Status of monument -> National monument
Published in the “Official Gazette of BiH” no. 44/09.
Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 27 May to 2 June 2008 the Commission adopted a
D E C I S I O N
I
The architectural ensemble of the Orthodox church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj with movable heritage, City of Mostar, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument).
The movable heritage referred to in para. 1 of this Clause consists of a collection of 15 icons, the whereabouts of which was not known at the time this Decision was adopted, as follows:
1. St Nicholas, with scenes from his life (unknown artist)
2. St John the Evangelist (unknown artist)
3. St John the Forerunner (John the Baptist) – the beheading of St John the Forerunner (unknown Cretan artist)
4. Panagia Skopiotisa (unknown Greek artist)
5. The Descent into Hades (The Harrowing of Hell) (unknown Serbian icon-painter)
6. St John the Evangelist (unknown Greek artist)
7. St Panteleimon (unknown Greek artist)
8. Synaxis of the Archangels (unknown local artist)
9. Archangels Michael and Gabriel (unknown local artist)
10. Madonna and Christ (unknown artist)
11. Jesus Christ (unknown Greek artist)
12. Triptych with two unidentified saints and the Mother of God Vaster than the Heavens (unknown local artist)
13. The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (unknown local artist)
14. St George Cephalopharos with scenes from his life (Stanoje Popović of Martinci)
15. St Athanasius of Alexandria (Andrija Raičević)
The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 872 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 6/69 and 6/73 (old survey), Land Register entry nos. 6 and 1212, title deed no. 618, cadastral municipality Blagaj, City of Mostar, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The provisions relating to protection measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 9/02 and 70/06) shall apply to the National Monument.
II
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the protection, restoration, conservation, rehabilitation and presentation of the National Monument.
The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with basic details of the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.
III
To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument on the area defined in Clause 1 para. 2 of this Decision, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated:
- all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, reconstruction and refurbishment works, and works designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- construction works on the Orthodox church designed to restore its original appearance, based on documentation on its original appearance and the current condition of the property, shall be permitted;
- the adaption of the church hall to bring it in line with modern living conditions shall be permitted. The works shall not be detrimental to or alter the outward appearance of the property (size, the disposition and size of the openings, the treatment of the façade, the roof cladding) or alter the relationship between the buildings within the architectural ensemble;
- all works that could endanger the National Monument are prohibited, as is the erection of temporary facilities or permanent structures not designed for the sole purpose of protecting and presenting the National Monument;
The following emergency protection measures are hereby stipulated for the purpose of rehabilitation of the property:
- clearing the architectural ensemble of waste matter, rubble, soil and vegetation;
- clearing the walls of vegetation;
- erecting temporary protection for the buildings in the architectural ensemble to shelter them from the elements;
- conducting a detailed architectural survey of the current condition of the buildings in the architectural ensemble;
- conducting a structural analysis of the surviving structural elements of the church (walls, apse dome, bell tower);
- removing those structures that examination reveals beyond doubt to be at risk of collapse;
- cataloguing, conserving and suitably presenting the dismantled structures;
- conducting repairs and structural consolidation of the structural elements;
- the dumping of waste is prohibited.
To protect the meaning of the architectural ensemble, a buffer zone is hereby established, consisting of the plots bordering directly on the site of the National Monument (c.p. nos. 716, 870/1, 870/2, 870/3, 870/5, 873, 874, 887/, 887/2, 922/1, 924 and 927). In this buffer zone, the construction of new buildings that could be detrimental in size or height to the National Monument and its position in the image of the town is prohibited.
The following protection measures are hereby stipulated for the movable heritage:
The Government of the Federation shall provide suitable physical and technical conditions for the safe-keeping of the movable heritage.
The display and other forms of presentation of the movable heritage in Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be carried out on the basis of the conditions specified by the federal ministry responsible for culture.
Supervision of the implementation of the measures to protect the movable heritage shall be carried out by the federal ministry responsible for culture.
IV
All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.
V
The removal of the movable heritage items referred to in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision (hereinafter: the movable heritage) from Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited.
By way of exception to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Clause, the temporary removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina of the movable heritage for the purposes of display or conservation shall be permitted if it is established that conservation works cannot be carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Permission for temporary removal under the conditions stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall be issued by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, if it is determined beyond doubt that it will not jeopardize the movable heritage in any way.
In granting permission for the temporary removal of the movable heritage, the Commission shall stipulate all the conditions under which the removal from Bosnia and Herzegovina may take place, the date by which the items shall be returned to the country, and the responsibility of individual authorities and institutions for ensuring that these conditions are met, and shall notify the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the relevant security service, the customs authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the general public accordingly.
