Конзоле дечанског аркадног фриза: уводна студија
Corbels of the Dečani Monastery blind arcade frieze: introductory study

Summary/Abstract: The corbels of the blind arcade frieze of the Church of Christ Pantocrator of the Dečani Monastery are ofen considered to “represent the highest values of stone sculpture in Dečani and that style in general”. Therefore, even more surprising is that this extraordinary gallery, populated with human and animal protomes, figures, hybrid beings, and vegetable motifs, has not attracted greater attention from researchers. This paper presents a methodological framework for studying them in the context of the phenomenon of the so-called marginal sculpture. Well-preserved and accurately dated, Dečani corbels exhibit all the specific characteristics of marginal sculpture – they are a meeting place of the real plant and animal world, and the imaginary world of fantastic and hybrid beings, a meeting place of diferent social categories, and finally, a meeting place of the sacred and profane, in a word, a depiction of the medieval worldview. The analysis of the iconographic repertoire of the corbels of the blind arcade frieze of Studenica and Banjska monasteries, which preceded Dečani, is also presented in the paper. The iconography of Dečani corbels is systematized according to categories of sculpted figures and motifs. New identifications of several Dečani corbels are provided, among which the depiction of Spinario, a boy withdrawing a thorn from the sole of his foot, stands out.

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