{"version":2,"locale":"en","id":"story.preslav-ceramic-icon","hasFind":true,"slug":"preslav-ceramic-icon","url":"/en/stories/preslav-ceramic-icon/","topic":"Preslav ceramic icon","title":"The saint made of tiles","summary":"In 1909, broken painted clay tiles came out of the ground near Preslav. Pieced together, they formed the image of St Theodore. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1997 catalogue, no other surviving painted-tile image approaches it in size. The story runs from the conversion and the new capital to the workshops where clay became an icon.","cover":{"title":"The saint made of tiles","subtitle":"The clay icon of St Theodore from Preslav","hook":"Why is this face made of tiles?","summary":"In 1909, broken painted clay tiles came out of the ground near Preslav. Pieced together, they formed the image of St Theodore. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1997 catalogue, no other surviving painted-tile image approaches it in size. The story runs from the conversion and the new capital to the workshops where clay became an icon.","takeaway":"During the Middle Byzantine period, two military saints named Theodore were venerated: Tiron and Stratelates. Both were usually depicted armed. In the surviving part, our saint wears a mantle and carries no weapon, so scholars disagree about which of the two he is. One suggestion is that the painter followed an older model from a time when only one Theodore was venerated and shown in civilian dress. The origin of the technique is also debated: Constantinople, the art of the East, or a local Preslav tradition. The 1997 catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum of Art calls the icon the oldest surviving monumental icon of the newly converted state. Preslav remained the capital for about eighty years. In 971 the Byzantine army captured Preslav. According to archaeologist Katya Melamed, the Patleina monastery was also destroyed then; she links the end of Preslav painted ceramics to the city’s decline in the late 10th century."},"sortYear":950,"firstActivity":5,"epoch":{"id":"epoch.tsardom1","styleId":"tsardom1","sortOrder":5,"title":"First Bulgarian Tsardom","dateLabel":"681–1018","eraShort":"First Tsardom","slug":"tsardom1","fill":"#A68A68","ink":"#221616","raised":"#B39C7F","dark":"#786546"},"epochId":"epoch.tsardom1","placeShort":"Preslav","date":"9th–10th c.","image":{"alpha":true,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-cutout-480.5507de57.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-cutout-960.5507de57.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-cutout-1600.5507de57.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#805946","h":2027,"w":1841,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-cutout-960.5507de57.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-cutout-960.5507de57.webp","id":"asset.preslav.theodore-icon-cutout","alt":"The figure from a reproduction of the ceramic icon of St Theodore. Missing areas have not been reconstructed.","objectCaption":"St Theodore icon","caption":"","kind":"artwork","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Unknown medieval painter (Preslav); photograph credited to Julian Tomanov in Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei (1969), p. 53 · Public domain (PD-Art, PD-old-70) · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain (PD-Art, PD-old-70)","attribution":"Reproduction from Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei, photographs by Julian Tomanov, 1969, p. 53. Public domain (PD-Art), via Wikimedia Commons. Cut-out detail; background removed.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Reproduction from Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei, photographs by Julian Tomanov, 1969, p. 53. Public domain (PD-Art), via Wikimedia Commons. Cut-out detail; background removed.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Theodore_(Ceramic_icon).jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-Art"},"scenes":[{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s1","number":1,"kind":"narrative","title":"A face in a hundred pieces","body":"In 1909 Yordan Gospodinov, a schoolteacher from Preslav, began digging at a place called Patleina, south of the walls of the old capital. In the rooms around a small church he found tiles of fine white clay, painted and glazed. Some carried letters. Slowly the pieces came together into a face: a man with a long pointed beard, large eyes and a round halo. Greek letters survive on three other tiles, from which the name Saint Theodore is reconstructed. The 1997 catalogue describes the icon as assembled from about a hundred fragments. It is kept at the National Archaeological Institute with Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia. Why was the saint painted on separate tiles? And do we know who the painter was?","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-church-480.125c8989.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-church-960.125c8989.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-church-1600.125c8989.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#6f786d","h":900,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-church-960.125c8989.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-church-960.125c8989.webp","id":"asset.preslav.patleina-church","alt":"Stone walls of a ruin under a timber shelter, with an apse at the back.","objectCaption":"Stone walls of a ruin under a timber shelter, with an apse at the back.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Izvora · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (Wiki Loves Earth 2016)","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Izvora, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Izvora, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patleyna_monastery_9th_c._Iz8.