Early Byzantine Two-zoned ‘Bowl’ Capitals in Churches and Monasteries of the Holy Land as Local Artistic Phenomenon

This article is devoted to the Early-Byzantine “bowl” capitals, mainly those encountered in the archaeologically testified ecclesiastical context in the Holy Land. Generally, the research continues and summarizes the previous article devoted to the “basket” capitals of the same region (see LA 72 [2022] 189-221). Most of the “bowl” capitals (20 items) were carved from local limestone, and only two of them were from imported marble. For these items, the classification was elaborated implying the separation into three main groups in accordance with the decoration of the calathi: type I with lotus-palmette pattern, type II with double vine scrolls, and type III with acanthus scrollwork. Following the statistical and geographical analysis, the detailed stylistic approach was applied, which revealed some local artistic trends, ideas, and patterns, thus putting the “bowl” capitals apart from their prototypes/parallels from the other Mediterranean regions. Interestingly, the “basket” and “bowl” capitals had many common features, including proportions and ancillary decoration. Their geographical distribution is generally overlapping, being concentrated in Jerusalem and Judea, and in many cases, they were found in the same churches (Holy Sepulchre, Deir Dosi, Qasr el-Yahud etc.). In the conclusion, I offer an interpretation of the special design of the capitals, explanation of their spatial location within the interior near the altar or within it and the symbolical meaning.