VI
Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation thereof.
VII
The Government of the Federation, the federal ministry responsible for regional planning, the federal ministry responsible for culture, the Federation heritage protection authority, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to VI of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.
VIII
The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba)
IX
Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.
X
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of BiH.
This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.
No: 09-02-134/08-4
29 May 2008
Sarajevo
Chair of the Commission
Amra Hadžimuhamedović
E l u c i d a t i o n
I – INTRODUCTION
Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.
On 17 March 2003 the Commission to Preserve National Monuments received a petition/proposal from Sulejman Demirović to designate the Orthodox church in Blagaj as a national monument.
Pursuant to the provisions of the law, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument, pursuant to Article V para. 4 of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION
In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:
- documentation on the location of the property (copy of cadastral plan);
- data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.;
- historical, architectural and other documentary material on the property, as set out in the bibliography forming part of this Decision.
The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the property are as follows:
1. Details of the property
Location
The architectural ensemble of the Orthodox church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj is located at the entrance to the town, on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 872 (new survey), corresponding to c.p. 6/69 and 6/73 (old survey), Land Register entry nos. 6 and 1212, title deed no. 618, property of the Serbian Orthodox parish and board of education of the Zahum and Herzegovina eparchy, cadastral municipality Blagaj, City of Mostar, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Access to the National Monument is from the west, from the street linking the main street in Blagaj and the settlement on the opposite side of the Buna via the Leho bridge.
To the south of the church are the remains of the priest’s hall.
The main axis of the church lies east-west, with the entrance at the west end and the altar apse at the east end.
Historical information
The church of St Basil of Ostrog was built during the Austro-Hungarian period. Work began on the church in 1892 and was completed in 1893. The church was consecrated on the Feast of the Dormition (29 August).
Inside the church is a plaque measuring 80 cm wide and 100 cm high, with an inscription recording the construction of the church:
To the glory of the uncreated, consubstantial and
coeternal Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
this holy and heavenly temple is erected
in Blagaj to the glory and honour of our great Father
Metropolitan Basil of Ostrog the miracle-worker
through the efforts and donations of the Serbian Orthodox people, 1892.
The church of St Basil of Ostrog was designed in an eclectic style.
The bell tower of the church was erected in 1934.
The priest's house (church hall) was built in the late 19th and early 20th century.
In the early 1980s an inventory of the church was carried out. Icons were found in worn-out ecclesiastical vestments and in the area under the choir steps. A number of oils on canvas were also found there – amateur works dating from the 1940s, donated to the church in memory of deceased persons. Some broken candlesticks and a cast silver icon lamp were also found. The paintings were presumably hidden during World War II. All the works of art had suffered from being kept in unsuitable conditions.
The church had 15 icons, varying in both artistic and historical value, and dating from between the 15th/16th and the 19th centuries. Among the most valuable were: “Unidentified saint,” “The Harrowing of Hell,” “St John the Evangelist,” St Panthelemon,” and “St George with scenes from his Life” (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 202). The church also contained a number of modern Russian icons.
The iconostasis was installed in the church in 1893, and featured the figures of twenty saints in oils on canvas. The Royal Doors were also painted. The iconostasis remained in use until the 1992-1995 war when, according to Father Danilo, the priest of the church at the time the Decision to designate the Historic Urban Area of Blagaj as a national monument was being drafted in 2005, the church's entire movable property was destroyed.
2. Description of the property
In terms of spatial organization, the church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj is a single-naved church with parvis, nave and altar area.
The church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj lies with its long axis east-west, with the entrance at the west end.
The church is rectangular in plan, with sides of approx. 9.00 and 16.75 m on the outside. The apse at the east end is semicircular in plan and has a semi-calotte roof.
The building is approx. 6.95 m in height from ground level to the roof cornice, and the apse is approx. 5.25 m in height.
The roughly square bell tower, with sides of 3.40 and 3.70 m, stands in the central axis of the west façade. The bell tower is approx. 15 m in height.
The walls of the church are of stone and are approx. 80 cm thick. They were originally plastered and whitewashed inside and out.(1) The quoins are ashlar, left exposed on the façade. The first course of stone in the church wall is also left exposed, forming a socle. The walls end in a simply moulded cornice.
