THE JEWISH CEMETERY IN SATANIV IN THE CONTEXT OF VISUAL CULTURE: INFLUENCES OF MIDDLE EASTERN ART IN THE DECORATIVE ORNAMENTATION OF MATZEVOT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/uad.2026.3.24Keywords:
visual culture, Middle Eastern artistic influences, memorial sculpture, Jewish cemeteries, matzevot, decorative symbolism, preservation of cultural heritageAbstract
This article examines the matzevot of the Sataniv Jewish cemetery within the framework of visual culture, with a particular focus on the influence of Middle Eastern art on their decorative design. The object of the study is the funerary sculpture of Sataniv as an integrated artistic and symbolic system that combines textual and visual components. The aim of the research is to identify and interpret Middle Eastern ornamental and zoomorphic motifs, trace the paths of their transmission, and analyze the processes of their adaptation within the Jewish memorial tradition. The methodological framework is based on art historical and visual culture approaches, including formalstylistic, iconographic, and iconological analysis, as well as a visual-semiotic method that allows the matzevah to be interpreted as a sign system. A comparative historical approach is also applied in order to situate the local material within a broader Eurasian context. The study demonstrates that the decorative program of the Sataniv matzevot was shaped by transregional artistic processes, in which motifs widespread in the art of Iran and the Islamic world played a significant role. In particular, cyclic compositions with animals, such as the motif of three hares, reveal connections with Middle Eastern ornamental traditions, yet in the local context they acquire new, predominantly eschatological meanings related to concepts of eternal life and spiritual transition. At the same time, these motifs are shown to lack direct association with the social status or gender identity of the deceased, functioning instead at the level of universal symbolism. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the interpretation of the Sataniv matzevot as a phenomenon of visual culture, where Middle Eastern influences are manifested not only in iconography but also in compositional principles and modes of artistic thinking. The practical significance of the research consists in its potential application to further studies of Jewish funerary heritage, as well as in the fields of heritage preservation and museum interpretation
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