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COLLECTION Identifier: MS.BZ.004

The Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks fieldwork records and papers

Scope and Contents

This collection contains fieldwork records and papers produced by the staff of the Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks, as well as Thomas Whittemore and Paul Underwood, between the 1920s and 2000s. It is comprised of correspondence, minutes, financial records, logbooks, fieldwork notebooks, research notes, ground plans, maps, oversize drawings, tracings, paintings, photographs, films, newspaper clippings, and publication materials. The collection is organized by the method of creation and medium in chronological or fieldwork order. It is divided into 2 major subgroups: Administrative Records and Fieldwork Papers.

The bulk of the collection spans the decades between the 1930s and 1980s, with the largest portion of materials relating to projects conducted at Hagia Sophia and Kariye Camii in Istanbul, as well as later projects in Turkey, Cyprus, and present-day Macedonia. The arrangement of this collection illustrates the early operations and development of the Byzantine Institute through Thomas Whittemore’s death in 1950, the Institute’s dissolution in 1962, and the fieldwork operations supported by Dumbarton Oaks from the 1960s to 2000s. It also captures the administrative affairs and day-to-day fieldwork activities that centered on the conservation and restoration techniques employed by the fieldworkers.

There is an Addendum of available research materials compiled by ICFA staff.

Dates

  • Creation: circa late 1920s-2000s

Creator

Language of Materials

Coptic, English, French, German, Greek, Russian, Turkish

Conditions Governing Access

An appointment is required for access to these papers. To request an appointment, fill out the online form: http://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/access-and-hours/schedule-an-appointment.

For research queries, contact the staff of Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives (library@doaks.org).

Subgroup 2, Series 1 of this collection (fieldwork notebooks and research notes, 1929- 1970s) has been fully digitized and is accessible online through this finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

Duplication of the collection may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.

Extent

1 collection

Additional Description

Historical Note

The Byzantine Institute (commonly known as the Byzantine Institute of America) was founded by Thomas Whittemore in 1930. On May 23, 1934, the Byzantine Institute officially became the Byzantine Institute, Inc. when it was issued a charter from the State of Massachusetts. Its mission was to conserve, restore, study, and document the Byzantine monuments, sites, architecture, and arts in the former Byzantine Empire. The first official project undertaken by the Institute was the examination and documentation of wall paintings at the Red Sea Monasteries in Egypt, which occurred between 1929 and 1931. By capturing select Byzantine iconography from the walls of St. Anthony and St. Paul, Vladimir Netchetailov produced oversize watercolor paintings of saints (Saints George, Mercurius, and Theodore Strateletes) and religious scenes (The Resurrection and Deësis).

In June 1931, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of the Republic of Turkey, permitted Whittemore and the Byzantine Institute to uncover and restore the original mosaics in Hagia Sophia, which had been covered in Islamic motifs when the church was converted into a mosque in 1453 by the Ottoman Turks. With approval from the Turkish government, the Institute began the conservation and restoration campaign in December 1931. While fieldwork primarily focused on sites within Istanbul, such as Hagia Sophia and Kariye Camii, conservation efforts were also expanded to Cyprus and present-day Macedonia.

In June 1950, Thomas Whittemore, founder of the Byzantine Institute, died while en route to the State Department office of John Foster Dulles. Subsequently, Paul Atkins Underwood was appointed as the Fieldwork Director of the Byzantine Institute, a position he held until his death on September 22, 1968. While this marked a transition period for the Institute, Underwood assumed the oversight of repair and restoration in Hagia Sophia and Kariye Camii. These endeavors resulted in the uncovering of the 7th century pavement in the Church of the Pantocrator (Molla Zeyrek Camii), the restoration of mosaics in Fethiye Camii (Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos), and finally the repair work in Fenari Isa (Lips Monastery). The projects also led to several publications, such as The mosaics of Hagia Sophia at Istanbul, the portrait of the Emperor Alexander: a report on the work done by the Byzantine Institute in 1959 and 1960 by Paul A. Underwood and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. Because of insufficient funding, the Byzantine Institute officially terminated its administrative and fieldwork operations in 1962 and transferred its assets to Dumbarton Oaks. In January of 1963, Dumbarton Oaks and the trustees of Harvard University assumed all fieldwork activities formerly initiated by the Institute. Dumbarton Oaks directed and sponsored new fieldwork projects in Turkey (Church of St. Polyeuktos), Cyprus (Church of the Panagia Amasgou at Monagri), Syria (Dibsi Faraj), and present-day Macedonia (Bargala).

