THE MARCY-INDJOUDJIAN COPE

Author(s): VREJ NERSESSIAN

Source: Ars Orientalis , 2011, Vol. 40 (2011), pp. 204-241
Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the
History of Art, University of Michigan

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 NOTES

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 THE REVEREND DR. VREJ NERSESSIAN

THE MARCY-INDJOUDJIAN COPE

ι (facing)
Abstract

Marcy-Indjoudjian cope in three The Marcy-Indjoudjian cope has long been a source of speculation and debate.
pieces. Armenian colony of New Julfa Questions concerning its origins and ownership have endured since the Victoria
(Isfahan), early 17th century. Silk
and Albert Museum acquired the first fragment of this glorious garment from the
with silver and gold thread. Victoria
and Albert Museum, London (477 French dealer Louis Marcy in 1894. The addition of fragments in 1926 and 1930
1894, T.30-1926.T.211-1930). from the Indjoudjian brothers contributed to the mystery of the provenance and ico
nography of this remarkable work of art. Recent scholarship has proposed the vest
ment was produced possibly for use by the Augustinians in Roman Catholic rites.
Careful study of the Marcy-Indjoudian cope (shourdjar) now confirms it was
made in the Armenian colony of New Julfa (Isfahan) in the early seventeenth cen
tury, following the mass movement of Armenians from their homeland as ordered
by Shah Abbas I. Reexamination and proper translation of the letters stitched
into the cope verify its Armenian origins and its creation by a highly skilled art
ist named Yakob. Evidence suggests the cope was commissioned by the wealthy
merchant khodja Nazar and presented in the late 1620s by Shah Safi to Movses
vardepet Tathevatsi, perhaps in commemoration of his election to the Catholi
cate of All Armenians. Eventually the cope found its way into the treasury of the
Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem. Here, the consummate skill of the
Armenian artist, well aware of current creative styles and the desires of his patron,
is evident in the harmonious composition, delicate lines, rich colors, and overall
theological message.

THE SUBJECT OF THIS STUDY is an Armenian shourdjar (cope) in the textile

collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Known as the "Marcy
Indjoudjian cope," it is made up of several fragments that were acquired at various
times and have since been restored to their original state (figs. 1-3). The first frag
ment entered the museums collections on 15 December 1894 when it was bought
from the French dealer Louis Marcy. Further fragments spotted by Arthur Pope in
the possession of A. and M. Indjoudjian of Paris and Constantinople were added in
1926 and 1930. Research published on the cope by F. R. Martin (1908), A. F. Kend
rick and C.E.C. Tattersall (1924), A. U. Pope (1938-39), and Ian Bennett (1987)1 all
agree with Kendrick and Tattersall that the vestment is "one of the most remarkable
works of art in existence."2 Each one has expressed varied opinions on its prov
enance and almost nothing on its iconography and ownership. In a recent study by
Pedro de Moura Carvalho, it was suggested that the cope was "manufactured with
the purpose of being used in Roman Catholic rites, possibly for the Augustinians."3
Close examination of the cope, in terms of its history, construction, and inscrip
tions, confirms that this is not the case.

205

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 2

Front of restored cope. Victoria All the experts do agree that the cope was made in New Julfa (Isfahan). The
and Albert Museum, London.
Armenian colony of New Julfa came into existence at the very beginning of the
seventeenth century. The rise of the Armenian colony in New Julfa as a major com
mercial center during the second half of the seventeenth century has been well
discussed by both Western and Armenian scholars, which I need not repeat here
except by mentioning the more recent research.4
Intermittently throughout the sixteenth century, historical Armenia, Georgia,
and Azerbaijan were the arena of Ottoman and Safavid wars. Historical Arme
nia served as a battlefield between the two contending empires. Their wars had a
destructive impact on the peoples and the economy of the region. The Safavid and
Ottoman devastations are reflected in the Armenian chronicles and in the colo

phons of manuscripts written during the period. The Armenian chronicler Hov
hannes Archishetsi bemoans the invasion of Shah Tahmasb's forces into the region
of Van and the ensuing wars in these words:

There came an epidemic of death.... How many fathers and mothers were
rendered sonless and daughterless, how many sisters brotherless and broth
ers sisterless? How many pretty brides and bridegrooms were separated,
and how many brothers and sisters died the same night? Who can recount
the sorrow and misery of parents and families, loved ones and those of the
friends, only God who created them knows.5

These conditions, coupled with heavy taxation, resulted in the first wave of
immigration of Armenians from historical Armenia into Isfahan. According
to Arakel Davrizhetsi, a contemporary historian, the first wave of immigration
included Armenian nobles and property owners as well as peasants. Among the
notables he mentions are "Sarukhan beg and his brother Nazar ... Jala beg and

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 3

Back of restored cope. Victoria his cousins—Oghlan Keshish and Ghalabeg, Melik Sujum, Melik Pashik, Melik
and Albert Museum, London.
Haigazn, Melik Baben—and the entire inhabitants of four Armenian villages emi
grated to Persia, and asked for the Shahs protection and settled in Isfahan."6
By this time, several Armenian merchants were already in Isfahan. One of them
was khodja Nazar, who had received a royal edict in 1586 that granted him protec
tion and freedom to trade within the realm of Safavid Iran. Shah 'Abbas accepted
various Armenians into his service and, according to Sir Anthony Sherley, was
impressed with their competence and abilities.7
The second phase of Armenian immigration to Isfahan is linked with the 1603
campaign of Shah 'Abbas, when the Safavid ruler violated the treaty of 1590 and
invaded Ottoman territory. When the Ottomans compelled his armies to retreat,
the shah not only razed the territories he had conquered, but he also forcibly relo
cated some 300,000 Armenians, mostly from the major commercial town of Julfa
and its environs in Nakhijdjevan, to central and southern Iran. Scribes who cop
ied manuscripts in Julfa give heartrending accounts of the event. The scribe of the
manuscript of a Four Gospels dated 1609

copied in the episcopate over our village of Djulaloy of Archbishop Mesrop,

and in the reign of Shah Abbas who in the year 1052 [= 1603 ce] came with
a great army against the royal city of Davrezh, to avenge his sire's blood;
and he utterly destroyed the race of Osman by his valor and his resources;
and crossing the Araxes. He entered the canton of Ararat and attacked the
fortress at Erevan, and he slew the enemy and laid waste all the country in
the year 1053. Mourning fell upon Armenia, for he destroyed and made
desolate all houses and habitations, so that men fled and hid themselves in
fortresses and clefts of rocks. Some he found and slew, others he led cap
tive and sent to that city of Shawsh [Shosh] or Aspahan [Isfahan] ... and

THE MARCY-INDJOUDJIAN COPE

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 he settled us on the south side of the river Zabdae, or Aghi, where he built
houses and habitations and churches for our prayers, and we named the
village Tchadjoghay, and not Djogha, for though the king's heart was well
disposed towards the Christians, yet the inhabitants of the city were evil and
opposed our religion.. ,.8

It should be noted that this manuscript was commissioned and copied for
Khodja Teridjan and his son Karapet by the most famous artist working in Julfa,
Mesrop of Khizan. The inhabitants of the Armenian city of Julfa on the left bank of
the river Arax welcomed the shah with open arms and enthusiasm. "They handed
him the silver keys of the city, and gave him impressive reception: a procession of the
clergy, nobility, and notables of the city, all dressed finely for the occasion, received
him with candles, incense, religious and secular songs. The shah was housed in the
residence of Khodja Khatchik, who offered to him trays full of gold coins as his
token gift. During the reception wine was offered from golden cups."9
Julfa emerged as a major commercial center during the second half of the six
teenth century. The sphere of its commercial and financial transactions reached
India as well as Venice and other cities in Italy. The city became an important center
of east-west trade, and many of the merchants in Julfa served as either representa
tives or brokers of various European commercial firms and interests.
It was the appealing combination of the wealth of the Julfa merchants and their
international position that prompted Shah Abbas I to transplant the Armenians
of Julfa en masse from their homeland to Isfahan. In doing so, the shah aimed to
achieve a variety of short- and long-term objectives. His military objective was to
depopulate and lay waste to the territories between the retreating Safavid forces and
the advancing Ottoman army. By relocating the merchants who carried on trade
among Persia, Central Asia and India, and the Mediterranean, which until then
had been conducted to the benefit of the Ottoman Empire, they were made to serve
Persia. Moving the Julfa Armenians was crucial to achieving this objective. On the
transformation of his capital Isfahan into a major trade center, Shah Abbas also
wanted, through the intermediary of the Armenian entrepreneurs, to control the
silk industry, which was a state monopoly. The silk crop of the Caspian provinces
constituted the chief commodity in the Iranian export trade, and its marketing in
Europe was entrusted by Shah Abbas to the Armenians.10 The French traveler Jean
Baptiste Tavernier relates that he "chose from among them those whom he judged
most suitable and intelligent in matters of commerce, and gave to each of them,
according to his capacity, bales of silk, for which they were to pay a reasonable sum
on their return. The excess of the price they were able to attain was to be a reward for
their troubles, and to cover the expenses of travel."11 So successful and prolonged

2o8 the reverend dr. vrej nersessian

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 was this venture in state capitalism that another traveler, the Italian Pietro della
Valle, found cause to remark, "The Armenians are in relation to the king of Persia as
the Genovese are in relation to the king of Spain: they cannot live without the king,
nor he without them."12

The importation of European goods into Persia and their passage across Per
sia to India and Central Asia were also secured largely by Armenian commercial
enterprise. Among the objects Armenians brought back from Europe, partly for
exchange en route against provisions and partly for sale in the bazaars of Isfahan,
were not only the celebrated Dutch and English broadcloth but also items such as
clocks, mirrors, imitation pearls, and in general "things light in weight but heavy in
price."11 The ultimate prize of this policy was that the shah established control and
won favor over a specific ethnic group that could deal with and compete as Persian
subjects against European merchants.
In an age when European power was growing, simply to be a Christian gave an
Asian merchant a significant advantage in any dealings in Europe or with Euro
peans. This factor may in large measure account for the growing importance of
Christian merchants in the Middle East in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
The Armenians were well aware of the advantage their Christian faith gave them in
trading with Europeans, and they exploited it to the full in negotiations for trading
rights in Italy, Russia, and elsewhere. The presence of large Armenian colonies in
Aleppo, Amsterdam, Izmir, Lvov, Marseille, and Venice was also an advantage as
intermediaries. The growing Armenian colony soon built numerous churches, thir
teen of which are still in existence. Arakel Davrizhetsi says, "Similar to their splen
did houses, worthy to the glory of God, they built churches with heaven-like altars,
which were completely covered in various colors, gold, and lajvard [lapis lazuli],
and paintings depicting events from the Life of Christ, and pictures of saints. And
on all the domes of their churches, they placed the sign of the Cross, as crowns sig
nifying the pride of the Christians."14 Khatchatour Khizantsi, in the colophon of the
Gospels he copied in 1607 in Isfahan, says,

