МОНОГРАМИ НА ТЪРНОВСКИЯ ПАТРИАРХ СИМЕОН ВЪРХУ СРЕДНОВЕКОВНА СГРАФИТО КЕРАМИКА

MONOGRAMS OF PATRIARCH SYMEON OF TARNOVO ON MEDIEVAL SGRAFFITO CERAMICS

Abstract

Especially important in order to chronologically clarify the more widespread introduction of the monogrammatic „fashion“ in Tarnovo and in Bulgarian environment in general, appear to be three glazed ceramic vessels with decoration in the sgraffito technique from the site of the patriarchal compound in the Medieval capital of Bulgaria. The inscriptions on them are partially preserved, but when combined, the monograms can be successfully reconstructed and deciphered in their entirety as ПА(ТРИАР)Х(Ъ) С(У)М(Е)Ѡ(НЪ). The identification of vessels with underglaze monograms of Patriarch Symeon is essential, because he appears to be the first primate of the Bulgarian church who, following the Byzantine fashion trends, sometime in the 1340s formulated his own monograms and ordered them to be applied on tableware from the Patriarchate in Tarnovo.