseudo-kufic ornament and the problem of cross-cultural
relationships between Byzantium and Islam. Opuscula Historiae Artium’13, 120-136.
Sharon, G. E. (2006). Thresholds of the Sacred: Architectural, Art Historical, Liturgical, and
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Strzygowski, J. (1905). Comptes Rendus du Congres International d'Archdologie. (p. 312). Athens:
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The Met Museum. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-
online/search?ft=islamic