If a while ago in the city of Shosh [the name Armenians gave to Isfahan]
the Persians saw a Christian merchant they would plaster his face with
their spittle ... but now thanks to God our enslaved nation freely worships,
has erected everywhere churches, and has magnificently decorated them.
The church beadle rings the bells louder than the Turkish mullah. The
dead are buried in procession with crucifix and shourdjar-wearing clergy
On the day of the Revelation [i.e., Christmas and Epiphany] they freely
bless the water, singing the hymns as if in the times of the Enlightener and
King Trdat.15

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 Montesquieu acknowledges Shah 'Abbas's tolerance towards the Christians. The
shah "understood that the proscription of the Armenians would have extirpated in
a single day all the merchants and almost all the artisans in the kingdom. I am sure
that the great Shah Abbas would rather have lost both his arms than have signed
such an order; in sending to the Mogul and to the other kings in India the most
industrious of his subjects, he would have felt that he was giving away half of his
dominion."16

The two largest churches are All Savior's Cathedral, constructed in 1606, and the
Church of Bethlehem, built in 1627. The Armenian community of Isfahan formed
a new diocese under the jurisdiction of the Catholicate of the Holy See of Echmi
adzin. It had its own primate, who had jurisdiction over the Armenians in Shiraz,
Hamadan, Rasht, Anzali, Kashan, Qazvin, Tehran, Basra, and Baghdad and over
seventy-five villages.
In a very short period, expatriate Armenians made New Julfa a great suburb of
Isfahan, gaining universal recognition as an important center of trade, commerce,
and the arts, as is glowingly described by all European travelers who visited Isfahan
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.17

The Artistic Milieu

The Victoria and Albert Museum has in its Islamic collections many objects
(ceramics, textiles, and bronzes) with Armenian inscriptions. A short but infor
mative study by D. M. Stuart-Brown, called "Armenian exhibits in the Victoria
and Albert Museum," provides a general survey of the holdings in addition to an
unpublished survey of Armenian inscriptions on Iranian bronzes in the Victoria
and Albert Museum.18

Among the ceramic collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum are a plate
(no. 2714-1876) and a wine bottle (no. 1248-1876). The owners of these items
were Nazareth and Safraz, a father and son who were famous Armenian merchant
princes in New Julfa. Nazareth, the father, died in 1636 and is better known as
khodja Nazar.19 His eldest son, Safraz, is known as Safraz Beg or khodja Safraz, and
he died in 1656. They possessed great prestige at the Safavid court of Shah Abbas
and his successor, Shah Safi. They amassed tremendous wealth and entertained
royalty, which a number of European travelers recorded in their impressions. Sir
Thomas Herbert recounted his visit to khodja Nazar's home in 1628 in these words:
"Hodge-Nazar, the Armenian Prince, was visited by the Ambassador at his home
in Jelphey. A Christian he professes himself, but (I must be bold to say) his house
was furnished with beastly pictures, such ugly postures as indeed are not fit to be
remembered [i.e., nude females]. Amongst other rare meats, I took most notice
of roasted pig, in regard that it was the first we saw in Persia and is meat equally

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 offensive to Jews and Mohametans. The flagons and bowls in his house were all of
gold, vials of sweet water for perfume, and glasses of Shiraz wine were emptied for
our better entertainment."20 The Dutch traveler Adam Olearius described a feast at
khodja Safraz's home.

Serferas-bac, having received the Ambassadors with much respect, and

done his civilities to the Chiefest of the Retinue, conducted them through a
spacious arched gallery, into a great garden, at the end whereof we found an
open hall, according to the fashion of the Country, where we were entreated
to sit down on the ground. The cloth, which was of gold and silver brocade,
was covered with all sorts of fruits and conserves, and we drank of certain
prepared water, much like Ros Solis, but incomparably more delicate, and
more precious. Having taken away the fruits, they laid an Indian cotton
cloth, and meat was brought up in silver dishes.... [We were] conducted
through a very noble apartment, into another hall, which looked into the
garden. It was arched all about, and there were on the walls certain pictures
representing the women of most nations in the world, dressed according to
the mode of their several countries. The floor was covered with rich tapestry,
on which were laid cushions of flowered satin, groundwork thereof gold and
silver.21

A Venetian receipt for paintings dated 17 February 1620 bought by khodja Safraz,
the kalantar, lists the purchase of the following works of art: Nativity, a Madonna,
the Savior, a female nude undressing, the Magdalen nude and in a habit, a Venetian
female portrait, a woman with disheveled hair, alias Cassandra, and the last queen
of Cyprus (i.e., Caterina Cornaro).22
Arakel Davrizhetsi devotes chapter 29 in his History to the culture, art, and lit
erature of the period and in this context presents the careers of three Armenian
artists: Minas, Zohrabjian, and Yakobjan. The artist Minas was born in New Julfa,
and when Davrizhetsi was completing his History in 1662, Minas was still alive and
active, for he comments, "May God keep him safe in his Christian faith, guard his
life along with his family for many years to come." Minas was an artist by profes
sion, and for a brief time he had been in Aleppo and had been a pupil of a frank
ish (European) master. He was well known for his portraits of figures from various
nations: Armenians, Jews, Indians, Franks, Russians, and Georgians. He painted on
paper, wood, bronze, and cloth using paint, charcoal, or olive oil. The wealthy mer
chants in New Julfa hired him to decorate their houses with wall paintings. Among
them was khodja Safraz, whose home he decorated with flowers and portraits. After
Shah Safi had seen the wall painting in the home of khodja Safraz, he appointed

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 4

An ordination manual depicts Bishop Minas as his court artist. This would have been during the first reign of Shah Safi
Yovhannes wearing a miter and an between 1629 and 1642. In the museum of the Church of the All Savior's in New
ornate chasuble (shourdjar) as he
Julfa are two portraits of the merchants Yakobjan Velijanian and Voskan Velijanian
ordains a priest. Armenia, Erevan,
Matenadaran ms. 197, fol. 341b. painted by Minas.23
In a manuscript of the History, copied at the authors request in 1665 and now
kept in Venice (ms. 127), Voskan Erevantsi knowingly decided to delete chapter
29 from the edition he published in Amsterdam in 1669. According to Mirzoyan,
Erevantsi felt Arakel Davrizhetsi s evaluation of the merits of Minas s accomplish
ments were naive and exaggerated in light of what he had witnessed in Dutch art.24
The section was reinserted in subsequent editions, beginning with the second edi
tion printed in Ëjmiadsin in 1884.

The Iconography of the Shourdjar

A shourdjar is a liturgical vestment worn by Armenian clergy when officiating
the Divine Liturgy and the sacraments of the Armenian Orthodox Church. The
word shourdjar means literally "that one drapes around." It was introduced into the
Armenian Church in the thirteenth century and is first mentioned by Nerses Lam
bronatsi (1153-1192) in his Commentary on the Divine Liturgy.25 It is a vestment
of the same shape as th ephilon [= felonis = phelonion, correspondent of the West
ern chasuble], which was the only overall black vestment used during offices in the

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 I ■ '■

Mirror case, by Muhammad Isma'il. Eastern churches until the thirteenth century. Ordination manuals (Mashtots) are
Iran, Qajar dynasty, AH 1274 (1857— important sources for the study of the development of liturgical garments in Arme
58). Polychrome lacquer papier
nia. In an ordination manual copied and illuminated by the artist Sarkis Pidsak in
mâché. Auctioned at Christies,
London, 26 April 2005, lot 199.
1328, the officiating bishop in an ordination of a deacon is shown wearing an ornate
shourdjar( fig. 4).26
The shourdjar worn by all ranks of the clergy is semicircular in shape and made
of rich materials of various colors or a combination of colors, provided one color
dominates. To be exact, the shape of the shourdjar is that of a segment of which the
chord is four inches away from the center of the circle, having a radius equal to the
height of a man to the shoulder, plus four inches. The other parts of the vestments,
which must match in color and decoration with the shourdjar, are the maniple, pal
lium, and epigonation (worn by patriarchs only), stole, and amice. Each part of
the vestment is worn accompanied by a prayer, which explains its symbolism. The
prayer said by the celebrant over the cope reads, "In thy mercy, O Lord, clothe me
with a radiant garment and fortify me against the influence of the evil one, that I
may be worthy to glorify thy glorious name, by the grace... ,"27
A Qajar polychrome lacquer papier-mâché mirror case dated 1857-58 was
recently auctioned in London (fig. 5).28 The scene on the upper cover was described
as a large central shaped cartouche depicting "an Orthodox priest and in the back
ground a stylized church." The Orthodox priest in question is an Armenian celibate

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6 7

Manuscript of the Four Gospels priest who wears the distinctive black silken cowl or hood (veghar) and is flanked
attributed to the Armenian artist
by two married priests (without headgears). The one on the right holds a censer by
Toros Roslin (1205?-1270?), Cilicia,
its chain, and the other on the left has an open prayer book; together they conduct
13th century. Armenia, Erevan,
Matenadaran, ms. no. 9422, fol. 12a. the Office of House Blessing. Some of the figures in the scene kneel in prayer, and
Gulbenkian Foundation. Photo: Ara the two men in the front bow to the clergy. All three clergy wear shourdjars of varied
Güter.
colors. The church behind is the stylized image of the Church of the Holy Savior's in
New Julfa (Amenaphrkitch, Isfahan). A similar image is repeated on apapier-mâché
7
qalamdan of the same date.
Manuscript of the Four Gospels,
copied by the scribe Yovhannes in The cope in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. 477-1894) is similar to this
1297. Grigor Tathevatsi (1344?-1409) vestment. It is made up of "dense silk pile that gives it the appearance of velvet" in
restored the manuscripts in 1378
luxurious brocading with silver and gilt thread of scrollwork and vegetation on a
and painted the Canons of the Letter
red ground with two images representing major feasts of the Christian Church: the
of Eusebius to Carpianus, as well as
Annunciation and the Crucifixion.
two scenes from the Life of Christ

cycle, including this Annunciation

miniature. Gulbenkian Foundation.
Physical description of the cope
Photo: Ara Güter.
4 feet 11 inches χ 7 feet 9 inches (1.50 meters χ 2.35 meters)
Warp: Two-ply yellow silk; 52 to one inch; on two levels
Weft: Pink silk; three shoots after each row of knots
Knots: Silk; Sehna type; 25 to one inch; 650 to the square inch
Colors: Eleven; crimson (field), medium blue (inner border), green, green
ish yellow, apricot, light blue, yellow, light brown, flesh, very light green,

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 9

Detail of Archangel Gabriel on front black. Some of the lighter colors are not clear and are difficult to place in
of cope. The staff that was once in the order.
angels hand is worn out and is not
Metal thread: Tapestry-woven on alternate warp threads of the upper set, six
visible in this fragment. Victoria and
Albert Museum, London. lines of metal thread being equivalent to one row of knots. It is of two kinds:
gold and silver. The former consists of a strip of gilded silver wound round a
9
core of orange-colored silk, and the latter of a strip of silver wound round a
Detail of Virgin Mary on front of
core of white silk. The round of the outer border is of gold thread.29
cope. Victoria and Albert Museum,
London.

