Last time (post nr 501) I showed you some frescos from Lavra, today I will show you the sculptures and reliefs which you can find in the courtyard. A good start is a relief of the dubble headed eagle, the symbol of the old Byzantium empire.

Almost all the reliefs are situated on the outside wall of the exo-narthex and they surround the Phiale. I think these marble plates might come from an old iconostasis, but I am not sure about that. The decorative forms are similar to Islamic art.

You can also find some figurative images, here two peacocks and a lion who attacks a bull.

the following marble plates show griffions:

and I also found some curious lions (2), of which I do not know the background and meaning (look at the image behind them: a bird of pray attacks a rabbit (?).

and the last relief that I show you here is the well-know image of the church, that is offered (?) to the Panaghias, the mother Marie.

Wim, 17/6