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"The tiles of the ceramic icon of St Theodore were found among the ruins of St Panteleimon monastery at Patleina.","precision":"exact","id":"place.patleina-monastery","name":"Patleina, St Panteleimon monastery (ruins)","latitude":43.12632,"longitude":26.8227,"accuracy":"verified_point","sourceIds":["src.preslav.osm-places","src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.melamed-patleina"],"radiusMeters":100,"short":"Patleina","guideUrl":null,"slug":"patleina-monastery","url":"/en/map/#patleina-monastery"}],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":47.4185,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s1","duration":47.531,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.s1.120aeda5.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-hall"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.melamed-patleina"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s2","number":2,"kind":"map","title":"The new capital","body":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1997 catalogue dates the icon to the late 9th or early 10th century; the National Archaeological Institute with Museum presents it as a 10th-century work. Prince Boris I accepted Christianity from Constantinople around 864. Sources and historians give years between 864 and 866, and converting the whole population probably took several years. The capital at the time was Pliska. In 893 Boris's son Simeon came to the throne and the ruler's seat moved to Preslav. The town was not new: earlier structures were found beneath the buildings of the capital period; researchers tentatively date them to the first quarter of the 9th century. Under Simeon and his son Peter, Preslav filled with palaces, churches and monasteries. One of them stood at Patleina, about two kilometres south of the fortress wall.","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"Pliska is an early medieval centre. Its stone buildings do not establish a capital under Asparuh.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.pliska","name":"Pliska","latitude":43.387,"longitude":27.132,"accuracy":"approximate","sourceIds":["src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.osm-places","src.preslav.britannica-boris","src.asp.coord.pliska","src.pli.coord.q12287850"],"radiusMeters":3000,"short":"Pliska","guideUrl":null,"slug":"pliska","url":"/en/map/#pliska"},{"note":"Medieval Preslav was Tsar Simeon’s capital and a centre of literary culture and painted ceramics.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.veliki-preslav","name":"Veliki Preslav","latitude":43.16667,"longitude":26.817,"accuracy":"approximate","sourceIds":["src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.museum-history"],"radiusMeters":2500,"short":"Veliki Preslav","guideUrl":null,"slug":"veliki-preslav","url":"/en/map/#veliki-preslav"},{"note":"The Round Church near Preslav is a monument of early Christian architecture. 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saint up close","body":"The 1997 catalogue describes twenty-one painted tiles and three more with the name, with the assembled image about 55 centimetres high. The tiles are approximately 12 by 12 centimetres. The painter worked with a dark brown outline, ochre, brown and a reddish slip, then added a transparent and a dark violet glaze. The old reproduction shows an incompletely preserved image. During conservation in 2014–2015, earlier conservation materials were removed and the original fragments were mounted on a new support. Tap the points to look at the details.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-480.0b06c2da.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-960.0b06c2da.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-1600.0b06c2da.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#93674b","h":2270,"w":1920,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-960.0b06c2da.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-960.0b06c2da.webp","id":"asset.preslav.theodore-icon","alt":"Face of a bearded saint with a round halo, painted on square ceramic tiles with many cracks.","objectCaption":"St Theodore icon","caption":"","kind":"artwork","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Unknown medieval painter (Preslav); photograph credited to Julian Tomanov in Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei (1969), p. 53 · Public domain (PD-Art, PD-old-70) · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain (PD-Art, PD-old-70)","attribution":"Reproduction from Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei, photographs by Julian Tomanov, 1969, p. 53. Public domain (PD-Art), via Wikimedia Commons. Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Reproduction from Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei, photographs by Julian Tomanov, 1969, p. 53. Public domain (PD-Art), via Wikimedia Commons. 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The museum describes it as ochre yellow; colours in this old photograph may differ from the original.","sourceIds":["src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"preslav.s3.seams","x":0.34,"y":0.61,"title":"Tile edges","body":"The straight lines are the edges of square tiles, about 12 cm each. The irregular cracks are breaks; the 1997 catalogue describes about a hundred fragments.","sourceIds":["src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222","src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"preslav.s3.mantle","x":0.19,"y":0.91,"title":"Lines in threes","body":"A dark mantle is draped over an ochre tunic. The lines painted in groups of three are unexplained: folds in the cloth, or a fringe on the mantle like those worn by ascetic saints.","sourceIds":["src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222","src.preslav.melamed-patleina"],"certainty":"source_reported"}],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":35.19316666666667,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s3","duration":35.285,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.s3.a3be2e03.