When the cope is worn, the composite image of the Annunciation appears at the
front of the celebrant, with the image of Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary on
either side of the buckle in a vertical position facing each other (fig. 2). The image
of the Crucifixion adorns the back of the celebrant in full view of the congregation
(fig. 3). It is worth mentioning that during the entire performance of the Armenian
liturgy, the celebrant faces the altar with his back to the congregation. The scenes
on the shourdjar reproduce faithfully in content, style, and composition the images
found in Armenian manuscript illuminations (figs. 6 and 7). The formulae, orna
ments, and color scheme used are Armenian.
The Annunciation scene represents the narrative as recorded by the Gospel of
St. Luke 1:31. The magnificent angel of the Annunciation, clad in a pale gold tunic
that turns to brown and light green, has large, elegant shaped wings, one raised
over his shoulder and the other falling down at his side (fig. 8). Carrying a herald's

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 staff, he approaches gracefully, hand stretched out towards the Virgin Mary, who is
positioned on the opposite side of the buckle. The Virgin Mary, clad in a green dress
with a gold mantle, is depicted as a shy maiden with a restrained expression, who
hardly dares listen to the words of the angel (fig. 9). The green color of the Virgins
dress matches the color of the angel's wings. The positioning of her hands suggests
she is spinning thread. The Virgin holds a spindle pointing downward. The source
of this iconography is the Protoevangelium of James. In the Protoevangelium, Mary
and the other virgins are given the task of weaving a veil (curtain) for the temple.
Mary received the task of spinning the purple and scarlet threads. She heard a voice
at the well calling her "highly favored" and "blessed among women." She looked
to the left and right and saw no one. Trembling, she returned home and put down
her pitcher. She took up the purple thread to go on with the job, and suddenly she
saw the angel by her side. Mary heard him say, "Don't be afraid, for you have found
favor with the Lord of all things, and you will conceive his word." In the British
Library's Armenian manuscript of The Lives of the Saints copied in Constantinople
in 1652, the Virgin Mary is depicted twice in the Annunciation scene—once at the
well holding a jar of water, and then in the house holding a spindle—and in both
instances she is in the presence of the Archangel Gabriel.30
Also familiar to Armenian painters was the composition of the Crucifixion,
which depicts Mary and John standing on either side of the cross. No image better
embodies the spirit of Armenian theology than the miniature of the Crucifixion
showing the most central act of Christ's redeeming work and the most powerful
symbol of the Divine Liturgy. The basic composition of the Crucifixion in Arme
nian art was well fixed by the thirteenth century.31 The characteristic feature is not
the number of figures but their postures. The large cross is set against a plain gold
ground, with no distracting elements of scenery (fig. 10). On the cross hangs, or
rather stands, the figure of Christ, for he is shown virtually upright with his arms
extended horizontally from a powerful chest. This in itself sets the image apart from
the general run of Crucifixions in which Christ is clearly suspended, limp and dead.
Instead, here Christ gives an unmistakable impression of strength and self-con
tained power. Christ is dead, but there are no wounds and no blood. The horizontal
board on which his feet are nailed serves more as a footrest. This upright position of
Christ is fairly standard in Armenian art.
The prominent placement of Mary and John on either side of the cross (fig. 3)
combines the account of all three synoptic Gospels and of St. John 19:25-27, in
which Christ, seeing the two of them standing nearby, committed his mother to
Johns care. The postures of the two figures are also quite remarkable. The Virgin
Mary holds one hand to her breast and points with the other towards her son; in
European art she is usually shown with her eyes downcast in sorrow. Similarly, John

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The Crucifixion. Turkey, Istanbul, does not hold his head in grief or wipe away his tears. On the contrary, he look
1223. Church of St. Gregory the
straight across at the Virgin Mary. St. John is also depicted as the Gospels describ
Enlightener, Galata, ms. 35, fol. 266b.
him, wearing a himation (cloak) over a fleece (Gk. melote) or camels hair garmen
(Matt. 3:4). His untidy hair and beard are symbols of his asceticism. The two circl
next to him in silver thread are stones, a reference to the saying, "Broad of viper
God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham" (Matt. 3:7). Just
above Mary's head and parallel to Johns view is a very stylistic depiction of a b
with an axe embedded in its stem. This element of iconography is also found in
the miniature of Christ's Baptism that illustrates the verse, "And now also the
is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings not forth go
fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire" (Matt. 3:10). Finally, the suggestion th
the figure next to the cross is Judas, because he seems to be holding a pouch fille
with the thirty silver pieces he received for his betrayal of Jesus, does not feature
Armenian iconography. In fact, the position of St. John's hands is a visualizatio
of the Gospel narrative: "His winnowing fork in his hands, and he will clear his
threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will bu
with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:12). In both miniatures the gestures are literal
interpretations of the text.

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 The iconography of the Crucifixion is dictated by the theology of the Armenian
Church. After it rejected the Council of Chalcedon (451 ce), the Armenian Church
held the doctrine that Christ's human and divine natures were so united that in

everything he did "both God and man were inseparably present." This understand
ing of the Crucifixion is fundamentally different from the teaching of the Catholic
Church, which holds the view that Christ suffered and died in his human nature,
but he who suffers and dies therein is a divine person, the King of Heaven, super
nus rex, come down to earth. The most controversial point in Armenian theology
directly contravening the above doctrine is the presence in the Trisagion of the
phrase "who was crucified for us." In an Armenian commentary, the Crucifixion
is explained as "God was crucified in his body and he was on the cherubic throne;
God died in his body and he was glorified with the Father; God was in the tomb
and he was inseparable from the Fathers bosom." An echo of this theology is also
present in the meditation of the Armenian author Agathangeghos on the mystery
of God nailed on the cross: "But the Godhead who reaches above the heavens,
beyond the infinite ... was contained and nailed to the wood of the cross, filling
and extending in both the material and non-material sphere."32 David Anyaght
[the Invincible] in a Hymn to the Cross, which he defines with the Christological
predicate Astuadsënkal, meaning "receiver of God," says of the cross, "Blessed are
you, Holy Wood, adorned by God, or truly plant, that through the Lamb hanged
on you as on the tree sabek, saved from death not only Isaac, but the entire progeny
of Adam."33 The Cross is not merely an object of veneration but also of worship, for
the intelligible Wood is not to be separated from the reality of Christ himself. In
the Book of Revelations, where the Revised Standard Version has the expression
"tree of life," the Armenian translates the Greek literally aspayt (wood). This is how
the exegetes Step'anos Siwnetsi (680-735) and Anania Sanahentsi (1000-1070)
explain the Crucifixion miniature.
The "tree of life" or the "wood of life" is beautifully represented under the arms
of Christ. In a manuscript of the Four Gospels copied in the seventeenth century
(V & A, ms. W. 546), the Crucifixion miniature (fol. 16v) has this inscription: "He
is the wood of life for all those who seek refuge in him." At the foot of the cross, in
a section now missing from the cope, there would have been a small mount incor
porating a skull to represent Adam. All the elements I have focused on are listed
under the miniature of the Crucifixion in a manuscript of the Four Gospels copied
in 1477 ce: the Crucifixion, the Sun, the Moon, Christ, the Mother of the Lord,
John the Evangelist, and Adam's Head (ms. W. 540, fol. lv). In another manuscript
the miniature of the Crucifixion has this dedicatory inscription: "The Crucifixion
of Christ, whom the Jews crucified above Adam's head and the Theotokos and John
were there."34

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Descent of the Holy Spirit (The Feast The Virgin Mary is the eternal intermediary between man and God. The Divine
of Pentecost), by Voskan Erevantsi.
Liturgy of the Armenian Church begins with the prayer, "The holy Mother of God
Engraving based on a woodcut by
and all the saints, let us hold as intercessor with the Father in heaven." For the mys
Dutch artist Christoffel Van Sichern.

From the first Armenian Bible tic poet Gregory of Narek, Mary is herself the "living Paradise of delight, the tree
printed in Amsterdam, 1666. of immortal life." The hymn sung on the feast of the Annunciation describes the
Blessed Virgin as paradise: "O thou living Eden, soil of the immortal plant, the ver
dant place of the flower born of the bosom of the Father." In a miniature of the
Annunciation in the manuscript of the Four Gospels (Venice, twelfth century, ms.
141, fol. 124, and Matenadaran, ms. 6305), the tree is located between the approach
ing angel and the Virgin Mary.
Armenian artists were familiar with Western models and borrowed details from

foreign sources and integrated them into their compositions, but these Western
features did not dominate because the content of the composition was dictated
more by theology than by iconographie schemes. Pedro de Moura Carvalho argues
that the cope was "manufactured with the purpose of being used in Roman Cath
olic rites" because the inscription on the label INRI is in Latin.35 The equivalent
wording in Armenian is YNT'Y [= Y(isus) N(azovretsi) T'(agavor) Y(reits)] (Jesus
of Nazareth King of the Jews). This element crept into the miniature of the Cruci
fixion from Jan Theodor De Bry s Bible, which was published at Mainz in 1609, but
this is not an argument for concluding the cope was intended for use in the Catho
lic Church. Of the fourteen miniatures in the New Julfa Bible copied in New Julfa
from 1643 to 1645 (Jerusalem, ms. 1934), ten depend on De Bry's Bible of 1609.