The roof over the nave was gabled. The bearing structure of the wooden roof trusses above the nave was probably based on a system of transverse wooden trusses in the form of hanging trusses.(2)
The apse area is covered by a semidome. The church itself had a gabled roof.(3)
There was a single row of windows on the façades of the building, all of them projecting outwards from the wall face. The north and south façades each had three arched windows measuring 115 cm wide x 255 cm high to the apex of the arch, framed on the outside with plain stone frames about 20 cm wide with no mouldings. Inside, the window openings measure 155 cm wide x 295 cm high to the apex of the arch.
The east, apse end of the building has one window, set lower than the windows in the other walls. This window measures 105 cm wide x 240 cm high to the apex of the arch, and is framed on the outside by a simple stone frame about 20 cm wide with no mouldings. Inside, the window opening measures 110 cm wide x 230 cm high to the apex of the arch.
The bell tower on the west frontispiece was built of evenly cut stone with cement pointing. The structure of the bell tower rests on four massive pillars, two of which are engaged, set into the wall structure (a tetrapylon system). The pillars measure 104 x 100 cm (free-standing) and 74 x 100 cm (engaged). The bases and capitals of the pillars have mouldings. The pillars are linked by moulded round arches standing proud from the wall face. The pillars support a cross vault, on which traces of sky blue pigment with gold stars can be seen. Gold stars also feature on the intrados of the arches. Traces of gold pigment can be seen on the arch over the entrance to the church, and three gold and red crosses can be seen between the entrance arch and the vault.
Functionally, the bell tower consists of a ground floor and three stages. The ground floor of the bell tower has three round-arched openings about 1.65 m wide, leading into the church. The ground floor of the bell tower is separated from the upper stages by a simple band of plaster about 40 cm high.
There are three rows of windows on the bell tower, corresponding to the three upper stages. The first row consists of one arched window on each of the north, west and south façades of the bell tower. Those to the north and south are framed on the outside by stone frames with no mouldings. The windows measure about 80 cm wide x 210 cm high to the apex of the arch, including the frames. Below the windows, and formally joined to them, is a square panel with mouldings. The entire window element including the square panel stands proud of the wall face and is linked to the key stone of the ground floor arch.
The opening to the west is 205 cm wide overall and about 450 cm high, and rises through to the third stage. It is topped by a cross with simple decoration, and framed by moulded stone blocks. Inside the opening are three elements, one above the other on the vertical axis. At the bottom is a square panel with mouldings, 115 cm wide, within which is a window of the same shape as those on the north and south façades. Above the window is a rosette with a diameter of 115 cm, surrounded by a stone ring with no mouldings, and with a stylized cross inside the rosette.
The openings on the second stage feature on the north and south façades, set directly above those of the first stage, and are in the form of a stone rosette consisting of a moulded inner and outer stone ring within which is a stylized cross.
The third stage of the bell tower is not square in plan, like the rest of the tower, but octagonal, and is narrower than the stages below. The third stage has openings on all four sides. A simple moulded string course below them accentuates the change in plan of the bell tower. The elongated windows are round-arched, with the arch accentuated by a different kind of stone and by standing proud of the wall face. The windows have no exterior frames. Above them is a rosette framed in a stone ring.
Judging from the visible remains of the roof of the tower, it was probably topped by an onion dome of baroque form, with galvanized iron cladding over a wooden substructure.(4)
The entrance to the church is from the west, through the arched passageway through the ground floor of the bell tower. The rectangular entrance portal of the church measures 1.50 m wide x 2.70 m high, not counting the frame, which is about 30 cm wide, without mouldings, and is composed of evenly-cut stone blocks. The double-valved doors are metal, each valve decorated with three rhombs in relief.
The inside of the church is rectangular in plan, measuring 11.60 m long x 7.50 m wide. Functionally, it consists of the parvis, nave and altar area.
The north and south side walls of the church are divided by pilasters into three bays, within each of which are three arched windows.
The first bay forms the parvis. The remains of the wooden staircase that led to the gallery can be seen by the south wall of the parvis, and on both the north and south walls the position of the choir gallery supports can still be seen, with the remains of the wooden beams forming the joists of the gallery. The stone bases of the pillars of the choir gallery can also be seen on the church floor.
Three stone steps in the niche of a door in the middle of the west wall of the church lead to the first stage of the bell tower.
The nave is roughly 8.75 x 7.50 m.
The altar area is domed, and has a round-arched opening in the middle of the east wall. A proscomidion has been created in the shape of a small arched niche in the angle formed by the north and east walls of the altar area. The middle of the altar area is occupied by the stone-built altar.