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.melamed-patleina"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-conservation-2015"},{"id":"src.preslav.conservation-report-2015"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s4","number":4,"kind":"narrative","title":"Clay, water and fire","body":"Patleina was a workshop as well as a monastery. Archaeologists found basins where white clay was washed and left to settle, and kilns for firing. The clay was local and rich in kaolin. Tiles were shaped and fired, then painted, glazed and fired a second time. About a dozen workshops of the 9th and 10th centuries are known around Preslav. One stood right by the Round, or Golden, Church, whose decoration combined carved marble, glass mosaic and painted tiles. Craftsmen made wall facings, cornices, floor inlays and small icons. When the first tiles came to light, many people took them for imports from Byzantium. Excavations showed they were made on the spot.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-kilns-480.9c50ec51.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-kilns-960.9c50ec51.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-kilns-1600.9c50ec51.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#747661","h":1216,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-kilns-960.9c50ec51.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-patleina-kilns-960.9c50ec51.webp","id":"asset.preslav.patleina-kilns","alt":"Low clay and stone remains under a shelter, behind a metal fence.","objectCaption":"Low clay and stone remains under a shelter, behind a metal fence.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Izvora · Public domain (PD-self, released by the author) · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain (PD-self, released by the author)","attribution":"Photo: Izvora, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Izvora, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ceramik_kilns_1.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-self"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-painted-tiles-480.64a0d5db.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-painted-tiles-960.64a0d5db.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-painted-tiles-1200.64a0d5db.avif","w":1200}],"dominant":"#707071","h":1600,"w":1200,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-painted-tiles-960.64a0d5db.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-painted-tiles-960.64a0d5db.webp","id":"asset.preslav.painted-tiles","alt":"Display case with dozens of painted tile fragments with geometric and plant motifs.","objectCaption":"Display case with dozens of painted tile fragments with geometric and plant motifs.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museums_in_Veliki_Preslav_39.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-480.c9d4a84d.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-960.c9d4a84d.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-1600.c9d4a84d.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#7b797a","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-960.c9d4a84d.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-960.c9d4a84d.webp","id":"asset.preslav.small-icons","alt":"Six square images of saints assembled from ceramic pieces on an exhibition wall; below them are fragments in transparent boxes.","objectCaption":"Six square images of saints assembled from ceramic pieces on an exhibition wall; below them are fragments in transparent boxes.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museums_in_Veliki_Preslav_42.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-golden-church-480.34719d90.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-golden-church-960.34719d90.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-golden-church-1600.34719d90.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#7b756c","h":1059,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-golden-church-960.34719d90.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-golden-church-960.34719d90.webp","id":"asset.preslav.golden-church","alt":"Reconstructed arches and columns above surviving walls of the Round Church.","objectCaption":"Reconstructed arches and columns above surviving walls of the Round Church.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Klearchos Kapoutsis · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (from Flickr)","license":"CC BY 2.0","attribution":"Site today · partial reconstruction. Photo: Klearchos Kapoutsis, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Site today · partial reconstruction. Photo: Klearchos Kapoutsis, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Preslav_Golden_Church_Klearchos_3.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"The tiles of the ceramic icon of St Theodore were found among the ruins of St Panteleimon monastery at Patleina.","precision":"exact","id":"place.patleina-monastery","name":"Patleina, St Panteleimon monastery (ruins)","latitude":43.12632,"longitude":26.8227,"accuracy":"verified_point","sourceIds":["src.preslav.osm-places","src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.melamed-patleina"],"radiusMeters":100,"short":"Patleina","guideUrl":null,"slug":"patleina-monastery","url":"/en/map/#patleina-monastery"},{"note":"The Round Church near Preslav is a monument of early Christian architecture. Its present appearance includes a modern partial reconstruction.","precision":"exact","id":"place.round-church-preslav","name":"Round (Golden) Church, Veliki Preslav","latitude":43.14226,"longitude":26.81317,"accuracy":"verified_point","sourceIds":["src.preslav.osm-places","src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.museum-inner-city"],"radiusMeters":50,"short":"Veliki Preslav","guideUrl":"https://travel-guide-bulgaria.zydeno.com/en/place/#round-church-preslav","slug":"round-church-preslav","url":"/en/map/#round-church-preslav"}],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":41.776041666666664,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s4","duration":41.899,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.s4.b4c408c6.