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The Crucifixion, by Grigor All of the Apocalypse miniatures depend ultimately on Albrecht Dürers engrav
Marzvanesti. Engraving based on a
ings of 1496 to 1498. The first Armenian Bible printed in Amsterdam in 1666 by
woodcut by Christoffel Van Sichern.
Voskan Erevantsi reproduces the entire engravings of the Dutch artist Christof
Marzvanesti replaced the initials
INRI with the Armenian equivalent fel Van Sichern (fig. 11). All of Van Sichems woodcuts are signed with his initials
ΥΝΤΎ and Van Sichem's initials CVS; others he copied retain the initials HG (Hendrik Golzius), and some also have
(CVS) with his monogram GR at the Dürers monogram. The popularity of Voskan's Bible helped to spread Van Sichem's
foot of the cross.
engravings throughout the entire Armenian diaspora. His engravings were contin
uously used in other printing centers in Marseille and Constantinople. A collection
of such carved wood blocks not only found their way to the printing press estab
lished in New Julfa in 1636 but also were sources of inspiration for the paintings on
the walls of Amenap'rkitch (All Savior's) Cathedral and the Bethlehem Church. A
woodcut of the Heavenly Jerusalem was in use in St. James's printing press in Jeru
salem.36 Soon after the formative years of Armenian printing, a number of Arme
nian engravers emerged who, while still using the woodcuts of Van Sichern, made
serious effort to alter Western images to suit Armenian iconography. Grigor Marz
vanetsi, the first layman to make printing his sole profession and business, was also
a competent artist and engraver. In several books printed by him in his printing
house, he reused Van Sichem's engravings, including that of the Crucifixion, but he
replaced the initials INRI with the Armenian equivalent YNT'Y and replaced the
initials CVS with his monogram GR (Grigor) placed at the foot of the cross (fig. 12).
In the same book he also placed an engraving of the Crucifixion in an imitation of
Armenian iconography.37

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 Printing was introduced into Persia by Khatchatour vardapet Kesaratsi, the
prelate of New Julfa from 1620 to 1646. This pioneering operation began in 1636
and produced its first title in 1638. Dikran Kouymjian, in his study of the design
features of leather manuscript bindings executed in New Julfa from the mid-seven
teenth to the mid-eighteenth century, identifies 115 inscribed bindings crafted in
various countries. Ninety of them are from New Julfa, and all have very distinctive
localized features. The earliest example is a manuscript dated 1658, which shows
on its lower cover the Virgin standing on a crescent inside a circle. The upper cover
has a stamp of the Crucifixion. In both instances the inscription accompanying
the images is in Armenian script: MARIAM (Mary) and Y[isus]S iC[risto]S (Jesus
Christ). The Crucifixion scene on the upper cover of one book (see Matenadaran
ms. 3036, dated 1663) was repeated four times on the covers of a New Julfa manu
script (no. 1), which is also dated 1663. Of the ninety inscribed bindings identified
by Kouymjian as being from New Julfa, most have stamps of the Crucifixion and
the Virgin on the upper and lower covers, respectively, inscribed in Armenian let
ters. The conclusion to draw from this is that some of the stamps were fashioned in
New Julfa; others were clearly imported from the West.
In addition, the legend INRI and its equivalent YNT'Y were not the only format
in use among Armenian artists. As in these examples, full descriptions were placed
over the image in most Armenian manuscripts. The legends vary from region to
region, i.e., "This is the King of the Jews" (Los Angeles, University of Southern
California, Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library, Special Collections, Arme
nian ms. 1), or "Jesus Christ King of the Jews" (Goodspeed, ms. 949), or "This is the
King of the Jews, Lord God Jesus Christ" (New Julfa, ms. 47[43]), or "This is the
King of the Jews and this is what the emperor wrote" (New Julfa, ms. 396[105]). A
manuscript of the Four Gospels from the seventeenth century (ms. W. 546) has the
inscription, "He is the wood of life for all those who seek refuge in him," which fits
the theological interpretation of the event as outlined above. In the manuscript of
the Four Gospels dated 1655 that was copied in New Julfa (Chester Beatty Library,
578, pi. 53a), the inscription for the Crucifixion reads, "The Crucifixion of Christ,
whom the Jews crucified above Adams head, and the Theotokos and John were
there." In three manuscripts now in the British Library's collection (Or. 13, 895
[1658], Or. 14161 [1695], and Or. 15274 [1666]), the legend is in Armenian let
ters.38 There are also instances in Armenian miniatures where the artist placed
the inscription in three scripts: Armenian, Latin, and Greek. In a twelfth-century
manuscript (Venice, ms. 141, fol. 66), the miniature of the Entombment has the
inscription "And they put Jesus in a tomb that was hewn out of rock" in Armenian,
with the sigla of Christ and the inscription on the titulus in Latin and the Greek
initials IC XC.39

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 Aesthetics and the Use of Colors

Another of Carvalho's arguments for attributing the shourdjar to Augustinians or

one of the other Roman Catholic orders is because "the Virgin [is] wearing green
robes and that might indicate the origin of the prototype."40 In the calendar of the
Armenian Church the three Sundays following Easter are called "Colorful Sun
days" (Gounagegh Kirakiner). The first Sunday after Easter, called "New Sunday,"
has white as its symbol; the second Sunday, representing the establishment of the
Church, is symbolized by green; and the third is named "Red Sunday," in memory
of the period when Christians were persecuted for their faith.41
In patristic literature Grigor Tathevatsi (1344-1409) in his Book of Sermons
comments on the vestments of the liturgy by saying, "On New Sunday or White
Sunday the shourdjar worn should be white; on the Sunday of the World Church
or Green Sunday [yashkharamatran = Martyrium] green should be the color of
the vestment; and on the third Sunday called Red Sunday the color designated is
red."42 The author Simeon vardapet Aparantsi ( 1550-1615) also postulates that "the
shourdjar worn on Green Sunday should have the image of the Crucifixion" (Lit
urgy ms. 1284 ce).
Armenian commentaries on the Eusebian Canon Tables are unique sources
for the study of medieval Armenian Christian art. There are thirteen such com
mentaries. The most studied and available to Western scholars in translation are

those by Step'anos Siwnetsi, Nerses IV Klayetsi, called Shnorhali (1102-1173),

and Grigor Tathevatsi. These texts deal with the aesthetic, symbolic, and icono
graphie aspects and architectural composition of the canon tables. They also com
ment on the various symbolic and psychological meanings of the colors, the floral
and animal motifs, and the special symbolism of the numbers. According to the
authors of these commentaries, the Canon Tables are endowed with four colors:
red, green, black, and blue. The color green signifies the immortality of the sacred
hierarchies—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost united—while the "red fiery altar" is
a symbol of Christ's blood, and the gold represents the ecclesiastical status.43
In his commentary Nerses Shnorhali divides everything in the world into two
parts: "necessities and enjoyment, i.e., what is necessary for life, as light, air, earth,
and obj ects originating from them, and that which gives pleasure and softens the feel
ings, possible to live without, but that will be an unwise and lifeless existence." Bright
colors are mentioned among a number of enjoyments (wine, fruit, spices, delicacies,
incense, and pleasant sounds). Those features that seem "unimportant are greatly
useful for perfected ones, namely, the initiated." He maintains that color, taste, and
smell help the viewer ascend to the spiritual and to the rational enjoyment of the
good tidings of God, "which eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which
the heart of man has not recalled, which God has prepared for his loved ones."44

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Bazpans (maniples) with images The first premises behind such an approach to art is the frank acceptance that
of Archangel Gabriel and Virgin
the sensuous is good in itself and therefore worthy of serious attention by intellec
Mary. Turkey, Constantinople, 18th
tuals. According to Nerses, "God gave the lover of material things an understanding
century. Gold- and silver-threaded
embroidery. Holy Ëjmiadsin of the heavenly." The second premise is that the most profound meanings contained
Treasury, no. 38a-b. in art must be cloaked in mystery. This is exactly the reverse of the role symbols
have in Western medieval art, which is didactic in intent and depends on spelling
14
out all meanings explicitly, thus removing all mystery. Hence, for Nerses Shnorhali,
Infulae with images of Archangel
the sensual pleasures received from manuscript illuminations are not for the simple
Gabriel and Virgin Mary. Turkey,
Constantinople, 18th century. folk but are rather "baths of sight and hearing for those approaching the soaring
Silk, gold- and silver-threaded peaks of God."45 "The red, the color of wine, is on account of Melchizedek's bring
embroidery. Holy Ëjmiadsin ing forth the mysteries in the type of Christ... the red becomes brighter and the
Treasury, no. 538a-b.
lily blossoms, because the cross has come near and the oracles approached the Res
urrection, announcing the salvation of the gentiles through the blood of Christ"
(Step'anos Siwnetsi). In Nerses Shnorhali's view, "Green [and black] are symbolic
of the incomprehensibility of God, which is hidden from them; for by means of the
church through the incarnation of the Son." The foliage and vegetation surround
ing the "tree of life" (Crucifixion) "is the house of the Lord that water is caused to
spring which flows in life everlasting; it is this which is walled around, not by the
terrifying fire and the flaming Seraphic sword, but by the luxurious floral and color
ful garden."46
Gregory of Magistros, in his Letters written to reject the views of the
T'ondrakians, an Armenian iconoclastic sect that accused the Armenian Church
of idolatry, explains the depiction of the Crucifixion scene as the focus of prayers
of intercession in these terms: "When you see the sign of the cross you shall pray,
because it reminds you that Jesus Christ was crucified for you; and you must regard

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Back of banner with figure of Christ thyself as crucified along with Him. In its presence you shall lay aside all earthly
enthroned. Embroidered silk, 1448.
thoughts, and greet it with pure lips and say: 'Christ, thou Son of God, be thou mer
Museum of the Catholicate,
ciful to me.'.. ,"47
ËJmiadsin, inv. no. Textile 115.
Presented in Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years oj Armenian Christian Art, an
exhibition held at the British Library in 2001, were two embroidered items with pic
torial embellishments similar to the composition seen on this cope. They included
a pair of maniples (bazpans) worn by members of the clergy on the left and right
forearm over the sleeves of the alb (fig. 13). The central figure on the left cuff is the
Archangel Gabriel. On the right cuff is the Virgin Mary holding a lily and stand
ing in front of a throne with a table; near her hover two angels. The two sections
together make up the scene of the Annunciation (Holy Edjmiadsin Treasury, no.
38a-b). On a pair of embroidered infulae or fanons are lappets (artakhouraks) that
hang from the lower edge of the amice ( vakas) about fifteen centimeters away from
the center on either side (fig. 14). Embroidered with several layers of gold thread in
relief on red silk, the central figure on the left is that of the Archangel Gabriel. The
name Gabriel is inscribed in the outer border in the middle, between the figure and
the floral decoration (Holy Edjmiadsin Treasury, no. 538a-b). The right lappet has
the full standing frontal figure of the Virgin Mary looking towards the approaching
Archangel Gabriel. Her name, Surb Mariam (Holy Mary), is embroidered in the
outer margin close to the image of the dove representing the Holy Spirit. The entire
scene of the Annunciation on the bazpans is executed in luxurious red silk with
designs of grapes, vines, and foliage embroidered in gold thread. The Virgin Mary
stands on a green cushion. In the case of the artakhouraks, the garment worn by the
Archangel Gabriel is in green-colored silk. Both of the artakhouraks are on a green
colored silk background. It is obligatory that the colors of the maniple, stole, amice,
infulae, and cope be of the same color.48