Arrangement

Based on the method of creation, medium, and fieldwork order, the collection is divided into 2 main subgroups: Administrative Records and Fieldwork Papers. These subgroups are split into multiple series and the contents are arranged in chronological order (and alphabetical order, if the author’s name exists). The dates listed are inclusive of the dates indicated on the archival items. Some dates, however, are based on Jeff Schlosberg’s 1981-1982 inventory (mostly written on the verso of the individual items) especially if the item has no original date. For the technical dates of each fieldwork project, see ICFA’s “History of the Byzantine Institute Projects.”

Custodial History

The fieldwork records and papers of the Byzantine Institute were transferred to Dumbarton Oaks in two shipments in the 1950s and were initially stored in various locations, such as Paul Underwood’s office, Dumbarton Oaks Archives, and the Research Library. From the Byzantine Institute Library in Paris, the first shipment in May 1952 included archaeological papers, notebooks, photographs, negatives, diagrams, and drawings. In January 1957, the second shipment contained oversize plans and drawings from the Red Sea Monasteries, cramp charts from Hagia Sophia, films, negatives, Coptic textiles, and specimens of mosaic cubes. In December 1995, it was discovered that 14 fieldwork notebooks were stored at the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT-Istanbul). The transfer of the notebooks from ARIT to ICFA was finally approved in January 1997 by the Board of Directors and Anthony Greenwood, Director of ARIT-Istanbul.

In the mid-1990s, Professor Bentley Layton, Goff Professor of Religious Studies (Ancient Christianity) and Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations (Coptic) at Yale University, returned the water-color copies of Egypt’s St. Anthony Monastery, which he had requested in order to conduct a photographic survey of Coptic paintings in churches with Fr. Leroy and Professor Paul van Moorsel in Egypt.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Between 1993 and 2012, ICFA received the rest of the Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks fieldwork files from the Dumbarton Oaks Archives and Research Library. Items were arranged in folders by the name of the individual, institution, or project in alphabetical order at the time of receipt. Overall, because there is little documentation, it is difficult to determine the collection’s overall acquisition history.

ICFA received additional Kariye Camii materials from Robert Ousterhout in September 2012. Materials include oversize drawings, architectural building plans, notes, and reports.

Existence and Location of Copies

For digital copies of materials in this collection, see the following:
  1. Red Sea Monasteries, Egypt (photographs) - See the online exhibit entitled "Before Byzantiium: The Early Archaeological Activities of Thomas Whittemore (1871-1931)," http://www.doaks.org/library-archives/icfa/special-projects/online-exhibitions/before-byzantium/red-sea-monasteries-gallery

Related units of description at Dumbarton Oaks

  1. Early Archaeological Projects Associated with Thomas Whittemore, 1910s-1930s, MS.BZ.017. Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives.
  2. Paul Atkins Underwood Research Papers, ca. 1936-1950, MS.BZ.019. Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives.
  3. Thomas Whittemore Papers, ca. 1875-1966, MS.BZ.013. Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives.