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.melamed-patleina"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-inner-city"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-hall"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-essay"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.a1","number":5,"kind":"activity","title":"What is the icon made of","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.preslav.material","kind":"single_choice","prompt":"What is the icon of St Theodore from Patleina made of?","sourceIds":["src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222","src.preslav.museum-inner-city"],"items":[{"id":"q.preslav.material.tiles","label":"Painted and glazed tiles of white clay"},{"id":"q.preslav.material.mosaic","label":"Glass mosaic cubes","whyWrong":"Mosaic: glass mosaic decorated the Round Church, but the Patleina icon is painted, not set in cubes."},{"id":"q.preslav.material.wood","label":"Paint on a wooden panel","whyWrong":"Wooden panel: the surviving parts of the image are painted on ceramic tiles, not wood."},{"id":"q.preslav.material.marble","label":"Carved marble","whyWrong":"Marble: carved marble belongs to the Round Church; the icon is clay."}],"explanation":"The image was painted on square tiles of white clay, glazed and fired. The 1997 catalogue describes twenty-one painted tiles and three more with the name.","correctItemId":"q.preslav.material.tiles","sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-inner-city"}]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":3.9275,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.a1","duration":4.053,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.a1.d74444bd.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-inner-city"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s5","number":6,"kind":"narrative","title":"Letters in clay","body":"The tiles also speak about books and writing. In 886 Boris welcomed Clement, Naum and Angelarius, disciples of Cyril and Methodius who had been driven out of Moravia. With the support of Boris and his successors, centres of Slavic learning developed at Pliska, Preslav and Ohrid. Gradually, Slavic entered worship and literary life. Monks in Preslav translated from Greek and wrote new texts. Some ceramic tiles carry church texts in Cyrillic. Cyrillic is linked to the work of the disciples of Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria towards the end of the 9th and the start of the 10th century; it is based on Greek capital letters. Who exactly put it together, and in which centre, is still debated. The name of Saint Theodore on our icon, though, is reconstructed from a Greek inscription.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-480.c9d4a84d.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-960.c9d4a84d.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-1600.c9d4a84d.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#7b797a","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-960.c9d4a84d.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-small-icons-960.c9d4a84d.webp","id":"asset.preslav.small-icons","alt":"Six square images of saints assembled from ceramic pieces on an exhibition wall; below them are fragments in transparent boxes.","objectCaption":"Six square images of saints assembled from ceramic pieces on an exhibition wall; below them are fragments in transparent boxes.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museums_in_Veliki_Preslav_42.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"Pliska is an early medieval centre. Its stone buildings do not establish a capital under Asparuh.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.pliska","name":"Pliska","latitude":43.387,"longitude":27.132,"accuracy":"approximate","sourceIds":["src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.osm-places","src.preslav.britannica-boris","src.asp.coord.pliska","src.pli.coord.q12287850"],"radiusMeters":3000,"short":"Pliska","guideUrl":null,"slug":"pliska","url":"/en/map/#pliska"},{"note":"Medieval Preslav was Tsar Simeon’s capital and a centre of literary culture and painted ceramics.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.veliki-preslav","name":"Veliki Preslav","latitude":43.16667,"longitude":26.817,"accuracy":"approximate","sourceIds":["src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.museum-history"],"radiusMeters":2500,"short":"Veliki Preslav","guideUrl":null,"slug":"veliki-preslav","url":"/en/map/#veliki-preslav"}],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":49.16,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s5","duration":49.28,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.s5.357db1ec.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-boris"},{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-cyrillic"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-essay"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-history"},{"id":"src.preslav.melamed-patleina"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.theophylact-clement"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s6","number":7,"kind":"narrative","title":"Which Theodore","body":"During the Middle Byzantine period, two military saints named Theodore were venerated: Tiron and Stratelates. Both were usually depicted armed. In the surviving part, our saint wears a mantle and carries no weapon, so scholars disagree about which of the two he is. One suggestion is that the painter followed an older model from a time when only one Theodore was venerated and shown in civilian dress. The origin of the technique is also debated: Constantinople, the art of the East, or a local Preslav tradition. The 1997 catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum of Art calls the icon the oldest surviving monumental icon of the newly converted state. Preslav remained the capital for about eighty years. In 971 the Byzantine army captured Preslav. According to archaeologist Katya Melamed, the Patleina monastery was also destroyed then; she links the end of Preslav painted ceramics to the city’s decline in the late 10th century.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-copy-preslav-480.c051d77f.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-copy-preslav-960.c051d77f.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-copy-preslav-1600.c051d77f.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#86846a","h":1440,"w":1920,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-copy-preslav-960.c051d77f.