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ι6

Front of banner with figures of St. Another custom in the Armenian Church is to use alternate altar frontals appro
Gregory the Enlightener standing
priate to major feast days. Richly embroidered silk panels stretched over frames that
between King Trdat and St. Hiip'sime.
exactly fit the front of the altar are common features of such decorations. Among
Embroidered silk, 1448. Museum of
the Catholicate, Ëjmiadsin, inv. no. the most beautifully decorated altar frontals is the one dated 1619 in the treasury of
Textile 115. St. James's Monastery in Jerusalem. Used on the feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul, it
depicts an angel bringing the head of St. James to the Virgin. Sixteen surrounding
scenes represent the Passion of Christ, starting with the Annunciation to the Vir
gin. Each of the scenes bears an inscription. The whole altar frontal is on green silk,
with each scene embroidered in gold and silver threads.49
The earliest dated textile that has set the pattern for Armenian liturgical embroi
dery is a processional banner inscribed with the year 1448 ce. That is the year when
the Holy See of the Armenian Catholicate was moved from the kingdom of Cilicia,
following its collapse in 1375, to a site in Vagharshapat. On the back is the figure
of Christ enthroned and raising his hand in blessing (fig. 15). He is surrounded by
the symbols of the Four Evangelists arranged according to the text of Revelation
4:7. The arch above Christ's head represents the heavens, above which are seen the
symbols ofthe sun and the moon amongst stars. The initials 8U and -PU (BMJflhU
■PPMJSflU)[= Jesus Christ] are woven into the material. The front ofthe banner has
the full-face frontal figures of St. Gregory the Enlightener standing between King
Trdat and St. Hrip'sime (fig. 16). Their names appear above their heads: SPTU.S
UP ^Pb^ilP - UP ¿ΠΦΦϋΜΓ5 (Trdat - S[our]b Grigor - S[our]b Hrip'sime). St.
Gregory wears a miter, a short white silk shourdjar adorned with crosses in black,
and a pallium woven with silver threads. The king, with his hands raised, is dressed
in a red tunic with a gold belt, while the identical tunic of St. Hrip'sime is green. She
wears a red cope with slippers of matching color. The fine embroidery has a paint
erly quality.50 In the miniatures of Armenian manuscripts are found numerous

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17

St. Gregory the Enlightener wearing representations of saints depicted in shourdjars (fig. 17) and the Virgin Mary
a shourdjar and blessing King dressed in a green-colored silk tunic.
Trdat and Queen Ashken when
John Carswell, in his major work on the Armenian churches and buildings
they converted to Christianity in
301 CE. This image comes from a
in New Julfa, lists the following scenes of the Annunciation and the Crucifixion
manuscript of the Lives of the Fathers amongst the wall paintings.
(Synaxarion), which was copied on
the command of Khodja Skandar in Annunciation
1658, during the Catholicate of Ter
Pl. 8. All Savior's Cathedral, wall painting, 1658-63
Khatchatour of Cilicia (1657-77).
Lebanon, Antelias, Library of the PL 13. All Savior's Cathedral, tile panel, 1717
Holy See of Cilicia, ms. no. 124, fol. 7b. Pl. 19. Church of St. George, tile panel, 1610-11
PL 27. Church of St. Stephen, stucco panel, 1642/43
PL 52. Church of St. Sargis, tile panel, 1705
PL 67. Church of St. Gregory, wall painting, 1710

Crucifixion

Pl. 58. Church of St. Nerses, wall painting, 1666/67

Ρ1.61. Church of St. Nerses, the altar, painting, 1724
PI. 62. Church of St. Nerses, wooden cross, 1721. Legend in Armenian:
8.Vf9\¿ [INRI]
Pl. 64. Church of St. Nicholas, painted wooden cross (Dutch, eighteenth
century). Legend in Armenian: β.Χι.β'.Ζ [INRI]
Pl. 88. The Museum, stole embroidered with gold and silver thread, dated
177551

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 The Armenian Inscription on the Shourdjar
In his article Carvalho suggests that the association of the cope to the Isfahan
Armenian community, as noted in the records of the Victoria and Albert Museum,
was the result of misinformation provided by the "Indjoudjian Armenian dealers,
eager to associate such precious textiles to the presence of their fellow-citizens in
the capital of the empire."52 He quotes several lines from the article by Donald King,
former Keeper of Textiles at the Victoria and Albert Museum, but he does not take
into consideration Mr. Kings other recollection that "the Annunciation group on
the front of the vestment had a larger inscription, of which there are some remains
near the archangel's head, but unfortunately so fragmentary that it is hard to be sure
what script was used. These letters merit further study, since they could well throw
light on the origin of the vestment. Even better would be the rediscovery of the
inscription, which was rumoured to be 'somewhere about' in 1926."53
In 20031 was invited to the Victoria and Albert Museum to view the cope in the
conservation studio. I expressed the view that the cope was of Armenian origin and
had been made for use in the Armenian Church. Several months later I was called

back to the museum by the chief conservator, who had recovered the "fragmentary
script" first mentioned by Donald King.54
First, the Indjoudjian brothers should be counted among the notable group of
Armenian dealers and connoisseurs of Islamic and Armenian art who operated in
the field during the first half of the last century: Calouste Gulbenkian, Dikran Khan
Kelekian,55 Hakob Kevorkian, Harout'iwn Kudian, and Harout'iwn Hazarian.56
Four manuscripts copied and illuminated in Tokat by Mkrtitch Djahenkal between
1656 and 1679 were part of the Indjoudjian collection, before they were acquired
by Margosian-Esmerian in Paris. (They are now in the Erevan-Matenadaran collec
tion.)57 It is thanks both to the perceptiveness and taste of the Indjoudjian brothers
that fragments of such a remarkable work have been saved and to the farsighted
ness of Arthur Pope that they were secured for the Victoria and Albert Museum. It
would be accurate to assume that the Indjoudjians were attracted to the cope for its
Armenian inscription.
Since inscriptions are inseparable parts of Armenian works of art, it would have
been unusual if a work with such an impressive artistic and historic provenance
had not been inscribed. Armenian artists always included an inscription as a way to
describe the scene. In the miniature scenes of the Annunciation, some inscriptions
quote the Gospel directly and others paraphrase it.
To reconstruct the inscription on the cope, it is useful to look at inscriptions
found on Armenian artifacts that depict the Annunciation and the Crucifixion.
Here are a few examples of legends used on artifacts of Armenian origin that will
assist in the reconstruction of the inscription on this cope.

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 1. Walters Art Museum, ms. W. 540,1475 ce, fol. 128
bh UUt U> bPh^ShP, ITUPbUlT, Sb ^SbP ÜOÍ1PZU
SUUSilhttilS: bh IUU SlUUSbPbh Ö"u5bU ΠΡ1Φ bh iiílSblJóbU
au^nhi wu smjíimj

Translation: "And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary: for
favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy wom
forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus" (Lk. 1:30)

2. Walters Art Museum, ms. W. 543,1455 ce, fol. 5

«MlPPMjl, UhbSfc U(flW)P iiflMJMi ITUPMllfilh
Translation: "Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary"

3. New Julia, ms. 47(43), 1330 ce, rol. lv

UbbSb-P [placed in between the approaching Gabriel and the
flhPUlol.bPPbiiPbUl.T'StP Cl^-PbS
Translation: "Greetings [...] Rejoice the Lord is with you" (Lk. 1:29)

4. Erevan, Matenadaran, ms. 6325,16th century, fol. 6a

UbbSb^'U: [placed above the angels head] U.3U 1; S-U,PPbl;l, ¿PbCS(U)
b("b) [placed above the Virgins head] U(ni.p)P U,(uLnnLuj)ÎJU.ÎTh'lj
Translation: "Rejoice [... ] This is the angel Gabriel [... ] Theotokos"58

Among the ecclesiastical objects with inscriptions catalogued by Evgine

Mousheghyan are several shourdjars that will assist to recover the full inscription
on this cope.59

1. No. 98. Shourdjar, 1601 ce (fig. 18a, b)

Inscription:
8(fi2m)S(m)^ t
U(n l p)P b'l(b)'i,(b)Ô(nlj)U
U(nLp)P U(nLp)P U(nLp)P S(t)P U(nLp)P U(ruP)P U(nLp)P S(t)p
auhpnhß-(bi4jij)ö auhpnho-(bmL)ô
S(t)P Ui(uuinLuj)TJ
S(flUnL)l) ·Ρ(ρ^υυΐπ)υ
0"l(fiL) fhO

Enlivening this semicircular cope are identical images of Christ sitting on a throne
that is supported by an angel, eagle, calf, and lion. The Armenian inscription is
the words of the Trisagion. The four corners of each Cross have the monogram

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 i8a

i8a

Cope (shourdjar). Turkey, S(t)pU( umnLuj)^ 3([ιυπί)υ ■í>(pfiuuin)u (Lord God, Jesus Christ). The remaining
Constantinople, 1601. Red satin.
inscription reads: "This is to the memory of the Church, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord
Armenia, Erevan, National History
powerful, Lord all powerful, God, Jesus Christ. In the year 1601."
Museum, inv. no. E-1930.

2. No. 102. Shourdjar, 1649 ce

This cope is made of white silk embroidered with threads of many colors.
In the middle is the Crucifixion scene, with grape vines and palm leaves on
either side; the fruits are composed of the bust portraits of the Twelve Apos
tles. The entire background of the shourdjar is made up of grapes, flowers,
and foliage. The label on the cross reads:
8 (fiuruu) 1» (mqni|pbgfi) β" (luqujinp) Z, (ptfig)
The letters in bold are YNT'H [= INRI].

