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The first step in making copies was the production of tracings; most of them were made by N. Kluge, but R. Gregory, Adli Bay, and A. A. Green also produced some of them. The method was simple. Tracing paper was attached to a section of the mosaic panel and an assistant copied each tessera in pencil (Figs. 68, 69; Pls. 1, 2). Thus, the tracings render the exact size and shape of every tessera and, therefore, the precise scale and design of the panels. The tracings were then sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be photographed. Blueprints backed on linen were produced and sent back to Istanbul. The blueprints were then painted with egg tempera, most of which was done by A. A. Green. Tracings of the Deesis panel (Fig. 58) were made by both Kluge and Green, and the painting was done by Green. The Deesis copy was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 1944 and is still on permanent display there. The institute produced one copy of the panels of Constantine IX and Zoe, St. Ignatios Theophoros, St. Ignatios the Younger (each of the panels is in three sections) (Pls. 3-5), and the emperor before Christ enthroned. 61 The first three of these copies were restored by Dumbarton Oaks in 1997. Unfortunately, the location of the emperor before Christ enthroned has not yet been determined. The method of producing casts was developed in 1937-38 at the Fogg Art Museum, initiated by Whittemore and the director of the museum, Edward W. Forbes. 62 The hand-painted casts were made by G. Holt (Figs. 70, 71). The idea was to reproduce the vibrant surfaces of the mosaics and the texture of the tesserae. A mold, or squeeze, was made by applying a cellucotton pad to a moistened mosaic surface. Once removed, the pad was covered with shellac. When dried, this new mold was covered with a thin film of oil, and a plaster cast containing reinforcing fabric was made from it. After drying, the cast was painted. The Metropolitan Museum purchased several of the casts, including the Virgin and archangel in the Department of the Metropolitan Museum. See also Ch. R. Morey, The Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (New York, 1944), 201-10. 61 The panel of St. Ignatios Theophoros (Pl. 4) was acquired in 1947 by Dumbarton Oaks from the Byzantine Institute, and St. Ignatios the Younger (Pl. 5) was acquired in 1950. Constantine IX and Zoe with Christ enthroned was probably acquired around this time also (Pl. 3). According to the dossier, St. Ignatios Theophoros was exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1947 in Early Christian and Byzantine Art. All three pieces were lent to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts for the exhibition The Arts of Man, 6 August 1962-18 January 1963. 62 Holt, “A Casting Method of Reproducing Mosaics,” 177-79. 66
71 South gallery, making a squeeze of Constantine IX (photo: P. Iskender, Byzantine Institute, ca. 1938) 70 Apse, making a squeeze of the Virgin enthroned The squeeze was the first step in producing casts. (photo: P. Iskender, Byzantine Institute, ca. 1938) 67
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Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul:
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© 1998 Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for
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Acknowledgments The catalogue and e
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Thomas Whittemore (photo: Maurice S
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mately, the Fossatis’ studies wou
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7 5 6 (above) General view of Hagia
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9 10 (right) Inner narthex, looking
Page 16 and 17: 13 Detail, the dome Each rib of the
Page 18 and 19: Aya Sofia reveal a radical change i
Page 20 and 21: 16 20 Detail, south vestibule, lune
Page 22 and 23: 19 22 Central nave after the Fossat
Page 24 and 25: 21 24 Fossati patterns in the apse
Page 26 and 27: 23 24 Lunette and barrel vault over
Page 28 and 29: Diagram of the mosaics in the south
Page 30 and 31: 30 28 North tympanum, lunette, St.
Page 32 and 33: 30 sion Hagia Sophia was closed for
Page 34 and 35: on the conservation of the mosaics,
Page 36 and 37: Besides data on conservation, the d
Page 38 and 39: during the search for the figural p
Page 40 and 41: 36 Apse conch and bema vault The ce
Page 42 and 43: 39 South gallery, testing of the mo
Page 44 and 45: tached tesserae were reset by gluin
Page 46 and 47: 48 Gridding the apse mosaic During
Page 48 and 49: 50 48 Central nave, looking east To
Page 50 and 51: 50 52 53 South gallery, Emperor Joh
Page 52 and 53: 52 55 56 South gallery, the Deesis
Page 54 and 55: 54 58 59 The Deesis The panel repre
Page 56 and 57: 61 bed, had a more detailed paintin
Page 58 and 59: 63 Conservator’s notebook entry I
Page 60 and 61: In the central lunette in the inner
Page 64 and 65: 67 Central nave in the morning, loo
Page 68 and 69: apse and three letters from the ins
Page 71: Plate 2 Tracing of a Latin cross Gr
Page 75: Plate 4 Reproduction of St. Ignatio
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