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-copy-preslav-960.c051d77f.webp","id":"asset.preslav.theodore-copy-preslav","alt":"Framed ceramic icon of a bearded saint on a white museum wall, with a label on the left.","objectCaption":"Framed ceramic icon of a bearded saint on a white museum wall, with a label on the left.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Vislupus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Photo: Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museums_in_Veliki_Preslav_41.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-round-church-480.d217bb07.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-round-church-960.d217bb07.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-round-church-1600.d217bb07.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#7a827e","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-preslav-round-church-960.d217bb07.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-preslav-round-church-960.d217bb07.webp","id":"asset.preslav.round-church","alt":"Stone paving, surviving masonry and white reconstructed walls with an arch and columns.","objectCaption":"Stone paving, surviving masonry and white reconstructed walls with an arch and columns.","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Nikolov2010 · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC0 1.0","attribution":"Site today · partial reconstruction. Photo: Nikolov2010, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Site today · partial reconstruction. Photo: Nikolov2010, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Processed image.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Preslav_Round_Church.JPG","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"Medieval Preslav was Tsar Simeon’s capital and a centre of literary culture and painted ceramics.","precision":"approximate","id":"place.veliki-preslav","name":"Veliki Preslav","latitude":43.16667,"longitude":26.817,"accuracy":"approximate","sourceIds":["src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.museum-history"],"radiusMeters":2500,"short":"Veliki Preslav","guideUrl":null,"slug":"veliki-preslav","url":"/en/map/#veliki-preslav"},{"note":"The tiles of the ceramic icon of St Theodore were found among the ruins of St Panteleimon monastery at Patleina.","precision":"exact","id":"place.patleina-monastery","name":"Patleina, St Panteleimon monastery (ruins)","latitude":43.12632,"longitude":26.8227,"accuracy":"verified_point","sourceIds":["src.preslav.osm-places","src.preslav.wikidata-places","src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.melamed-patleina"],"radiusMeters":100,"short":"Patleina","guideUrl":null,"slug":"patleina-monastery","url":"/en/map/#patleina-monastery"}],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":62.557875,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.s6","duration":62.677,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.s6.4913701c.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.melamed-patleina"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-history"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-hall"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.a2","number":8,"kind":"activity","title":"Put the events in order","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.preslav.timeline","kind":"sequence","prompt":"Put the events in order, from earliest to latest.","sourceIds":["src.preslav.britannica-boris","src.preslav.britannica-simeon","src.preslav.museum-history","src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.bnr-baptism-2014"],"items":[{"id":"q.preslav.timeline.baptism","label":"Boris accepts Christianity"},{"id":"q.preslav.timeline.disciples","label":"The disciples arrive in Bulgaria"},{"id":"q.preslav.timeline.simeon","label":"Simeon becomes ruler in Preslav"},{"id":"q.preslav.timeline.capture","label":"The Byzantines take Preslav"},{"id":"q.preslav.timeline.find","label":"Icon discovered at Patleina"}],"explanation":"Boris accepted Christianity around 864; in an interview for Bulgarian National Radio, historian Hristo Matanov also discusses the dates 864/865 and 866. The disciples were received in 886, Simeon took the throne in 893, Preslav fell in 971, and the icon was found in 1909.","correctOrderIds":["q.preslav.timeline.baptism","q.preslav.timeline.disciples","q.preslav.timeline.simeon","q.preslav.timeline.capture","q.preslav.timeline.find"],"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-boris"},{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-simeon"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-history"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.bnr-baptism-2014"}]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":4.055208333333334,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.a2","duration":4.181,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.a2.b82b9b37.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-boris"},{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-simeon"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-history"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.bnr-baptism-2014"}]},{"id":"preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.a3","number":9,"kind":"activity","title":"Match each place to its role","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.preslav.places","kind":"matching","prompt":"Match each place with what the story says about it.","sourceIds":["src.preslav.britannica-boris","src.preslav.museum-history","src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"],"items":[{"id":"q.preslav.places.pliska","label":"Pliska","pairedLabel":"Capital during the conversion"},{"id":"q.preslav.places.preslav","label":"Preslav","pairedLabel":"Simeon’s capital"},{"id":"q.preslav.places.patleina","label":"Patleina","pairedLabel":"Monastery where the icon was found"},{"id":"q.preslav.places.sofia","label":"Sofia","pairedLabel":"City where the icon is kept"}],"explanation":"At the time of the conversion the capital was Pliska; in 893 the ruler's seat moved to Preslav. The icon was found at the Patleina monastery, which had a ceramic workshop, and is now kept at the National Archaeological Institute with Museum in Sofia.","sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-boris"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-history"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"}],"columns":["Place","Description"]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":3.53275,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav-ceramic-icon.preslav.a3","duration":3.627,"src":"/audio/en/preslav-ceramic-icon/preslav.a3.ae3d3d34.