Dear Claire: A couple of other square nimbi:
a (much restored, I believe) mosaic fragment with a portrait of Pope John
VII, from the Oratory of John VII, Basilica of St.Peter, 705-7; and a
knightly donor in a 9th-century fresco in the sanctuary at San Benedetto,
Malles, 9th century. They seem to be limited to the ?late 7th/8th and 9th
centuries: I've never seen a thorough discussion of them -- but I've never
specifically searched for one. I wonder about something like Cabrol and
Leclercq's DACL. General consensus, however, is that they represent a
"saintly"(usually a donor) living person.
Elizabeth McLachlan, Art History, Rutgers University
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