N 2D

Location: On the marble plate to the right of the doorway leading to the northeast ramp, in the northern gallery.

Material: Marble surface, 6th century.

Dimensions: Height 27 cm, width 7.5 cm, at about 140 cm from the floor level.

Condition: Clearly carved.

Technique: Incised.

Description: The drawing depicts a complete Christian scene of a warrior on a horseback, who thrusts his long spear into the gaping jaws of a beast under the horse’s hooves. The figure of a warrior in full-face stands at the center of the composition, which is very well-balanced and shows climactic moment of a combat between a monster and a knight.

Аttribution: St George as a Dragon Slayer.

Publications: Thomov. Th. A Dragon Slayer Graffito Drawing in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (modern Istanbul), Byzantinoslavica 77/1-2 (2019) 291-303.

Commentary: Thomov. Th. A Dragon Slayer Graffito Drawing in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (modern Istanbul), Byzantinoslavica 77/1-2 (2019) 291-303.

Date: Between the 1430s and 1470s.