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.preslav.britannica-boris"},{"id":"src.preslav.museum-history"},{"id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022"},{"id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222"}]}],"minutes":6,"sources":[{"year":2014,"url":"https://bnr.bg/en/post/100481527/was-boris-i-baptized-in-albania","institutionOrAuthor":"Anna Kapitanova (author), English version by Zhivko Stanchev; Radio Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR); interview with Prof. Hristo Matanov, Sofia University \"St. Kliment Ohridski\"","id":"src.preslav.bnr-baptism-2014","title":"Was Boris I baptized in Albania?","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Bulgarian textbooks give 864/865 for the adoption of Christianity; the Ballsh inscription and a note of Todor Doksov give 866; Byzantine sources point to an earlier date; Prof. Matanov interprets the conversion as a process over two or three years, with 866 possibly marking its completion. Used only to show that the exact year is discussed, not to settle it"},"authors":["Anna Kapitanova"],"container":"Radio Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Radio","accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boris-I","institutionOrAuthor":"Vassil (Wassil Todorov) Gjuzelev, Professor of Bulgarian Medieval History, University of Sofia; Encyclopaedia Britannica","id":"src.preslav.britannica-boris","title":"Boris I","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Boris adopted the Orthodox faith of Constantinople in 864 and took the baptismal name Michael; baptism by a Byzantine bishop sent to Pliska; opposition and a pagan revolt; in 886 Boris received Clement, Naum and Angelarius, disciples of Cyril and Methodius; the article collectively credits the disciples with centres of Slavic learning at Pliska, Preslav and Ohrid, but this compressed attribution does not establish that all three founded every centre; compare the later Life of Clement on Angelarius’s early death; Slavic replaced Greek in church services and literary life; Boris abdicated in 889, his son Vladimir (889–893) led a pagan reaction, was removed and replaced by Simeon (893–927); Boris died in 907 in Preslav"},"authors":["Vassil Gjuzelev"],"container":"Encyclopaedia Britannica","accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":2026,"url":"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cyrillic-alphabet","institutionOrAuthor":"Encyclopaedia Britannica editors (revised by Adam Augustyn)","id":"src.preslav.britannica-cyrillic","title":"Cyrillic alphabet","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Cyrillic was developed in the 9th–10th century; it was an indirect result of the mission of Cyril (Constantine) and Methodius; their disciples, in the First Bulgarian state, in the 900s constructed a new script based on Greek capital letters with additions; the script was named after Cyril; Naum and Clement are sometimes credited with devising it"},"container":"Encyclopaedia Britannica (online)","authors":["Encyclopaedia Britannica editors (revised by Adam Augustyn)"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simeon-I","institutionOrAuthor":"Encyclopaedia Britannica editors","id":"src.preslav.britannica-simeon","title":"Simeon I","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Simeon (born 864/865, died 27 May 927) was educated in Constantinople and succeeded Boris I in 893 after the reign of his elder brother Vladimir (889–893); he made his court a cultural centre; took the title of tsar (925)"},"container":"Encyclopaedia Britannica (online)","authors":["Encyclopaedia Britannica editors"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://arcsofia.org/sites/default/files/Sofia_final%20report.pdf","institutionOrAuthor":"National Institute of Archaeology with Museum – Sofia; American Research Center in Sofia; America for Bulgaria Foundation (support). No individual author listed on title slide.","id":"src.preslav.conservation-report-2015","title":"The Conservation of the Ceramic Icon of St. Theodore","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","pages":"1, 20, 35–37 (PDF page numbers; unnumbered slides)","supports":{"en":"Photographs document cleaned tiles and fragments, three tiles with the incomplete inscription, and a new assembly including fragments below the old outline. They do not establish an original full-length figure or a current exact tile count."},"authors":["National Institute of Archaeology with Museum – Sofia; American Research Center in Sofia; America for Bulgaria Foundation (support). No individual author listed on title slide."],"accessed":"2026-10-28","isPdf":true,"container":""},{"year":1997,"url":"https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/the-glory-of-byzantium-art-and-culture-of-the-middle-byzantine-era-ad-843-1261","institutionOrAuthor":"Joseph D. Alchermes (catalogue entry signed JDA); entries 223–224 signed RO (Robert G. Ousterhout); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York","id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-cat222","title":"Icon with Saint Theodore (catalogue no. 222)","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Dated description in the 1997 catalogue, not a current condition report: Late 9th–early 10th century date; earthenware with glaze; height 55 cm; tile 11.5 × 11.5 cm; twenty-one painted tiles plus three tiles with the name in Greek; preserved in about 100 fragments with parts of the face, hair and shoulders lost; found in the 1909 excavation of the Patleina monastery; kept in the National Archaeological Museum, Sofia, inv. 4880; drawn in dark brown, painted brown and ochre with traces of red, ochre