Movable heritage
In 1984, Ivanka Ribarević Nikolić conducted an inventory of the movable heritage in the church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj. The fifteen icons catalogued were presented in the periodical Hercegovina. Chronologically, the icons in the collection range in date from the 15th/16th to the latter half of the 19th century. Since all the icons were damaged (damage to the painted surface and woodworm damage), after they were catalogued, conservation and restoration works were carried out.
1. THE LIFE OF ST NICHOLAS
Artist: work of a local northern Dalmatian artist
Date: early 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 54.5 x 42.5 x 2.5 cm
Description: The composition of the central panel consists of the figure of the saint with the half-length figure of Christ in the top left corner and the Virgin in the top right corner, facing one another; Christ is portrayed holding the Gospel in his left hand and making a gesture of benediction with his right, while the Virgin is holding an omophorion in both hands. They are handing the Gospel and omophorion, his episcopal attributes, to St Nicholas.
St Nicholas is portrayed seated on a throne with a red cushion, giving a blessing with his right hand and holding an open book in his left.(5) The saint is portrayed in the robes of an archpriest: an epitrachelion decorated with black crosses on a light green ground, a red mantle and dark green undervestments. His epigonation, on his right thigh, is decorated with the figure of Christ. The background and the throne are gold, with linear floral motifs identical to those on his undervestments. His halo is executed with a punch, with a tendril-like floral ornament. The central panel is surrounded by sixteen scenes from the life of St Nicholas, above each of which is an unrolled scroll with a text. The signatures are tinted with red pigment on a pale ground covered with a thick coat of varnish; the pigment has faded from most of the inscriptions, leaving only the varnish.
The figures in the scenes from the saint's life are not well proportioned, with heads too large for their bodies, as is particularly noticeable in the case of the standing figures. In most cases, open drapery or a chequerboard design on the floor conveys an impression of depth in the interior scenes, while the frequent representation of architecture in the exterior scenes follows the principle of inverse perspective. The margins of the icon, particularly that of the central panel, are indicated by parallel lines on a gold ground and decorated with tendril-like flora ornaments in the middle and at the corners.
The scenes from the saint's life are as follows (horizontally from left to right):
- The ordination of St Nicholas as a deacon (St Nicholas, portrayed as a young man, kneeling before the throne in the altar of a church; in front of his is an elderly archpriest with a long beard laying his hands on the saint's head, and in the background are two deacons. The floor of the interior is in the form of a chequerboard)
- The ordination of St Nicholas as a bishop (the saint is kneeling before an archpriest, who is laying his hands on the saint's head; above them is a bird in flight. The floor of the interior is in the form of a chequerboard)
- The Holy Trinity (to the left is Christ, seated on a throne, with a cross in his right hand. Beside him is God the Father, with a triangular halo; the Holy Spirit was probably represented by a dove in the middle, but that part of the icon is damaged)
- The signature above the scene is damaged and illegible. The scene is of a group of saints – Ivanka Ribarević Nikolić assumes it to be a scene of the ordination of St Nicholas as bishop
- The signature is illegible. The saint is portrayed in a prison cell, receiving the Gospel from Christ and an omophorion from the Virgin
- St Nicholas rescues falsely accused men from death (in the foreground are three men, hands bound, on their knees, wearing dark clothes and red caps. To their right is an executioner, holding a raised sword. The saint, standing behind the condemned men, is preventing them from being executed by seizing the sword from the executioner)
- St Nicholas throwing pieces of silver into a house, rescuing three maidens from prostitution (in the room is an elderly man, asleep on the left, with his three daughters standing on his right. The saint is throwing a purse full of coins through the window. There is red drapery in the top right corner)
- St Haralampie stamping out the devil's plague (the signature is partly damaged. The saint is portrayed with long grey hair and beard, standing, his right hand pointing to a hand giving a blessing from a cloud, and holding the Gospel in his left. At his feet is a small naked figure with black wings, the personification of the spirit of Satan. There are three poplars in the background)
- St Spyridon (depicting a funerary chapel)
- St Nicholas destroying idols (the saint, accompanied by another person, is standing at the altar of a temple, throwing out the figures of idols. Two black birds with outspread wings are depicted in the top part of the scene)
- Death of St Nicholas (the saint is lying on a catafalque covered with red fabric, wearing bishop's vestments; beside him is a bishop and a group of the common people)
- St Nicholas saving a ship from sinking (the ship is depicted on stormy seas; the saint is on the ship surrounded by fishermen)