Releated units of description at other institutions

  1. Archives Th. Whittemore. Musée du Louvre, département des antiquités égyptiennes, section copte. Paris, France.
  2. Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European Culture. Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries. New York, NY. http://library.columbia.edu/locations/rbml/units/bakhmeteff.html.
  3. Bernard and Mary Berenson Papers (1880-2002). Biblioteca Berenson, Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Renaissance Studies. Florence, Italy. https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/10/resources/6820.
  4. Cecil Lee Striker Papers. Archives, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA.
  5. Fonds Thomas Whittemore. Byzantine Library. Collège De France. Paris, France. https://salamandre.college-de-france.fr/ead.html?id=FR075CDF_BYZ-WHI&c=FR075CDF_BYZ-WHI_e0000018&qid=sdx_q24.
  6. George Leslie Stout papers, 1855, 1897-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
  7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition, "Art under the Turkish Republic" (held February 28,1944-January 1, 1945), Medieval Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY.
  8. Oral history interview with Carroll F. Wales, 1992 Nov. 10-1993 Feb. 11. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Washington, D.C. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-carroll-f-wales-12426.
  9. Rockefeller Foundation Records, Projects. Rockefeller Archive Center. Sleepy Hollow, NY.

Bibliography

  • Aleksova, Blaga, and Cyril Mango. “Bargala: A Preliminary Report.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 25 (1971): 265-281. doi:10.2307/1291311.
  • Belting, Hans, Cyril A. Mango, and Doula Mouriki. The Mosaics and Frescoes of St. Mary Pammakaristos (Fethiye Camii) at Istanbul. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 15. [Washington] : Locust Valley, N.Y: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, 1978.
  • Boyd, Susan, Richard Anderson, Victoria Jenssen, Lawrence Majewski, and Arthur Seltman. “The Church of the Panagia Amasgou, Monagri, Cyprus, and Its Wall paintings.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28 (1974): 277-349. doi:10.2307/1291361.
  • Byzantine Institute of America. The Mosaics of Haghia Sophia at Istanbul; Third Preliminary Report, Work Done in 1935-1938; the Imperial Portraits of the South Gallery. Boston, MA: Printed by J. Johnson at the Oxford University Press, 1942.
  • Byzantine Institute of America. Bulletin. Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Byzantine Institute, 1946.
  • Byzantine Institute of America. Coptic Studies in Honor of Walter Ewing Crum. Bulletin. Vol. 2. Boston, MA: Byzantine Institute, 1950.
  • Byzantine Institute of America. Mosaics of Hagia Sophia at Istanbul. Boston, MA: Byzantine Institute, 1950.
  • Byzantine Institute of America, and (Turkey) Istanbul. The Archaeological Park in Istanbul; Memorandum. Boston, MA, 1948.
  • Carr, Annemarie Weyl. “Dumbarton Oaks and the Legacy of Byzantine Cyprus.” Near Eastern Archaeology 71, no. 1/2 (2008): 95-103. doi:10.2307/20361353.
  • Carr, Annemarie Weyl, and Andreas Nicolaïdès, eds. Asinou Across Time: Studies in the Architecture and Murals of the Panagia Phorbiotissa, Cyprus. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 43. Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, MA: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2012.
  • Constable, Giles. “Dumbarton Oaks and Byzantine Field Work.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 37 (1983): 171-176. doi:10.2307/1291485.
  • Cormack, Robin, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul: The Rooms Above the Southwest Vestibule and Ramp.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 31 (1977): 175-251. doi:10.2307/1291407.
  • Galatariotou, Catia. The Making of a Saint: The Life, Times, and Sanctification of Neophytos the Recluse. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
  • Harper, Richard P., and Tony J. Wilkinson. “Excavations at Dibsi Faraj, Northern Syria, 1972-1974: A Preliminary Note on the Site and Its Monuments with an Appendix.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 29 (1975): 319-338. doi:10.2307/1291379.
