Armenian Gospel Iconography

This is the first monographic study of the Glajor Gospel, a 14th-century illuminated Armenian manuscript. In addition to critical studies of the iconography of the illuminations, the authors provide the history of the manuscript and the political and cultural setting in which it was produced, and the history of the monastery and school of Glajor.

The text's elaborate illumination also brings to life a vibrant artistic center, the Monastery of Gladzor, which long ago disappeared." "The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor includes sixty color reproductions of the manuscript's illuminated pages, ten black-and-white illustrations, and two maps along with an essay that explores the book's artistic richness and theological complexity."--BOOK JACKET.

Nira Stone (1938-2013) contributed to the understanding of mediaeval Armenian art and painting. Her interest ranged over a millennium of artistic expression, and over such fields of creativity as manuscript painting, frescos, and mosaics. The volume contains her published papers and one made newly public.

Armenia was the first country to recognize Christianity as the official state religion in 301 AD, twelve years before Constantine's decree granting tolerance to Christianity within the Roman Empire. Ever since, Armenia has claimed the privilege of being the first Christian nation, and the wealth of Christian art produced in Armenia since then is testimony to the fundamental importance of the Christian faith to the Armenian people. This extensive new survey of Armenian Christian art, published to accompany a major exhibition at The British Library, celebrates the Christian art tradition in Armenia during the last 1700 years. The extraordinary quality and range of Armenian art which is documented includes sculpture, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, wood carvings and illuminated manuscripts and has been drawn together from collections throughout the world—many of the examples have never before been seen outside Armenia. In his authoritative text, Dr. Vrej Nersessian, Curator at The British Library, charts the development of Christianity in Armenia. This fascinating history is essential to an understanding of the art and religious tradition of Armenia, a country in which the sense of the sacred extends well beyond the purely religious, infiltrating the entire fabric of Armenian affairs to create a fascinating culture. This sumptuously illustrated book will be of immense value to anyone with an interest in Byzantine art and culture, the history of Christianity and the history of Armenia and the Middle Orient.

The various versions of the Infancy Gospels illustrate how stories about the Virgin and Child lend themselves to be told and retold - much like the stories in the canonical Gospels. This first translation of the full text of the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, itself derived from a sixth-century Syriac text that no longer exists, provides two variants of the famous narrative and several recensions or ancient editions. Stories about Jesus, many of them unique to this gospel, are included to show how he exercised his sovereign and divine will even as a child. This edition also contains three early Armenian versions of the Protevangelium of James, which with other ancient sources dependent on it (like the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew) constitute the basic tradition in the formation of the later Infancy Gospels. These writings are our earliest sources about the parents of the Virgin Mary (Joachim and Anne) and her miraculous birth. They also form the basis for the dogma of her Immaculate Conception and perpetual virginity after the birth of Jesus, and lay the ground for certain of the Marian feasts celebrated since the fourth century. Terian's engaging introduction and annotation of the texts place this rare document clearly in its cultural and historical context and provide extensive references to the surrounding textual tradition. These extraordinary stories will appeal to all with an interest in the early church.

Sirarpie Der Nersessian's scholarship has influenced the understanding of Armenian art and its Byzantine context. These two volumes are the culmination of six decades devoted to the exploration of Armenian art, and reflect a deep knowledge of the manuscripts and their creators.

"The Pozzi Gospels, completed by Hakob Jughayets'i, includes an extraordinary series of portraits, narrative miniatures and marginal figures. Copied and illuminated under the protection of a church in the city of Keghi (modern Kigi, fifty miles south-west of Erzurum), Hakob's sparkling, vibrant palette, expressive wide-eyed figures, and iconographic inventiveness are at their most distinctive in this early work." "This is the first monograph to trace Hakob's development from his beginnings in Armenia in the 1580s to his later works in Safavid Persia, at Isfahan, in 1607 and 1610. The study constructs Hakob's biography, explores his artistic development, and evaluates his career within the context of late 16th-century Armenian politics, culture and devotion. Illustrated with reproductions of miniatures produced at every stage of his career, it reveals the singular artistic vision of Hakob himself and the dynamism of contemporary Armenian illumination."--BOOK JACKET.