- Appearing to the Emperor Constantine and Ablabius, the saint liberates the stratelates (the signature is illegible. Ablabius is portrayed sleeping, top left, with the saint standing at his head. Constantine the Great, also sleeping, is portrayed to the right, wearing a crown, with the saint standing at his head. Three men – the stratelates [generals] are portrayed in a fortress at the bottom of the scene)
- St Nicholas resurrecting a drowned man (the scene is of a boat on which the saint is standing, surrounded by boatmen. The drowned man, who has just been rescued from the sea, is lying across the edge of the boat. To the left, on shore, is a kneeling figure with arms outspread, observing the scene)
- St Nicholas saving a ship from sinking (to the left of the scene, on shore, is the figure of a woman wrapped in a red mantle, holding a pitcher. To the right, on the open sea, is a ship with the saint's head on the prow)
- St Nicholas bestowing eyes on King Stephen (St Nicholas is portrayed standing in front of open draperies, with King Stephen, a crown on his head, kneeling before him. The floor of the room is in the form of a chequerboard. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 202-205)
2. ST JOHN (?) THE EVANGELIST
Artist: work of a local northern Dalmatian artist
Date: early 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 39.5 x 55 x 1.5 cm
Description: The saint is portrayed seated on a bench (which is not very distinct) in front of open draperies, wearing a dark mantle and paler ochre undervestments, with long hair and a short beard. He is giving a blessing with his right hand, and holding an open book in his left. The text on the pages is suggested by zigzag lines. The saint is seated at a table on which is a palm branch. The drapery is dull red, and the background gold. The floor of the interior is in the form of a chequerboard on which the darker squares are decorated with amorphous designs in imitation of marble. In the top right corner is the Virgin with Christ in her arms; Christ is giving a blessing with his right hand and holding a scroll in his left.
Ribarević-Nikolić notes that the icon had suffered quite extensive damage, and that traces of later coats of paint could be seen on the surface. She also notes similarities between the workmanship of this icon and the one of the St Nicholas with scenes from his life – both depict the floor in the same way, the halo is executed with a punch with identical floral motifs, and the figure of the saint is almost identical to that of Christ in the top left corner of the central panel of the Life; the figures are also of the same clumsy proportions. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 205-206)
3. ST JOHN THE FORERUNNER (JOHN THE BAPTIST) – THE BEHEADING OF ST JOHN THE FORERUNNER
Artist: Cretan artist
Date: late 17th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 42.4 x 30.4 x 2.6 cm
Description: The icon has suffered woodworm damage, and damage to parts of the paint layer.
The saint is portrayed standing, in a landscape of almost Renaissance sophistication, holding an unrolled scroll in his left hand and pointing with his right to a chalice in which is his severed head. Christ is portrayed on a cloud, top left, giving a blessing with his right hand and holding a closed book in his left.
The signatures on the icon are in Greek. Those at the top of the icon are in red, in large capital letters; the text on the scroll is in lower-case black lettering. (Ribarević Nikolić, 1984, 206-207)
4. PANAGIA SKOPIOTISA (HOLY MOTHER OF MOUNT SKOPOS)
Artist: unidentified Greek master
Date: 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 54.5 x 40.5 cm
Description: The Virgin's figure, with a crown on her head, is painted in monochrome grey and white, with dark brown outlines – a rare colour palette, and very unusual in icon painting. The initials, in white lettering, are in the top corners of the icon. The deep, sharp shadows on her long-necked oval face, tilted to one side, give the Virgin an unusual degree of expressivity.
There is an almost identical icon of the Panagia Skopiotisa dating from the 18th century in the collection of Jorgos Cakiroglu in Athens. There can be no doubt, given the identical iconography and stylistic features of the two icons, that they are the work of the same artist, who painted quite original icons, with a certain and deliberately hard line, using familiar decorative elements.
The paint is missing from the bottom part of the icon. (Rakić, 1998, 282)
5. THE DESCENT INTO HADES (THE HARROWING OF HELL)
Artist: unidentified Serbian icon-painter
Date: 17th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 38.7 x 30.2 x 2 cm
Description: This festival icon depicts the eastern variant of Christ rising from the grave – his descent into Hades. Christ, whose death on the cross redeemed our sins, burst open the gates of Hell, which are depicted open on the bottom part of the icon. He is reaching out to Adam, whom he is drawing out of a dark cave below a rocky outcrop with figures standing on it. Eve is beside Adam, arms cross, in a red maphorion, together with a group of the just awaiting redemption. To Christ's right is John the Forerunner (with a halo), the Old Testament kings Dvid and Solomon wearing crowns, and other just men. The background of the top part of the icon is gold, as are the haloes and crowns, the borders of the robes and the boots worn by David and Solomon, and John the Baptist's clavus. Christ's red chiton, of which only traces remain, was hatched with gold, as were the rays on the dark mandorla behind him. The clothing is modelled with the broad, free strokes of a practised icon painter in line with late Greek icon painting. The skin tones are dark, in brown with thin highlights. (Rakić, 1998, 123-124).
6. ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST
Artist: unidentified Greek icon-painter
Date: 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 38.5 x 30.5 cm
Description: St John the Apostle is portrayed seated on a large eagle on clouds. He is holding an inkwell in one hand and a pen in the other, inscribing Greek lettering in a book with gold covers, writing his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word...” (John 1:1). The book and the eagle are John's principal attributes, the eagle symbolizing the evangelist and his sublime inspiration. The saint is portrayed turning to listen to a golden-winged angel descending behind him and pointing up, like the voice of God dictating to him what to write. The top part of the icon has the remains of two Greek inscriptions with the saint's name, on a gold background. The upper inscription is a later addition, the lower one original.
The artistic treatment is identical to that of the icon of St Panteleimon, except that the engraved lines of folds can be seen on John's himation. The baroque sense of drama, particularly pronounced in the movement of the descending angel, the light colour palette, and the rounded folds of the drapery, is still closer to western models than the icon of St Panteleimon, although both icons belong to late modernized post-Byzantine icon painting rather than to baroque art. (Rakić, 1998, 295)
7. ST PANTELEIMON
Artist: unidentified Greek icon-painter
Date: 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 38.8 x 30.5 x 2.3 cm
Description: The willowy youth is portrayed in the usual garb of the healer saints who accepted no fees for their services. His chiton and tunic are studded with gold borders, also to be seen around his wrists, with an apron draped over his back like a cloak. He is wearing gold slippers, and holding the instruments of his trade – an open gold box with medicines and a spatula. His halo is indicated by engraved circles and punching, and the instruments he is holding by an engraved line. Above is a later inscription with his name, St Panteleimon [= the all-compassionate] on a gold background, while below him are the faint traces of the original inscription. The greyish-pink skin tones are modelled with thin brown shading, and the draperies are treated with pale, soft, rounded brush strokes, revealing considerable western influences. The icon is a fine, meticulous work by a Greek artist blending traditional Byzantine iconography with the modernized artistic use of strong colours, demonstrating a refined sensibility and creating an overall harmony. (Rakić, 1998, 293-294)
8. SYNAXIS (ASSEMBLY) OF THE ARCHANGELS
Artist: unidentified local master
Date: latter half of 19th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 41 x 29.5 x 2.4 cm
Description: The painted part of the icon is inset by 0.5 cm, producing a 1 cm wide frame.
Three archangels are portrayed against a dark background, standing holding a medallion with a bust of Christ with both hands in a gesture of benediction. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 209-210)
9. ARCHANGELS MICHAEL AND GABRIEL
Artist: unidentified local master
Date: latter half of 19th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 69.5 x 57 x 2 cm
Description: The icon portrays the two standing figures of the archangels, their figures and faces outlined in black, with pale lines indicating the folds of their clothing and the structure of their wings. Each of the archangels is holding a sword in his raised right hand, and the scabbard of the sword in his left. The undervestments of the archangels are red, and their chain mail is dull vermilion with lighter ochre belts. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 209-210)
10. MADONNA AND CHRIST
Artist: unidentified
Date: late 17th or early 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 43.7 x 30.7 x 3.5 cm
Description: The background of the icon is dark green. The half-length figure of the Virgin is portrayed wrapped in a dark red mantle; her halo is yellow with ray-like motifs and stylized floral ornament. There is a decorative clasp on the right shoulder of her maphorion. The skin tones are in dark ochre, and the shading in olive tones. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 210-211)
11. JESUS CHRIST – IMAGO PIETATIS
Artist: work of a Greek artist, though the signature suggests he was trained in Italy (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 211)
Date: mid 17th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 35 x 26 x 2.8 cm
Description: Christ is portrayed thigh-length, standing, with a red mantle over his bare shoulders. His hands are tied, and on his head is a crown of thorns; beside him is another symbol of the passion, a spear. He has a gilded halo around his head. Above his left shoulder is an signature in Church Slavonic, a later addition, and at the bottom is an inscription in Greek (POLγζwH PγΕΡΟΠΟγΛΟγ DωΡΟΝ)(6).