  • Harrison, R. Martin. “A Constantinopolitan Capital in Barcelona.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 27 (1973): 297-300. doi:10.2307/1291345.
  • Harrison, R. Martin. Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ and Washington, D.C.: Princeton University Press and Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1986.
  • Harrison, R. Martin, and Nezih Firatli. “Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul: First Preliminary Report.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 19 (1965): 231-236. doi:10.2307/1291232.
  • Harrison, R. Martin, and Nezih Firatli. “Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul: Second and Third Preliminary Reports.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 20 (1966): 223-238. doi:10.2307/1291247.
  • Harrison, R. Martin, and Nezih Firatli. “Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul: Fourth Preliminary Report.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 21 (1967): 273-278. doi:10.2307/1291267.
  • Harrison, R. Martin, Nezih Firatli, and John W. Hayes. “Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul: Fifth Preliminary Report, with a Contribution on A Seventh-Century Pottery Group.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 22 (1968): 195-216. doi:10.2307/1291282.
  • Hawkins, Ernest J. W. “Further Observations on the Narthex Mosaic in St. Sophia at Istanbul.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 22 (1968): 151-166. doi:10.2307/1291278.
  • Hayes, John W. Excavations at Saraçhane in Istanbul. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ and Washington, D.C.: Princeton University Press and Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1992.
  • Hjort, Øystein. “The Sculpture of Kariye Camii.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 33 (1979): 199-289. doi:10.2307/1291438.
  • Kitzinger, Ernst. “Paul Atkins Underwood: (1902-1968).” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 23/24 (1969): 1-6. doi:10.2307/1291287.
  • Labrusse, Rémi, and Nadia Podzemskaia. “Naissance d’une vocation: aux sources de la carrière byzantine de Thomas Whittemore.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 54 (2000): 43-69. doi:10.2307/1291832.
  • MacDonald, William L. “The Uncovering of Byzantine Mosaics in Hagia Sophia.” Archaeology 4, no. 2 (1951): 89-93.
  • Macridy, Theodore. “The Monastery of Lips and the Burials of the Palaeologi.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964): 253-277. doi:10.2307/1291214.
  • Mainstone, Rowland J. “The Reconstruction of the Tympana of St. Sophia at Istanbul.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 23/24 (1969): 353-368. doi:10.2307/1291296.
  • Mango, Cyril. “The Monastery of St. Abercius at Kurşunlu (Elegmi) in Bithynia.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 22 (1968): 169-176. doi:10.2307/1291279.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “Additional Notes.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964): 299-315. doi:10.2307/1291216.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “Report on Field Work in Istanbul and Cyprus, 1962-1963.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964): 319-340. doi:10.2307/1291217.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Apse Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul. Report on Work Carried Out in 1964.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 19 (1965): 113-151. doi:10.2307/1291228.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Hermitage of St. Neophytos and its Wall Paintings.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 20 (1966): 119-206. doi:10.2307/1291245.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “Additional Finds at Fenari Isa Camii, Istanbul.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 22 (1968): 177-184. doi:10.2307/1291280.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul. The Church Fathers in the North Tympanum.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 26 (1972): 1-41. doi:10.2307/1291315.
  • Mango, Cyril, Ernest J. W. Hawkins, and Susan Boyd. “The Monastery of St. Chrysostomos at Koutsovendis (Cyprus) and its Wall Paintings. Part I: Description.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 44 (1990): 63-94. doi:10.2307/1291618.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ihor Ševčenko. “Remains of the Church of St. Polyeuktos at Constantinople.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 15 (1961): 243-247. doi:10.2307/1291183.