Of the two other shourdjars the first consists of sky blue silk with the scene of
Crucifixion and the year 1702. Twenty-one lines of inscription are placed on the
borders of the four bars of the cross. The last cope is also made of sky blue silk
and the eight lines of inscription are placed on a piece of cloth in the shape of a
cross.

In the published colophons of Armenian manuscripts dated betw

1620 are countless memorials listing donations made by wealthy m
i8b local churches.60 Of these, two are of particular interest since th
Detail of figure of enthroned Christ with copes made and donated to churches in New Julfa.
and inscriptions.

"Remember before Christ Khodja Gharpdjan and his brother Kh

djan, who received through their honest earnings two zarbaf sh
a silver chalice and gave it to the church of St. Thomas the Apos
gium, 1601).

"Remember and seek mercy for the sins of Mahdesi Hamosh

shourdjar worth forty ghoroush to the church of Saint Georg 't
(Book of Rituals, 1613).

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 19

19

Drawing of Armenian inscription The cope in the Victoria and Albert Museum bears the remnants of a total of
seven letters. Above I have quoted two categories of inscriptions, the first pertain
ing to the image and the second being a memorial to the recipient. The inscrip
tion on this cope could either be a legend describing the Annunciation scene or a
memorial to the patron or the recipient (fig. 19).

1. The seven letters of the Armenian alphabet in large uncials (erkat'agir), num
bered one to seven, could be either of these three letters—2,3—or the marks left
by the sewing of the metal buckles. In the event of it being a letter, it is most likely
the first letter of the name.

S(nLr[i4j)3(bgfi)' ofNewJulfa, preceded by name.

The other option is that the initial letter is the abbreviation of the word
Sif(Sbrt ujJp) = by the hand of or Ρ'ιΙΐι(Ρ,4ω^ωΙι)[= in the year].

2. The second letter is definitely the letter 3 in the name S(nLqw)3(bg[i). It could
also be the first letter of the male name 3 (wl^np), i.e., Y[akob].
The alternative probability is that the uncial letter 3 is the first letter of the abbre
viation 3CSiil; for ShCUSUlit [= YSHTKË = YISHATAKË (In memory of)].
3. The letter S is the first letter of the title S t Ρ [ = TËR ( Lord) ]. In this context it is

the first letter of the word S (mgfi) [=TATSI (give)].

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 20

20

Carpet made of fine silk and metal 4. The horizontal line could be the base of the uncial letter "υ or IT (N or S
threads embroidered in Isfahan
this reconstruction it is the pronoun "b (ITU,) [= Ν (MA) (him/her)].
during the reign of Shah 'Abbas I.
5. This letter is the same as number three, but here it stands for the noun S
[=T(ËR) (Lord)].
6,7. The two letters at the foot of the angel are the abbreviation for U (u m π lu
The full text on this analysis should read: 3 (f^ujuimlj) S (ujg(i) (Juj) S
U. (uuinLLu) tF
Translation: "In memory of [...] [and] the Lord God shall give him" (Lk. 1:3

Who Was the Probable Weaver of the Isfahan Shourdjari

Arakel Davrizhetsi in his account of the cultural scene in New Julfa in the se
teenth century (chapter 29) and Y. Ter Yovhaneants in his History mention tw
artists, namely, Minas and Yakobjan.61 According to the diarist Zak'aria Agou
Yakobjan died "on March 29th, 1671."62 Yakobjan was the artist whom Khatch
Kesaratsi sent to Europe to learn the technique of printing. When he returne
New Julfa, he was appointed durgar (master carpenter) by Shah Abbas and rece
a salary of thirty tumans. In nine Armenian sources he is mentioned as Jean Ja
(Yakob Yovhannisian).63
In July 1988,1 was invited by Jack Franses to see a carpet made of fine silk
metal threads that was embroidered in Isfahan during the reign of Shah 'Abb
(fig. 20), and I was asked to contribute a brief note on the history of the Arme
colony in New Julfa.64 In that same year Marian Wenzel published her article o
carpet, calling it a "Polonaise" type carpet with "the startling discovery of an A
nian inscription."65 In the concluding paragraph of her study she states, "It s
possible to claim with a good deal of confidence that the Yakob carpet is a rep
sentative of a hitherto unrecognized 'Polonaise' from an Armenian workshop

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21

Drawings of Armenian inscription Persia, or possibly from an Armenian craftsman working in a Persian court work
in carpet shop, made late in the reign of Shah Abbas."66
The Armenian inscription is much more conclusive (fig. 21).
1. The Armenian name SU^flP [YAKOB] was woven in full in large erkat'agir
(uncials) hidden in medallions, as is commonly found on Armenian artifacts. In
addition, the initial letter 3 of the name is hidden in the wide upper right
and lower left borders. The concealed position of the name suggests Yakob is the
weaver of the carpet.
2. In much smaller bolorgir (round hand) script are the letters P- and lib, which
are the abbreviation for the word Pflh (fili) meaning "In the year."
3. The letter is the third letter of the Armenian alphabet with the sound value
of the letter G in Greek and English. The <l· in the Armenian alphabet also has the
numerical value of three. This single letter represents the full and precise date of
when the carpet was made by Yakob according to the Azarian calendar.
Armenians saw the beginning of their colony in Isfahan as the start of a new and
prosperous era in their long history. Back in 552 ce, when the Armenian Church
broke away from the rest of Christendom to form a national church, the occasion
was marked by the invention of a new calendar. The starting point of the "Great
Armenian Era" (Grufili 2,uqng) is 552 ce. On this basis, the difference between the
Armenian era and the modern calendar is 551 years, the figure used for converting
the Great Armenian Era into the modern calendar (e.g., AE 1006 + 551 = 1557 ce).
Similarly, to mark the new era in the history of the New Julfa Armenians, the intellec
tual Azaria Djoughayetsi, a native of New Julfa, created a calendar called the "Azar
ian calendar" after his name.67 In it, the old "Armenian era" came to an end on 21
March 1616 of the Julian calendar. According to this calendar, if the date being deter
mined followed the Azarian calendar and it fell between 21 March and 31 December,

a total of 1615 years was added. For dates falling between 1 January and 21 March,
1616 years were added. Mesrop Seth and Yarout'iwn Yovhaneants cite the following
two instances of the use of the Azarian calendar in dating their respective works.

"This is the tomb of Samuel, son of the late Zorabbeg. Died in the year 159 of
the era of Azaria" (i.e., 159 + 1615 = 1774).

To assist in the reconstruction of the city of New Julfa, twenty-six wealthy

merchants signed an agreement in the Azarian era 154. The document is
dated « q-p^bgujil 154 huífuLU] 15 ». This converts to the date 3 July
1770(154+ 1616= 1770).68

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 Two Armenian manuscripts in the holdings of the University of California, Los
Angeles, employ the Azarian system of dating.69 The first is a miscellany copied
during the reign of Shah Abbas in the village of Zazeran near Isfahan. The date
recorded is "on 12 Adam [= 1 May] in the year 183," which corresponds to 1799.
The wording in an inscription on the binding of a manuscript with the stamp of the
Crucifixion inscribed with the letters INRI gives the date as being "written in the
year 1174 of the Great [Armenian] Era [= 1725], in the year 110 of the Lesser Era,
completed on Adam 12," which converts to 16 May 1725. Azaria's calendar did not
gain wide acceptance, and as all the examples indicate it was used mainly by the
Armenian communities in Iran, especially in New Julfa, and in India. By this cal
culation the Yakob carpet was made in the "Azarian era" of 3 (3 + 1616 = 1619 ce).
Another instance of misidentification was discovered while checking the hand
knotted oriental pile rugs described by Leonard Harrow and Jack Franses.70 Item
number eight is described as a very important creation that stands out among the
collections Persian pieces because of the power of its design as well as its function
as a portiere that covered a doorway in an Armenian Church. The design has all the
features of an Armenian illuminated canon table, with the elements of scrolls, acan
thus leaves, crosses, vegetal motifs, peacocks, and lions in combat. Above all, the
most crucial feature is the presence of Armenian letters well hidden in the foliage.
They provide all the data needed to date the item and to determine its provenance,
but the authors have deciphered the letters incorrectly. Approximately seven cen
timeters down from the top of the rug is a frieze in the right and left outer mar
gins, and next to it in the small open space below is the Armenian initial η. (d).
Then two centimeters up from below that in the corner of the right margin hidden
among foliage are the letters Tb. These three letters taken together spell the name
"Hu4Lfi|5] b' [= Davit Vth (Enegethtsi) (Davit the fifth)], who was Catholicos of All
Armenians from 1801 to 1807. The letter b here has the numerical value of five, and
it is also the initial letter of the name of the place of his birth. The rug is dedicated to
the Catholicos of All Armenians, Davit Vth Enegethtsi.
Arthur Upham Pope, in his very famous study "The myth of the Armenian
dragon carpets," held the erroneous view that "there is no record nor even local
tradition that rug weaving was ever carried on in Armenia to any extent," and to
prove to his readers that his views do "not rest on negative criticism only," he cites
"one genuine Armenian carpet in existence which holds true to Armenian style" in
the collection of Herr Wilhelm Holzman in Berlin.71 The inscription on this rug is
not in Armenian, and the "devices" used in it have no resemblance to illuminations
in Armenian manuscripts. All the letters around the border are in Slavonic and
Georgian. I would invite others to have a second look at this study and the image on
which the conclusion rests.