Stylistically, the icon belongs to the “Western artistic trend.” The tendency to voluminize and to depict Christ's naked torso as anatomically accurately as possible, along with the expressivity of the face and the airy, soft folds of the fabric of his loin cloth and the skilfully painted left hand, reveal a trained artist. The flat treatment of the red mantle does not match the rest of the workmanship. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 211)
12. TRIPTYCH WITH TWO UNIDENTIFIED SAINTS AND THE MOTHER OF GOD VASTER THAN THE HEAVENS
Artist: work of a local artist
Date: first half of 19th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 39 x 22.5 x 2.5 cm
Description: The side panels of the triptych contain the figures of two bishops, the one on the left in blue and the one on the right in green vestments. The signatures are illegible, so there is little to suggest which bishops they might be. The central panel of the triptych portrays the Mother of God Vaster than the Heavens, with the figure of Christ in a medallion on her bosom.(Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 211-212)
13. THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL
Artist: work of a local artist
Date: first half of 19th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 31 x 26.3 x 2.3 cm
Description: The composition of the icon consists of the two standing figures of the saints facing one another in three-quarter profile, with above them the half-length figure of Christ on clouds, hands raised. The apostles are wearing tunics and togas; Peter's tunic is blue and his mantle ochre, while Paul's tunic is green and his mantle ochre. Both apostles are holding a book. (Ribarević-Nikolić, 1984, 212).
14. ST GEORGE CEPHALOPHAROS WITH SCENES FROM HIS LIFE
Artist: work of the icon-painter Stanoje Popović(7) of Martinci.
Date: mid 18th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 62 x 46.5 x 2.5 cm
Description: The central painted panel portrays St George the great martyr with his head and spear in his hands, in the garb of a nobleman rather than a warrior. Beside him is a scroll with the usual wording with which he addresses Christ: “For thy sake I suffered.” In the top right corner is Christ placing his martyr's crown of immortality on his head. Circular medallions around the outside of the icon contain ten scenes from the life of the saint, echoing old Byzantine models.
The top row of medallions contains the following scenes:
- St George tortured in the fiery furnace
- Rescuing a boy from slavery
- St George put to the torture on the wheel
The scenes to the left of the icon, from top to bottom, are:
- St George destroying the idols
- The decapitation of St George
The scenes to the right of the icon, from top to bottom, are:
- St George restoring Glycerius' ox to life
- St George before the Emperor Diocletian
The scenes at the bottom of the icon are:
- Laying the saint's catafalque in the church
- St George slaying the dragon and freeing the princess
- The scourging of St George
Each scene is accompanied by its title. (Rakić, 1998, 123-124)
15. SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA
Artist: the icon-painter Andrija Rajčević
Date: mid 17th century
Technique: tempera on panel
Size: 35 xs 25 cm
Description: The icon portrays the half-length figure of the saint giving a blessing with one hand and holding the Gospel in the other, wearing a bishop's phelonion or polystavrion (a long cord that has been plaited with Greek crosses), with an ochre-yellow omophorion around his neck. Rakić concludes from the vestiges of the red inscription to right and left above his shoulders that the icon is of St Athanasius of Alexandria.
The saint is portrayed as an elderly man with a long, square-cut beard, against a gold background, his halo indicated merely by thin engraved lines. The hairs on his head, moustach and beard are drawn in subtly graded tones of three shades of grey on a brown base. As Rakić states, the characteristic musculature of the face and ears, as well as the skin tones, link this icon with most of those ascribed to Raičević. The right hand with which the saint is giving a blessing, with its long, slender fingers, joined linearly below, with recognizable white accents on highlighted spots, and the manner in which the modelling is achieved by sharp shading at the edges, are similar to those on the icon of St Nicholas in the old Orthodox church in Sarajevo, possibly Raičević's finest surviving work. (Rakić, 1998, 123-124)
Church hall
The priest's or church hall is to the south of the church. It was built of stone, and is rectangular in plan. The visible remains suggest that it had a gabled roof.
3. Legal status to date
There is no information concerning any legal protection of the property to date.
4. Research and conservation and restoration works
There is no information concerning any research or conservation and restoration works on the property.
5. Current condition of the property
The Orthodox church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj was badly damaged during the 1992-1995 war.
The roof of the church and the bell tower were completely destroyed. Parts of the south and west walls of the church and of the south wall of the bell tower are missing. All the timber elements of the church (the choir gallery, the roof structure) have been completely destroyed. Deep cracks can be seen in the middle of the apse wall both inside and out, extending over the full length of the wall and over the semi-dome.