  • Mango, Cyril, and Ihor Ševčenko. “Some Churches and Monasteries on the Southern Shore of the Sea of Marmara.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 27 (1973): 235-277. doi:10.2307/1291343.
  • Megaw, Arthur H. S. “Byzantine Architecture and Decoration in Cyprus: Metropolitan or Provincial?” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28 (1974): 57-88. doi:10.2307/1291355.
  • Megaw, Arthur H. S. “Notes on Recent Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 17 (1963): 333-371. doi:10.2307/1291197.
  • Megaw, Arthur H. S. “The Original Form of the Theotokos Church of Constantine Lips.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 18 (1964): 279-298. doi:10.2307/1291215.
  • Megaw, Arthur H. S. “Supplementary Excavations on a Castle Site at Paphos, Cyprus, 1970-1971.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 26 (1972): 323-343. doi:10.2307/1291325.
  • Megaw, Arthur H. S. Kourion: Excavations in the Episcopal Precinct. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 38. Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, MA: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2007.
  • Megaw, A. H. S., and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Church of the Holy Apostles at Perachorio, Cyprus, and its Frescoes.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 16 (1962): 277-348. doi:10.2307/1291165.
  • Megaw, A. H. S., and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. The Church of the Panagia Kanakariá at Lythrankomi in Cyprus: Its Mosaics and Frescoes. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 14. Washington, D.C. and Locust Valley, NY: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, Trustees for Harvard University, 1977.
  • Oates, David. “A Summary Report on the Excavations of the Byzantine Institute in the Kariye Camii: 1957 and 1958.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 14 (1960): 223-231. doi:10.2307/1291151.
  • Oikonomides, Nicolas. “Leo VI and the Narthex Mosaic of Saint Sophia.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 30 (1976): 151-172. doi:10.2307/1291393.
  • Oikonomides, Nicolas. “Some Remarks on the Apse Mosaic of St. Sophia.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 39 (1985): 111-115. doi:10.2307/1291518.
  • Ousterhout, Robert G. The Architecture of the Kariye Camii in Istanbul. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 25. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1987.
  • Papacostas, Tassos, Cyril Mango, and Michael Grünbart. “The History and Architecture of the Monastery of Saint John Chrysostomos at Koutsovendis, Cyprus.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 61 (2007): 25-156. doi:10.2307/25472047.
  • Rosser, John. “Excavations at Saranda Kolones, Paphos, Cyprus, 1981-1983.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 39 (1985): 81-97. doi:10.2307/1291516.
  • Sheppard, Carl D. “A Radiocarbon Date for the Wooden Tie Beams in the West Gallery of St. Sophia, Istanbul.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 19 (1965): 237-240. doi:10.2307/1291233.
  • Striker, Cecil L., and Doğan Kuban. “Work at Kalenderhane Camii in Istanbul: First Preliminary Report.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 21 (1967): 267-271. doi:10.2307/1291266.
  • Striker, Cecil L., and Doğan Kuban. “Work at Kalenderhane Camii in Istanbul: Second Preliminary Report.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 22 (1968): 185-193. doi:10.2307/1291281.
  • Striker, Cecil L., and Doğan Kuban. “Work at Kalenderhane Camii in Istanbul: Third and Fourth Preliminary Reports.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 25 (1971): 251-258. doi:10.2307/1291309.
  • Striker, Cecil L., and Doğan Kuban. “Work at Kalenderhane Camii in Istanbul: Fifth Preliminary Report (1970-74).” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 29 (1975): 307-318. doi:10.2307/1291378.
  • Striker, Cecil L., Doğan Kuban, Albrecht Berger, and J. Lawrence Angel. Kalenderhane in Istanbul: Final Reports on the Archaeological Exploration and Restoration at Kalenderhane Camii 1966-1978. Mainz: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1997.
