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"1000 A.D.
Constantinople Byzantine
Bishop"
Portly and very well fed,
this Byzantine Bishop is
richly adorned. Though the
Byzantine Empire had become
the center of the Christian
world in this time period,
their location at the mouth
of the Black Sea was the
crossroad of the known
trading world. Thus all that
wealth began to emerge as
their main focus.
Christ and his Church began
to fade into the background.
Incidentally, Rome was still
a player in the affairs of
the Church, but was usually
ignored, at least by
Constantinople. So though
the cross behind our Bishop
is large and almost
overbearing, it is beginning
to fade into obscurity.
Note from the Artist: In
this series, I was striving
for really outlandish
fabrics. Something that only
a vain and very wealthy
person would want and wear.
In the weaving world, the
rule of thumb is not to mix
a busy warp with a busy
weaving structure. The
definition of a “busy” warp
would be lots of colors and
textures, so you should use
a simple weaving structure
(to show off the warp), like
a plain weave or a quiet
twill. Conversely, if you
wanted a “busy” weft
structure with lots of
visual movement, you would
use warp threads in one
color or one texture. This
is reasonable; given that
your eye would have trouble
appreciating and seeing two
things at once.
So, because it is more fun
to push design boundaries, I
am using very busy warps and
very busy weaving
structures. The result is a
fabric that probably would
not appeal as clothing to
the average person. But to a
Byzantine? Why question him?
And our Bishop would not
listen either.
Think of the fable of the
Emperor with No Clothes. No
one dared to tell him that
he was naked, except for an
innocent child.
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