The plaster inside the building has survived only in the apse area. There are only traces of the plaster on the outside walls, with rather more on the apse than elsewhere.
The metal entrance door is somewhat damaged.
The crown of the walls of the church is damaged and partly covered with low-growing vegetation. Plants are also growing in the walls of the church. Inside the church, the floor is completely covered with both low-growing and tall vegetation.
All the movable heritage of the church (the iconostasis) has been completely destroyed. Parts of the iconostasis were found when the interior of the church was cleared in December 2008.(8) No information is available on the condition of the icons.
The church is directly exposed to the elements.
The church hall was also badly damaged during the war. The roof was completely destroyed, and all that survives of the building are the walls. The building is directly exposed to the elements.
At the time of drafting this decision there was no available information on the whereabouts of the collection of icons that had been in the church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj prior to the 1992-1995 war.
6. Specific risks
Risk of total loss of the property as a result of exposure to the elements.
III – CONCLUSION
Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.
The Decision was based on the following criteria:
A. Time frame
B. Historical value
C. Artistic and aesthetic value
C.iii. proportions
C.iv. composition
C.v. value of details
D. Clarity (documentary, scientific and educational value)
D.iv. evidence of a particular type, style or regional manner
E. Symbolic value
E.ii. religious value
E.iii. traditional value
E.iv. relation to rituals or ceremonies
E.v. significance for the identity of a group of people
F. Townscape/ Landscape value
F.ii. meaning in the townscape
G. Authenticity
G.i. form and design
G.ii. material and content
The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:
- Copy of cadastral plan no.xxx;
- Land Register entry no. xxx;
- Photodocumentation (photographs of the property prior to the 1992-1995 war, taken by Ćiril Rajić; photographs of the condition of the property at the time of the adoption by the Commission of a final decision on the property, April 2008);
- Survey of the current condition of the property by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.
Bibliography
During the procedure to designate the architectural ensemble of the Orthodox church of St Basil of Ostrog in Blagaj as a national monument of BiH, the following work was consulted:
1984. Ivanka Ribarević Nikolić, “Ikone pravoslavne crkve u Blagaju kod Mostara” (Icons of the Orthodox Church in Blagaj near Mostar), Hercegovina no. IV, Mostar, 1984, 201-213
1998. Svetlana Rakić, Ikone Bosne i Hercegovine (16-19. vijek) (Icons of Bosnia and Herzegovina [16th-19th Century]), Belgrade, 1998.
(1) Traces of plaster can be seen on both the inside and outside of the walls.
(2) This assumption is based on the remains of horizontal wooden beams in the property.
(3) Based on a comparison with other Orthodox churches built in Herzegovina at the same period, it seems likely that the nave was barrel-vaulted. The roof of the Orthodox church of St Basil of Ostrog has been completely destroyed and there are no signs of any vault.
(4) The only surviving element is the roof cornice, on which the wavy shape of the roof can be seen.
(5) The text inscribed on the open pages of the book is given in Ivanka Ribarević Nikolić's book (Nikolić, 1984, 202)
(6) The text of the inscription is to be found on p. 211 of Ivanka Ribarević Nikolić's “Ikone pravoslavne crkve u Blagaju kod Mostara”.
(7) One of the basic features typical of this artist is the depiction of architecture in the background. The buildings are always depicted in the same manner, forming a group in which the openings of the doors and windows form dark accents framed by white lines, with white comma-like lines on the façades creating stylized volutes on the buildings. This is the result of the artist’s need to fill a given space with decorative elements, a feature already familiar from Russian icons. The rescuing of the boy from slavery and the scourging of St George are to be seen in many icons ascribed to Stanoje in the Matica Srpska Gallery in Novi Sad and the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Stanoje achieves contrasting effects against the architecture by placing his figures in dark clothing decorated with dotted and other geometric designs. The architect itself stands out against a dark blue ground, and the scene appears lively and dynamic. The outstanding sense of colour of this icon painter is to be seen on the icon of the Cephalophoros, composed in the same basic colours as on the iconostasis from the Papraća monastery (Rakić, 1998, 153).
(8) Between the adoption of a final decision on the property and its publication, the Commission to Preserve National Monuments cleared the site of the Orthodox church of St Basil of Ostrog of vegetation and rubbish, as part of the project to support the development of tourism in Blagaj through sustainable management of the natural, historical and cultural heritage of the area – development of a Management Plan – in association with the Novi Val non-governmental organization. The clearing, which was carried out in December 2008, involved the removal of all the self-sown vegetation and layers of soil within the church, revealing the flagstones on the floor.
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