  • Teteriatnikov, Natalia B. Mosaics of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul: The Fossati Restoration and the Work of the Byzantine Institute. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1998.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “First Preliminary Report on the Restoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute 1952-1954.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 9/10 (1956): 253-288. doi:10.2307/1291098.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “Notes on the Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1954.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 9/10 (1956): 291-300. doi:10.2307/1291099.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “Second Preliminary Report on the Restoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute 1955.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 11 (1957): 173-220. doi:10.2307/1291107.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “Third Preliminary Report on the Restoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 1956.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 12 (1958): 235-265. doi:10.2307/1291122.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “Notes on the Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1955-1956.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 12 (1958): 269-287. doi:10.2307/1291123.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “Fourth Preliminary Report on the Restoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 1957-1958.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 13 (1959): 185-212. doi:10.2307/1291133.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. “Notes on the Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1957.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 13 (1959): 215-228. doi:10.2307/1291134.
  • Underwood, Paul Atkins. The Kariye Djami. Vols. 1-4. Bollingen Series 70. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1966.
  • Underwood, Paul A., and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Mosaics of Hagia Sophia at Istanbul: The Portrait of the Emperor Alexander: A Report on Work Done by the Byzantine Institute in 1959 and 1960.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 15 (1961): 187-217. doi:10.2307/1291180.
  • Underwood, Paul A., and Lawrence J. Majewski. “Notes on the Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul: 1957-1959; The Conservation of a Byzantine Fresco Discovered at Etyemez, Istanbul.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 14 (1960): 205-222. doi:10.2307/1291150.
  • Wellesz, Egon, and Institute of America Byzantine. Eastern Elements in Western Chant: Studies in the Early History of Ecclesiastical Music. Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae. Subsidia, v. 2, American Series no. 1. Oxford: Printed at The University Press, Oxford, for the Byzantine Institute, 1947.
  • Whittemore, Thomas. The Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul: Preliminary Report on the First-fourth Year’s Work, 1931/1932-1934/38. Paris: Printed at the Oxford University Press for the Byzantine Institute, 1933.
  • Whittemore, Thomas. The Mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul. Second Preliminary Report. Work Done in 1933 and 1934. The Mosaics of the Southern Vestibule. Paris: Oxford University Press for the Byzantine Institute, 1936.
  • Winfield, David C. “Reports on Work at Monagri, Lagoudera, and Hagios Neophytos, Cyprus, 1969/1970.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 25 (1971): 259-264. doi:10.2307/1291310.
  • Winfield, David C. Byzantine Mosaic Work: Notes on History, Technique & Colour. Lefkosia, Cyprus: Moufflon Publications, 2005.
  • Winfield, David C., and Ernest J. W. Hawkins. “The Church of Our Lady at Asinou, Cyprus. A Report on the Seasons of 1965 and 1966.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 21 (1967): 261-266. doi:10.2307/1291265.
  • Winfield, David C., and June Winfield. The Church of the Panaghia Tou Arakos at Lagoudhera,Cyprus: The Paintings and Their Painterly Significance. Dumbarton Oaks Studies 37. Washington, D.C: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2003.

