Download: Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul - Dumbarton Oaks

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Deesis after consolidation and cleaning, but before retouching
The three figures of the panel survive in a fragmentary state. Half figures of Christ
(center) and John the Baptist (right) and the head and right shoulder of the Virgin
Mary (left) have been preserved. In addition, a fragment of the jeweled leg of
Christ’s throne remains below him. (photo: Byzantine Institute)
rendering bed and the intermediate layer of plaster usually consist of lime, brick
dust, and chopped straw. The fine plaster of the third, uppermost layer, or the
setting bed, is composed of lime and marble dust; it was applied in small sections
so the tesserae could be added while the plaster was still moist (see Fig. 44). The
thickness of the plaster varies in different areas of the building. For example,
Whittemore noticed that in the narthex the mosaic surfaces of the walls and vaults
are rather curved and have uneven joins, because the setting bed plaster was applied
in sections smaller, and therefore more numerous, than was done in other parts of
the building. 42 The uneven surfaces of the walls and the differing thicknesses of the
setting bed suggest that many different hands worked at the same time on the
execution of the narthex. Another explanation might be that the mosaicists had
only a short period of time to complete the decoration and therefore had to work
42 Whittemore, First Preliminary Report, 12-13.
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