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 22A

22A

Cope of Patriarch Grigor Paronter, The letter 3 on the Marcy-Indjoudjian cope could also be the initial letter
Armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, name Yakob, as in the Yakob of the "Polonaise" carpet. Another craftsma
1613-45. Treasury of the Armenian
mold of Yakob was the potter Abraham of Kutahya, who made pottery in
Patriarchate of St. James, Jerusalem.
The dominant feature of this of designs "to please every possible variety of customer."72 Such examples
magnificent cope is the repeated multiplied several fold.73
motif of the cross with the monogram
on the wings of the cross: T(E)
Who Was the Recipient of This Cope?
R[Lord] YI(SUS) [Jesus] K'(RISTO)
The most prominent figure in the Armenian Church in the seventeenth
S [Christ] A(STUA)C[God].
was Movses vardapet Tathevatsi (1577-1632).74 In 1610 he visited St. Jame
vent in Jerusalem, where Patriarch Grigor Paronter (1613-45) appointed
ristan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (fig. 22).75 While in Jerusale
mastered the craft of producing pure white smokeless candles for use in
services. When Shah 'Abbas heard about Movses s expertise, he sent two e
Bayindur Beg and Amirkhan, to invite Movses to Isfahan, where he woul
royal artisans the art of making white candles. Movses arrived in New Julf
Arakel Davrizhetsi records, "Movses worked for eight months before mee
Shah in Fahrabad, where the Shah was resting after capturing Baghda
Nazar introduced Movses to the Shah, who then presented him with some
Shah Abbas gave 100 litres of wax to Movses to make white candles."
Arakel Davrizhetsi and the Italian traveler Pierto della Valle testify tha
Abbas had the habit of attending Christian ceremonies. In 1627 the shah
his desire to khodja Nazar to make a special lavish arrangement for th
tion of Epiphany. On the day of the feast Movses vardapet led the ceremon
priests splendidly vested in "white stoles and caps of cloth of gold upon th
with long labels hanging down to their middle, but more gorgeous was the
the Patriarch, being all over richly embroidered with gold and adorned wit
gems, processed to the river, with crosses, silver bells, and a great number
candles."76 The shah rode into the river with his two sons, and "puis il co

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22B 22C

22B

The top inscription records: "The avec son humeur active et incapable d'aucun repos, a faire l'office de mait
cope is in memory of Ter Grigor Ceremonies."77 The river was blessed with holy oil (miwron) to symbolize
archbishop of Holy Jerusalem to my
Baptism in the river Jordan. The Armenian Church regards the Baptism (
[spiritual] parent from Yakob in
[the Armenian Era] 1063" [+ 551 =
Christmas celebrated on 25 December) as the event at which Christ was re
1614 ce]. to mankind as the Son of God. After the ceremony Shah Abbas was enter
khodja Safar's three sons and their uncle Nazar. Impressed with the procee
22C
the shah asked khodja Nazar, "What does your vardapet wish to have? Wh
The bottom inscription states:
offer, treasure, property, or anything else?"78 Khodja Nazar requested th
"Remember haji Marok' from
Constantinople who made this cope." appoint Movses sacristan for the Cathedral of the Holy See of Edjmiadsin.
In 1627 Movses vardapet, with the consent of the shah as decreed in a r
man, departed from Fahrabad for Erevan. On arrival Movses found the Holy
the words of the Psalmist, like "Jerusalem on heaps" (Ps. 79:1 ) and "a lodge
den of cucumbers, as a besieged city" (Is. 1:8). The cathedral had been emp
its treasures and its manuscripts. Services were not held, for the clergy had
ments or shourdjars to wear while celebrating the Holy Mass or the Holy H
Holy altar did not have frontals. A colophon in a manuscript written in 1
testifies to the degree of patronage and favor Movses vardapet enjoyed "d
prelacy over all the Armenians, and when Khatchatour vardapet was the p
of our see of New Julfa; and during the reign over the Persians of Shah Ab
victorious king, and when the prince of the Armenians was khodja Nazar,
and intimate of the king... ,"79
Following the death of Shah Abbas, his son Shah Safi succeeded him on
sian throne. During his reign the Holy See was in great debt, which khodj
persuaded the shah to cancel by royal edict in honor of Movses's election t
Catholicate of All Armenians on 13 January 1629. Evidence suggests the c
commissioned by his patron khodja Nazar and presented to Movses by the
Movses Tathevatsi's career as sacristan of the Holy Sepulchre and
Catholicos of All Armenians coincided with the patriarchate in Jerus
Grigor Paronter. During this time in the early seventeenth century, the b
Armenian Brotherhood of St. James did not have a single qurush in its tr
Most of its properties, church vessels, and vestments had been seized,
pledged as security for payment of its mountainous debts. In partnership
Latin and Greek churches, the Armenians had custody over the Holy place
Brotherhood spent large sums of money to protect and safeguard its privile
possessions, which were virtually purchased time and time again from ava
officials. In 1611 Grigor Paronter appointed Movses Tathevatsi a nuirak (n

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 the Brotherhood of St. James. Wealthy merchants from New Julfa, including khodja
Safar, Panos, Voskan, and Awetik', traveled to Amid, Constantinople, Poland, and
Aleppo to collect funds, pay creditors, and finance mortgages.80 A manuscript
in St. James's collection (no. 322), which has a biography of the Patriarch Grigor
Paronter, lists in great detail the ecclesiastical objects that were donated to the Patri
archate. A list of itemized donations includes fifty-seven luxurious silk copes. The
memorial attached to the list of donations has added significance, for it states, "God
have mercy on Ter Movses Tathevatsi, who with bishop Ghoukas came bringing
two large silver lamps, one altar frontal for St. James's main altar [awag], one silver
censer, one silver incense holder, and eleven censers made of copper. He came to
Jerusalem in the year 1613."81 In the same manuscript (fol. 20b), khodja Mateos, son
of khodja Marut'in, gave a fine silk shourdjar: "khodja Mateos son of khodja Egh
nazar gave to Jerusalem in memory of his parents, a gold chalice, a large splendid
cross, one silver lamp, one curtain, one altar cover."82
Another account of khodja Nazar's visit to the Holy City from New Julfa is dated
17 April 1626 (fol. 48a). This coincides with the year when Movses Tathevatsi was
appointed sacristan and Shah Abbas attended the Armenian Epiphany with khodja
Nazar. Pilgrimage was a visible expression of piety that was particularly suited
to the life of the traveling merchant. Jerusalem was the ultimate pilgrimage, and
successfully reaching it bestowed on the pilgrim the title mahdesi (from the Ara
bic maqdisi). Undoubtedly the Islamic imprint went deeper than the name, and
the example of the Hajj as the perfect occasion to combine commerce and piety
exerted an influence on the Armenian pilgrimage tradition. Jerusalem was not a
major commercial center, but pilgrimage to Jerusalem became an obligatory stop
for Armenian silk merchants entering or leaving Iran via Erevan.
Arthur Upham Pope, who knew the Indjoudjians personally when they made
their bequests, as well as Ian Bennett, John Carswell, and Donald King, all agree the
cope was made in New Julfa and then found its way into the treasury of the Arme
nian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem.83

Conclusion

Armenian culture has been in close proximity with Islamic art since the seventh
century, with the high points being during the Ottoman and Safavid periods.
The borrowings from Islamic art were never simple plagiarism, for the objects
produced in an Islamic style were for the Islamic market and those closer to the
Armenian style were for Christian patrons and were made for use in Christian
institutions. The result is not an amalgam but a new creation in which the art
ist, while fully appreciative of current creative styles in neighboring countries, is
guided throughout by a sense of his own Christian tradition. The consummate skill

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 of the Armenian artist comes to the fore in textiles in the harmony of the composi
tion, the delicacy of line of the individual motifs, the rich colors, and the overall
theological message intended to communicate to the viewer. To the list of some of
the splendid objects associated with this milieu, we should add the magnificent
astrolabe found by this author and belonging to the Armenian physician Amir
Dovlat of Amasia (1420/25-1496), dated 1479 and auctioned in December 1997,84
the Yakob "Polonaise" carpet, and the Yakob cope.
Iranian art or art with Iranian features were often created by artists from Arme
nia, Albania, Georgia, and even Central Asia. In terms of origin, the term Iranian
must be placed in brackets and considered in many ways. Armenians and Geor
gians melded cultural features from Iran and in the process devised a joint creation,
a new aesthetic idiom. Since the socio-economic and ideological preconditions
existed, such an exchange of experience was technically possible due to the con
stant direct contact and cooperation between artists who represented various cul
tures in the towns of Iran, Armenia, and Georgia.

The Reverend Dr. Vrej Nersessian (BD, PhD) was educated at the Armenian Col
lege in Calcutta, the Theological Seminary at Holy See of Etchmiadzin, and King's
College, University of London. He has served as the curator in charge of the books
and manuscripts of the Christian Middle East at the British Library since 1975. He
has contributed numerous articles on Armenian art to other publications, includ
ing In the Beginning: Bibles before the Year 1000 (2006) and Byzantium 330-1453
(2008). Among his recent publications are Armenian Illuminated Gospel Books
(1987), The Bible in the Armenian Tradition (2001), and Treasures from the Ark:
1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art (2001). Since 1987 he has been preparing A
Catalogue of Armenian Manuscripts Acquired by the British Library since 1913 and
Other Collections in the Libraries and Institutions in the United Kingdom (to be pub
lished in November 2011).

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 NOTES

Sources (Philadelphia, 1998); Vahan

1 F. R Martin, A history of oriental carpets
before 1800 (London, 1908); A. F. Baibourtian, International Trade and the
Armenian Merchants in the Seventeenth
Kendrick and C.E.C. Tattersall, Fine
Carpets in the Victoria and Albert Century (New Delhi, 2004); Bhaswati
Museum (London, 1924), pl. IV; Arthur
Bhattacharya, "Armenian European
relationships
Upham Pope, ed., A survey of Persian art, in India, 1500-1800: No
from prehistoric times to the presentArmenian foundation for European
(London, 1938-39, repr. 1967); Ian
empire?" Journal of the Economic and
Bennett, "The Marcy-Indjoudjian cope,"
Social History of the Orient 48, no. 2
Hali (July-September 1987). (2005), 277-322.
5 Vazgen
2 Kendrick and Tattersall, Fine Carpets, 8. Hakobyan and Ashot Hovhan
3 Pedro de Moura Carvalho, "A Safavid
nisyan, Hayeren djeragreri ¿E dari
hisharakaranner
cope for the Augustinians? Their role as (1601-1620) (Colo
political ambassadors and in the phons of seventeenth-century Armenian
diffusion of Western art models in manuscripts [1601-1620]) (Erevan,
Persia," Oriental Art 47, no. 5 (2001),
1974); Divan Hayotspatmout'ean
18-26. (Archives for the study of Armenian
4 British Library, London, ms. Lansdowne history) (Tiflis, 1912), vol. 10,19ff.
1047 and 1048, in F. C. Conybeare, 6 Arakel Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn Arakel
Catalogue of Armenian manuscripts in vardapet Davrizhetswoy (History by
the British Library (London, 1913), Arakel Davrizhetsi) (Vagharshapat,
352-53; Edmund Herzig's study of these 1896), 63-64.
documents is in "The Armenian 7 Sir Anthony Sherley, His relation of his
merchants of New Julfa, Isfahan: A study travels into Persia... (London, 1613).
in pre-modern Asian trade" (unpub 8 Sukias and Conybeare, Catalogue of
lished thesis, St. Antonys College, 1991); Armenian manuscripts, 110-11.
Ms. Sloane 4090 (17) in Baronian Sukias 9 Carswell, New Julfa, 81-83.
and F. C. Conybeare, Catalogue of the 10 Y. Ter Yovhaneants, Patmout'iwn Nor
Armenian manuscripts in the Bodleian Djoughayou vor Yaspahan (History of
Library (Oxford, UK, 1918), 302-303; New Julfa also called Isfahan) (New Julfa,
analysis in Artashes Matevosyan, 1880), vol. 1,95-99,175-76.
"Chanaparhordoutyoun Djoughayetsi 11 Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Voyages en Perse,
Petros vordi Hakobi" (Itinerary of Petros ed. Vincent Monteil (Paris, 1964), 76-77.
of Julfa son of Hakob), Batiber Mat 12 Viaggi di Petro della Valle il Pellegrino,
enadarani 8 (1967), 285-89; quotations Descritti de Lui Medesimo in Lettere

from various travelers to the city of New Familiari all'Erudito suo Amico, Mario
Julfa and the Armenian colony is Schipano (Rome, 1668), 244.
provided in John Carswell, New Julfa: 13 Sir John Chardin, Tlìe Travels of Sir John
The Armenian Churches and Other Chardin into Persia and the East-Indies...

