FAM_OC_06 Information
| Object type: | slab |
| Short Name: | Relief with the lion of Saint Mark, a fortress and two inscriptions |
| Type of writing: | incised |
| Year From: | 1491 ca. |
| Year To: | 1491 ca. |
| Height: | 120 cm ca. |
| Width: | 140 cm ca. |
| Promoter: | Venetian State |
| Language: | Latin |
| Type of inscription: | Building, public or private |
| Material: | Stone (calcareous sandstone and marble; the waves under the lion are in gypsum) |
| Administrative district: | Famagusta - Αμμόχωστος - Gazimağusa |
| State of preservation: | epigraphic fragments, contiguous so as to allow joining |
| Motivation: | Probably the inscribed relief was added to the south-west tower of Othello Castle during the works of restoration of Famagusta’s fortifications that started in 1491 under the direction of Nicolò Foscarini, who had been appointed captain of the city in the same year. He remained in charge from 1491 to 1493. |
| Past location: | Famagusta, Othello Castle, on the exterior wall of the south-west tower, above the cornice running along the upper half of the building |
| Current location: | Famagusta, Othello Castle, on the exterior wall of the south-west tower, above the cornice running along the upper half of the building |
| Iconographic Elements: |
|
The inscribed relief, composed of four slabs, shows the representation of the lion of Saint Mark, on the right, beside a fortress, on the left, and displays an inscription below. The rectangular composition is surrounded on all sides by a moulded frame formed of several pieces.
The lion, in high relief, is represented in the walking type, with its head in a frontal position and its body turned to left. With its anterior paws, with well-defined claws, the lion holds an open book, with the motto of the Venetian Republic inscribed on it, lifted from the ground; the rear paws lean on a chain motif, which runs horizontally on the lower margin of the relief and stands for the sea waves. The lion’s head, crowned, has protruding ears, open jaws, with the tongue stuck out, and a flowing mane with flame-shaped locks covering also the animal’s back. The slim body is characterised by fur on the belly and on the anterior paws and by an S-shaped raised tail.
Beside the lion, on the left slab, a fortress on a rock is carved in low relief. It is composed of a central keen, developed on two levels, and two adjoining side towers. The building is characterised by guelph merlons, corbels, narrow openings and a standard on its top.
The inscribed relief is in good state of preservation with few damages visible only on the right area of the surface, where the left posterior leg of the lion and the end of its tail are missing.
From a palaeographical point of view the main inscription (Inscription II) is realised in Humanistic Capital. The words are separated through spaces and the arrangement of the text on the surface is not accurately realised since a small C is visible in line 2. These features, along with the straight descending line of the R, suggest that the inscription was produced by a local workshop and not a Venetian one. The use of the word praefectus to refer to the captain of the island testifies the desire to recall classical models. Also in the inscription on the book (Inscription I) the characters are not carefully distributed on the surface; in fact, at line 9 there is a ligature between the letters T and A. Furthermore, the unexpected form evangielista was incised instead of the standard evangelista (lines 5-9).
Rizzi 1994, p. 320 nr. 4; Imhaus 2004, p. 380 nr. 716, p. 659 plate 255 fig. F. 716; Rizzi 2012, vol. 2, pp. 282-283 nr. 2576. Compare Jeffery 1918, p. 111; Perbellini 1973, p. 37 fig. 18; Trentin 2015, p. 298 (palaeographical analysis).
Inscription I, on the slab with the lion of Saint Mark, on the open book
Column a:
(vac. 1)
Pax
tibị
Marc=
5 ce, (vac. 1)
Column b:
ev=
ang̣=
ie=
li=
10 st̂a.
Inscription II, on the two slabs under the relief
Nicolao Foscareno,
Cypri praefecto.
Inscription I, on the slab with the lion of Saint Mark, on the open book
Column a:
PAX
TIBỊ
MARC
5 CE
Column b:
EV
ANG̣
IE
LI
10 STA
Inscription II, on the two slabs under the relief
NICOLAO FOSCARENO
CYPRI PRAEFECTO
Inscription I
En: May peace be with you, evangelist Mark.
It: Pace a te, evangelista Marco.
Inscription II
En: To Nicolò Foscarini, captain of Cyprus.
It: A Nicolò Foscarini, capitano di Cipro.
Inscription I
Imhaus 2004 omitted the whole text
6-10 evangielista: eva(ng)el(is)ta Rizzi 1994, Rizzi 2012, vol. 2
Inscription II
2 tall T
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