Master of the Valbandon Chancel Panel

Abstract

Fragments of the chancel screen from an unknown titular saint’s church in Valbandon near Pula present one of the most intriguing fragments within the corpus of Istrian pre Romanesque sculpture, both in terms of iconography and function. Of particular interest is the panel that was once positioned on the left side of the screen, as there are opposing opinions among researchers regarding its composition. No direct analogies have been identified so far, and the remaining parts of the chancel screen do not relate to fragments of stone furnishing from other locations, leading to the assumption that it was the only project of a not highly skilled local stonemason. This paper, however, identifies specific details that attribute this panel to the Master of Valbandon. Also, by comparing these reliefs with liturgical sculpture from several other churches, a connection with a specific workshop has been established. An analysis of motifs used on these sculptures, suggests connections with the masters working along the entire eastern Adriatic coast during the late 8th and early 9th centuries. The study enhances previous hypotheses and contributes with new insights to our understanding of the Valbandon group as well as the broader image of pre Romanesque stonemasonry production in Istria and in the wider Eastern Adriatic area.