nimbus, dark mantle over ochre tunic; uncertain whether the bust extended further; two Middle Byzantine military saints Theodore (Teron and Stratelates) usually shown as warriors, the painter perhaps used a pre-Iconoclast model; about a dozen 9th–10th-century ceramic workshops at Preslav and around it, one of the most important at Patleina; called the oldest surviving monumental icon of the newly converted state; tiles found discarded in a room near the workshop (citing Chilingirov 1979); debate whether painted architectural ceramics in Bulgaria followed Constantinople or originated locally; floor tiles from the monastic church at Tuzlalaka"},"authors":["Joseph D. Alchermes","Robert G. Ousterhout"],"container":"The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261, ed. Helen C. Evans and William D. Wixom (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)","pages":"328–330","accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":1997,"url":"https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/the-glory-of-byzantium-art-and-culture-of-the-middle-byzantine-era-ad-843-1261","institutionOrAuthor":"Joseph D. Alchermes; in Helen C. Evans and William D. Wixom (eds.), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York","id":"src.preslav.glory-1997-essay","title":"The Bulgarians","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Conversion of Bulgaria under Boris; Symeon's reign 893–927; Preslav as the capital founded by Boris where Symeon built palaces and churches; Round (Golden) Church decoration and its interpretation as a palace chapel; abundance of painted and glazed ceramic architectural decoration at Preslav; the St Theodore icon composed of at least 21 plaques, unmatched in size among surviving painted tiles; Slavonic alphabets created first by Cyril and Methodios and especially later by their disciples; Preslav and Ohrid as centres of learning and book production"},"authors":["Joseph D. Alchermes"],"container":"The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261, ed. Helen C. Evans and William D. Wixom (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)","pages":"320–325","accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://origenesdeeuropa.eu/?p=17251","institutionOrAuthor":"Katya Melamed (author of the entry); Orígenes de Europa (Urbs Regia), heritage database","id":"src.preslav.melamed-patleina","title":"Saint Panteleimon Monastery, Patleina","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Monastery at Patleina 2–2.5 km south of the capital's fortress wall, about 6 km south of the modern town; excavated 1909–1914 by Yordan Gospodinov; built late 9th c., functioned through the 10th c., Melamed attributes its destruction to 971; workshops for glass and ceramics, basins for washing and settling white clay, kilns; production of white-clay painted tiles with floral and geometric patterns and Cyrillic religious texts; icon of St Theodore from 21 preserved tiles; Greek inscription on three tiles; drawing with quill and brush on fired tiles, colourless glaze and second firing; life-size portrait; white kaolin-rich local clay purified by washing and settling; eastern (Umayyad/Abbasid) artistic influences proposed; Melamed links the end of production to Preslav’s late-10th-century decline; icon displayed in Sofia"},"authors":["Katya Melamed"],"container":"Orígenes de Europa (Urbs Regia)","accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://en.museum-velikipreslav.com/exposition/hall.html","institutionOrAuthor":"Археологически музей „Велики Преслав“ (Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"), official website","id":"src.preslav.museum-hall","title":"Exposition hall. Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\", official website, English version","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Earlier historians thought Preslav was founded around 893, but excavations show earlier buildings beneath capital-period structures, which researchers tentatively date to the first quarter of the 9th c.; teacher Yordan Gospodinov began excavating at Patleina in 1909 and found slabs of fine white clay with colourful ornament, glaze and lettering; the monumental icon of St Theodore was pieced together; at first the finds were widely assumed to be Byzantine imports until local production sites were found; T. Totev found two more centres of painted ceramics in the 1970s–80s; the museum links the Preslav Literary School with the spread of Cyrillic; Preslav was capital for nearly 80 years"},"container":"Official website of the Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"","authors":["Археологически музей „Велики Преслав“ (Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"), official website"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://en.museum-velikipreslav.com/for-the-museum/history-of-preslav.html","institutionOrAuthor":"Археологически музей „Велики Преслав“ (Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"), official website","id":"src.preslav.museum-history","title":"History of Preslav. Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\", official website, English version","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Preslav existed and was fortified decades before becoming capital, probably from the early 9th c.; official adoption of Christianity dated 864 by the museum; in 893 Boris I announced the move of the capital from Pliska to Preslav and raised Simeon to the throne (893–927); the museum states the council declared the Bulgarian language official in worship and administration; monastery scriptoria translated from Greek and created original works; workshops in aristocratic houses and monasteries made Preslav painted ceramics; the city reached its greatest splendour under Peter (927–969); taken by the Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes in 971"},"container":"Official website of the Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"","authors":["Археологически музей „Велики Преслав“ (Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"), official website"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":null,"url":"https://en.museum-velikipreslav.com/for-the-museum/tourist-sites-from-the-inner-city.html","institutionOrAuthor":"Археологически музей „Велики Преслав“ (Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"), official website","id":"src.preslav.museum-inner-city","title":"Tourist sites from the Inner city (section 'Round church'). Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\", official website, English version","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"The Round Church, also called Golden and Simeon's; excavated from 1927; built in the early years of the 10th c. according to a note of Simeon's relative Tudor Doksov; about 200 m south of the southern gate of the Inner City; round naos 10.50 m in diameter with twelve niches and twelve marble columns; decoration combining marble carving, painted ceramics and glass mosaic; monastery south of the church with scriptoria and workshops for painted ceramics, one of them east of and under the church"},"container":"Official website of the Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"","authors":["Археологически музей „Велики Преслав“ (Archaeological Museum \"Veliki Preslav\"), official website"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"},{"year":2015,"url":"https://naim.bg/bg/content/news/600/857/584/","institutionOrAuthor":"National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAS), Sofia; no individual author given","id":"src.preslav.naim-conservation-2015","title":"Успешно завърши проектът за реставрация на керамичната икона на Св. Теодор Стратилат","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","container":"NAIM-BAS, official website, News","supports":{"en":"The 2014–2015 treatment removed earlier conservation materials, mounted original fragments on a new support and added newly attributed fragments. The support follows half-length saint proportions; this does not prove an original full-length figure. The title’s Stratelates identification does not resolve the scholarly debate."},"authors":["National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAS), Sofia; no individual author given"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","fieldLanguages":{"title":"bg"}},{"year":2022,"url":"https://naim.bg/bg/content/exhibits/24/","institutionOrAuthor":"Национален археологически институт с музей при БАН (НАИМ-БАН), София. Текст без посочен индивидуален автор","id":"src.preslav.naim-exhibit-2022","title":"Керамична икона на св. Теодор, X в.","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"The icon was found during Yordan Gospodinov’s 1909 excavations around a triconch church at Patleina, associated with the monastery of St Panteleimon. Its name is reconstructed from incomplete Greek capitals as Saint Theodore (Stratelates or Tiron). NAIM dates it to the 10th century and describes a life-size half-length image on tiles about 12 × 12 cm, with dark brown outlines, red slip, ochre yellow and brown, transparent and dark violet glaze. Preslav was capital for about eight decades; nearby monasteries had architectural-ceramics workshops."},"container":"Уеб сайт на НАИМ-БАН, рубрика „Експонат на месеца“","license":"© НАИМ-БАН; text summarised, not reproduced","authors":["Национален археологически институт с музей при БАН (НАИМ-БАН), София. Текст без посочен индивидуален автор"],"accessed":"2026-10-28","fieldLanguages":{"institutionOrAuthor":"bg","title":"bg","container":"bg"}},{"year":null,"url":"https://sitebulgarizaedno.com/index.php?Itemid=61&catid=29%3A2010-04-24-09-14-13&id=403%3A2012-04-06-17-14-45&option=com_content&view=article","institutionOrAuthor":"Theophylact of Ohrid (Life); Iliya G. Iliev (critical text, translation and notes as credited by the web reprint); Tsocho V. Bilyarski (web introduction)","id":"src.preslav.theophylact-clement","title":"Житие на Климент Охридски (Пространно житие), XVI–XVII","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","authors":["Theophylact of Ohrid"],"container":"Българи заедно","supports":{"en":"The later Life says Angelarius died soon after being housed by Cheslav, while Clement and Naum continued their work. It does not support making all three joint founders of every literary centre."},"accessed":"2026-10-28","fieldLanguages":{"container":"bg"}},{"year":null,"url":"https://historica.unibo.it/handle/20.500.14008/53110","institutionOrAuthor":"Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (data provider), fond Lilyana Mavrodinova Archive; BYZART project, repository of the University of Bologna","id":"src.preslav.byzart-4880","title":"St Theodore, ceramic icon","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","supports":{"en":"Patleyna Monastery, Preslav; held by the National Archaeological Institute with Museum, inventory no. 4880; date range 800–999. Second, independent confirmation of the holding institution and inventory number given in the Met catalogue"},"container":"BYZART, University of Bologna repository","license":"Record image CC BY-ND 4.0","authors":["Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (data provider), fond Lilyana Mavrodinova Archive; BYZART project, repository of the University of Bologna"],"accessed":"2026-10-28"}],"credits":[{"id":"asset.preslav.theodore-icon-cutout","src":"/media/asset-preslav-theodore-icon-cutout-960.5507de57.webp","alt":"The figure from a reproduction of the ceramic icon of St Theodore. Missing areas have not been reconstructed.","w":1841,"h":2027,"caption":"","credit":"Unknown medieval painter (Preslav); photograph credited to Julian Tomanov in Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei (1969), p. 53 · Public domain (PD-Art, PD-old-70) · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain (PD-Art, PD-old-70)","attribution":"Reproduction from Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei, photographs by Julian Tomanov, 1969, p. 53. Public domain (PD-Art), via Wikimedia Commons. Cut-out detail; background removed.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Reproduction from Atanas Boschkov, Die bulgarische Malerei, photographs by Julian Tomanov, 1969, p. 53. Public domain (PD-Art), via Wikimedia Commons. 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