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The Medieval Armenian Symbol of Eternity in the Art of the Twelfth-Century Italian Sculptor Nicholaus: A Veiled Performance


The medieval Armenian symbol of eternity – a whirl sign – is engraved in the forehead of five bull sculptures dated to the first half of the twelfth century, attributable to the workshop of the Italian sculptor Nicholaus. The whirl is an ancient sacred symbol associated with eternal life, not specific to any religion or culture, that has persisted for millennia. The following carvings display a closely resembling geometric whirl engravure: in the apse frieze of Koenigslutter Kaiserdom (Lower Saxony), in the pulpit of Sacra di Carpi (Modena), in the “Creation of animals” panel of S. Zeno Basilica (Verona), in the Verona Cathedral porch, and in the Ferrara Cathedral narthex. This symbol, generally ignored by Western Christian art after the Carolingian period, was revisited by the Nicholaus workshop. We argue that the small, hitherto overlooked whirl engraving made by these artists in the bull head of Koenigslutter, Carpi, Ferrara and Verona was a veiled ornamental performance displaying the symbol of eternity to signify the concept of life in the hereafter. Here the immediate inspiration source was likely Armenian, because in the early twelfth century the geometric whirl symbol of eternity was foreign to Italian religious decorations while it was deeply rooted in Armenian Christian art. Nicholaus and his atelier were familiar with the leaved cross and the whirl – traditional Armenian motifs symbolizing life in the hereafter – and were inspired by them in some of their works. In the decorative reliefs of S. Zeno Basilica façade, Verona Cathedral porch and Koenigslutter Kaiserdom frieze, various examples of the geometric whirl metamorphosis into naturalistic foliate whirl are extant, witnessing the Nicholaus atelier’s versatile sculptural performance in conceptualizing everlasting life.