Addendum: Accumulated Research Materials by ICFA Staff

These materials were compiled by the ICFA staff during the processing of this collection. These items were used to help write the acquisition history and historical note of the Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks fieldwork projects. Box: 1 Collection Guides
  1. Folder 1: Document/item removal forms and archives transfer forms
  2. Folder 2: Finding aid (black book) by Jeff Schlossberg, ca. 1982 (Folder 1 of 4)
  3. Folder 3: Copy of the finding aid (red binder) by Jeff Schlossberg, ca. 1982 (Folder 2 of 4) - Folder 4: Copy of finding aid by Jeff Schlossberg, ca. 1982 (Folder 3 of 4)
  4. Folder 5: Copy of finding aid by Jeff Schlossberg, ca. 1982 (Folder 4 of 4)
  5. Folder 6: Draft of finding aid by Jeff Schlossberg, ca. 1982
  6. Folder 7: Copies of inventories, 1950s - Photocopies of inventory lists and correspondence regarding the transfer of materials from the Byzantine Institute Library in Paris to Dumbarton Oaks

Box 2: Articles, Publications, and Resources Contains copies of published articles and archival materials from various repositories, such as the Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives at Dumbarton Oaks and Harvard University Archives
  1. Folder 8: Thomas Whittemore and the Byzantine Institute, historical and literary sources - Contains copies of articles or excerpts that pertain to Thomas Whittemore, from the Dumbarton Oaks Papers, the Harvard Crimson, and other sources. Also includes copies of: “Convoy to West Africa” by Graham Greene, “Remote People” by Evelyn Waugh, “The Elusive Mr. Whittemore, the Early Years,” by Holger Klein, and others. Also contains photocopies of correspondence relating to Whittemore from the Robert Van Nice collection, also in ICFA.
  2. Folder 9: Notes produced by Natalia Teteriatnikov - Contains photographs of Thomas Whittemore, correspondence with William MacDonald and others, internal memos, and various notes about the collection including its conservation. Teteriatnikov was the former curator of the Byzantine Photograph and Fieldwork Archive from 1986 to 2007.
  3. Folder 10: “Inventory of Samples taken from Hagia Sophia by the Byzantine Institute”
  4. Folder 11: Copies of articles related to Alexandre Piankoff - Contains “Deux peintures de Saints Militaires au Monastère de Saint Antoine,” Les Cahiers Coptes 10 (1956): 17-25.
  5. Folder 12: Materials related to the Byzantine Institute from the Dumbarton Oaks Archives - Contains meeting summaries and correspondence, [ca. 1945-1962]
  6. Folder 13: Butler, Lawrence, “REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR: On holdings at Dumbarton Oaks of material pertaining to the church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul” - Contains a report submitted by Lawrence Butler to Robert W. Thompson in February 1985
  7. Folder 14: Correspondence from the Papers of Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss, ca. 1860-1969, Harvard University Archives - Contains copies of correspondence between Thomas Whittemore and Robert and Mildred Bliss from 1937 to 1941

Processing Information

Inventory, collection arrangement, and processing were initially undertaken by Jeff Schlosberg, ICFA Intern, between 1981 and 1982. The collection was organized in chronological order and then by site. Between 1990s and 2000s, the collection was re-organized and re-processed by former staff members and interns of ICFA, including Natalia Teteriatnikov, Gerrianne Schaad, and Rebecca Bruner. The collection was re-ordered by the author’s last name and then by location.

In the Summer of 2010, Rona Razon, Archivist, Anna McWilliams, and Sharon Ke (former ICFA interns) completed digitization of the Kariye Camii black and white photographs to provide better access to the images. They have been cataloged in ICFA’s legacy cataloging software called OLIVIA.

In September 2010, Rona Razon, Archivist, and Laurian Douthett, Archivist Assistant, evaluated the existing finding aid and collection arrangement. The ICFA staff decided to re-organize the collection, once again, in chronological order and then by site based on Schlosberg’s inventory and original transfer lists from the Byzantine Institute. The ICFA staff believe that the collection should be organized chronologically or by the order of fieldwork projects in order to bring back the items to its original arrangement and to fully highlight the organizations’ administrative and fieldwork history.

Collection assessment, arrangement, inventory, and a draft finding aid were completed in September 2012 by Razon and Douthett. Archival processing was completed by Elizabeth Bayley, Archivist Assistant, in February 2013. The finding aid was edited by Rona Razon, Shalimar White, Manager of ICFA, Günder Varinlioğlu, former Byzantine Assistant Curator, and Fani Gargova, Byzantine Research Associate, and was finalized in April 2013.

In February 2014, Gargova, and Megan Cook, ICFA Research Associate, completed digitization of the Red Sea Monasteries photographs from the Site Books nos. 18-20 to provide better access to the images.
Link to catalog

Subjects

Related Names

Administrative Information

Title
The Byzantine Institute and Dumbarton Oaks fieldwork records and papers, circa late 1920s-2000s (MS.BZ.004): Finding Aid
Author
Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives; Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University.
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
dca00003

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Dumbarton Oaks Repository

http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ois:DDO

Dumbarton Oaks holds archival collections in its Rare Book Collection, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, and the Dumbarton Oaks Archives. The collections include: the papers of noteworthy scholars in the three fields that Dumbarton Oaks supports (Byzantine, Pre-Columbian, and Garden and Landscape); image collections depicting objects or sites of topical interest to scholars in the three fields; Beatrix Farrand’s personal archive of letters and original drawings that document the development of the Dumbarton Oaks Garden; and institutional records and architectural plans and drawings documenting the history of Dumbarton Oaks. For more information about hours and to make an appointment to consult any of the collections listed here, please fill out the request form: https://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/schedule-an-appointment

Contact:
1703 32nd Street, NW
Washington DC 20007 USA
202-339-6400

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