A Tale of Two Ceilings. The Cappella Palatina in Palermo and the Mouchroutas in Constantinople.

The name Mouchroutas given by Nikolaos Mesarites to a long-lost hall in the Great Palace in Constantinople is believed to indicate that it was a Saljuq conical kiosk. It is proposed instead that Mesarites referred to the mouchroutia or wine-beakers held by the ruler and his cup-companions who are depicted on the ceiling. Mesarites’ description is compared with the surviving ceiling of the Cappella Palatina in order to suggest that both were made by an atelier from Fatimid Cairo. The Mouchroutas, like the nave of the Cappella Palatina, was a rectangular hall, decorated with mosaics and an Islamic palatial ceiling.