Garden mosaic, monastery of Daphni

The descriptions (ekphrasis) of gardens in novels and rhetorical texts, depictions of them kept in monuments, and objets d’art bear witness to Byzantine garden culture. A descriptive aid to narration, the garden is a motif of secondary importance, but Byzantine art contains several lovely representations of gardens, such as in the iconography of the Annunciation to Anne. According to the Protogospel of James, this event took place in the garden leading to Anne’s house. Alone in her garden, Anne laments her sterility before an angel announces that she will give birth to a child. This textual source allowed painters to develop the representation of gardens.

In the mosaic of the monastery of Daphni, Anne stands in her garden. The dwelling is in the left corner of the composition, while a small wall behind Anne forms the garden enclosure. A magnificent fountain occupies the foreground of the mosaic. Its elaborate structure comprises three basins: the first square basin in green stone is topped by a quatrefoiled basin in polychrome marble, itself crowned with a small vase on which stands a pine cone. Four jets of water issue from it and fall symmetrically back into the vase, then overflow. The garden is planted with trees and bushes, which surround the fountain. In the lower register, we can also see a row of small cypresses with highly stylised trunks and foliage, then two larger trees whose high branches bear abundant foliage. Several birds resembling nightingales are perched in the branches.

Was this garden the fruit of the artist’s imagination or did he make use of elements of real gardens? The representation adopts certain features characteristic of the enclosed gardens of the palaces and aristocratic homes of Byzantium. Running water and fountains comprised a dominant element of the gardens, which explains the place accorded to them in the iconography. The shape and decoration of the fountain are not imaginary either. The water spouts from a pipe in the shape of a pine cone and flows into the basins, like the fountain that Emperor Theophilus had built in one of the pavilions of the Great Palace of Constantinople. Historical sources also confirm the existence of similar fountains in the imperial and aristocratic gardens of Constantinople and its environs. Trees, such as cypresses, were particularly popular, as they provided extra protection for the enclosed space of the garden. It is not surprising to recognise them in the mosaic. The magnificent fountain, the trees, and the presence of birds and their song convey the luxurious layout of Byzantine gardens, while in the Daphni mosaic these motifs add to the veracity of the representation.

The sign of prestige and material wealth, the garden with its fountain constitutes more than a simple decorative setting. The elements chosen and the way that they are set out are closely related to the content and meaning of the event depicted. The trees, the pine cone and the birds allude to fertility and procreation, and foreshadow the news that the angel is about to announce. The enclosed garden filled with trees and birds is also a common metaphor in the Song of Solomon, which Byzantine authors interpreted as the paradigm of Anne and the Virgin Mary.