Buildings, Appendix, Travellers Accounts With introduction by Sir Percy Sykes

of Julfa (Oxford, UK, 1968), 73-87, (London, 1927).
followed by a bibliography; Vahé 14 Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn (1896 ed.), 64.
Baladouni and Margaret Makepeace, 15 Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manu

eds., Armenian Merchants of the scripts (Matenadaran), ms. no. 6785, fol.
Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth 329-30.

Centuries: English East India Company

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 16 Charles de Secondât, baron de Montes Ghazaryan, "Nor Djoughayi," Patma The papier-mâché qalamdan, lot 203,
quieu, Persian Letters, newly translated Banasirakan Handes 1 (1968), 193,202. appears on page 160 of the Christies
into English, with notes and memoir of 24 Hr. Mirzoyan, "Arakel Davrizhetsou catalogue. See also Royal Persian
the author, by John Davidson (London, Patmout'yan aradjian hratarakout'youné" Paintings: The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925,
1892), 22. (The first edition of Arakel Davrizhetsi s ed. Layla S. Diba with Meryam Ekhtian
17 Edmund M. Herzig, "The Armenian History), Banber Erevani Hamalsarani 1 (London: I. B. Tauris Publishers, 1998),
merchants of New Julfa, Isfahan: A study (1971), 191; cf. Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn pi. 73, p. 235, for a picture of a group of
in pre-modern Asian trade" (thesis (1990 ed.), 20 n. 84. Armenian clergy wearing colored copes
submitted to the Faculty of Oriental 25 Nersés Lambronatsi, Meknout'win and standing outside the Cathedral of
Studies at the University of Oxford, Khorhrdoy Pataragin (Commentary on Holy Etchmiadsin as they welcome
1991). the Divine Liturgy) (Venice, 1847), Nasir-al-Din Mirza and Tsar Nicholas I.
18 D. M. Stuart-Brown, "Armenian exhibits 82-83; Vardan Hatsouni, Patmoutiwn hin It was painted in 1854 by Muhammad
in the Victoria and Albert Museum," hay tarazin (History of ancient Armenian Ismail in Isfahan.

Ararat: Searchlight on Armenia 5, no. costume) (Venice, 1924), 341-36; J. 29 This is according to Kendrick and
55-56 (January-March 1918), 317-20, Muyldermans, "La costume liturgique Tattersall, Fine Carpets.
350-55; "Armenian inscriptions on arménienne etude historique," Le Museon 30 Vrej Nersessian, Treasures from the Ark:
Iranian bronzes in the Victoria and 39 (1926), 30-33; Archimandrite 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art
Albert Museum" (unpublished). Chrysostomos, Orthodox liturgical dress: (London, 2001), 75-77; George Every,
19 H. Kurdian, "A note on Persian blue and An historical treatment (Brookline, MA, Christian Mythology (London, 1988), 79.
white wares with Armenian monograms 1988), 42-45. 31 Cf. Venice 1635 (1193 ce), Jerusalem
in the Victoria and Albert Museum," 26 Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Miniature 2563 (1272 ce), Matenadaran 197 (1262
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society ( 1975), Painting in the Armenian Kingdom of ce), Jerusalem 1956 (1269 ce), Mat
54-56. Ciliciafrom the Twelfth to the Fourteenth enadaran 10675 (1268 ce). Images in
20 Sir Thomas Herbert, Someyeares TravelsCentury (Washington, D.C., 1993), vol. 1, Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Miniature
into divers parts of Asia and Afrique. 153, figs. 636-39. Painting.
Describing especially the two famous 27 Tiran Abp Nersoyan, Divine Liturgy of 32 Vrej Nersessian, Treasures from the Ark,
Empires, the Persian and the great Mogullthe Armenian Apostolic Orthodox 70-71; Hagop Nersoyan, '"An Encomium
... (London, 1677). Also see Sir William Church, 5th ed. by Vrej Nersessian of the Holy Cross of God,' by David the
Foster, Travels in Persia, 1627-1629, (London, 1984), 22,254-55; Hans-Jur Invincible Philosopher," in David Anyalt'
abridged and edited by S. W. Foster gen Feulner, "On the 'Preparatory Rites' the Invincible Philosopher, ed. Avedis K.
(London, 1928), 122; and Vartan of the Armenian Divine Liturgy: Some Sanjian (Atlanta, 1986), 81-100.
Gregorian, "Minorities of Isfahan," Remarks on the Ritual of Vesting," in 33 Ibid., 93.
Iranian Studies 8, no. 3-4 (1974), 652-80.Worship Traditions in Armenia and the 34 Walters Art Museum, ms. 578, p. 95, pi.
21 Adam Olearius, The Voyages and TravelsNeighboring Christian East: An Interna 53a. See Sirarpie Der Nersessian,
of the Ambassadors... faithfully renderedtional Symposium in Honor of the 40th Armenian Manuscripts in the Walters Art
into English by John Davies (London, Anniversary of St. Nersess Armenian Gallery (Baltimore, MD, 1973), 45-51,
1662), 276. Seminary, ed. Roberta R. Ervine (New 69-75.

22 J. M. Rogers, Islamic arts and design York, 2006), 105-106. 35 Carvalho, "Safavid cope?" 22.
(London, 1983), 50; John Carswell, "The 28 Christie's, London, Islamic Art and Manu 36 Narkiss Bezalel, ed., Armenian art
Armenians and east-west trade through scripts, 26 April 2005, lot 199 (p. 154). treasures of Jerusalem (Oxford, UK,
Persia in the seventeenth century," The scene on the reverse side, described 1980), 114; Carswell, New Julfa, 21-26.
Colloque International d'Histoire l'Océan as an extensive luncheon, is in fact the 37 Vrej Nersessian, Catalogue of early
(1966). meal eaten after the home blessing with Armenian books, 1512-1850(London,
23 Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn (1896), chap. the three clergy at the head of the table. In 1980), 21-24; Dikran Kouymjian, "The
29,390-413; critical edition by L. A. the foreground are the mountains of New Julfa style of Armenian manuscript
Khanlaryan (1990), 311-26; M. Ararat and Masis as well as Noah's ark. bindings," Journal of the Society for

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 Armenian Studies 8 (1995), 11-34, figs. 48 Ibid., 133. manuscripts [1601-1620]), vol. 1
1-17. 49 Ibid., 129. (Erevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences,
38 Vrej Nersessian, Armenian illuminated 50 Sylvia Agemian, Manuscrits arméniens 1974).
Gospel books (London, 1987), 88-98; enluminés du Catholicossat de Cilicie 61 Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn (1990); Loreta
Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Walters Art (Bayreuth, 1991). Daneghyan, Arak'el Davrizhetsou erké
Gallery; Sirarpie Der Nersessian and 51 Carswell, New Julfa. vorpes Sefyan Irani XVII dari pay
Arpag Mekhitarian, Armenian minia 52 Carvalho,"Safavidcope?"22. moutyan skzbaghbyour (The History of
tures from Isfahan (Brussels, 1986); 53 Donald King, "The Marcy-Indjoudjian Arak'el Davrizhetsi as a primary source
Sirarpie Der Nersessian, The Chester shoorchar," Hali 36 ( 1987), 11. for Safavid Iran in the XVII century)
Beatty Library: A catalogue of the 54 Tim Stanley, Palace and Mosque: Islamic (Erevan, 1978). Also see Yovhaneants,
Armenian manuscripts, vols. 1-2 Art from the Middle East (London, 2004), Patmout'iwn Nor Djoughayou, vol. 1,
(Dublin, 1958). 40-41. chaps. 52-55.
39 Mesrop Chanashian, Haykakan 55 Dikran Khan Kelekian, while on 62 M. M. Ghazaryan, "Nor Djughayi XVII
manrankartchutiwn (Armenian pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1912, saw thedari hay nkartchoutyoune' (Armenian
illuminations) (Venice, 1966), vol. 1, Artavan mosaic, discovered in 1884 at artists of New Julfa in the XVII century),
42-44, pis. 48-50. Patma Banasirakan Handes 1 (1968),
the Damascus Gate, and offered 250 gold
40 Carvalho, "Safavid cope?" 22-23. pieces to buy the mosaic and have it 193-202; H. N. Andranikyan, "Minas,"
41 Archbishop Khaj ak Barsamian, The removed and reconstructed in the Bazmavep 3 (1907); A. Eremyan,
Calendar of the Armenian Church (New compound of St. James's Convent. The "Nkaritch Minasi kyank'e ev
York, 1995), 35-40. Brotherhood objected and instead steghdsagordsout'yan himnakan gdsere"
42 Grigor Tatevatsi, Girk' karozout'ean vor bought the house in which it was found (The life and career of the artist Minas),
kotchi dzmeran hator (Book of Sermons: Anahit (May-August 1938); Zak'aria
for the sum of 600 gold pieces. See Bishop
Winter cycle) (Constantinople, 1740; Mkrtitch Aghawnouni, Miabank'ev Agouletsi, Oragrout'iwn (Diary) (Erevan,
repr. Jerusalem, 1988), 170,485. aytselouk' Hay Erousaghemi (The 1938), 103.
43 V. H. Ghazaryan, "The doctrine of Brotherhood and visitors to Armenian 63 Artinian Yovhannes, "Nor Joughayetsi
colour in commentaries in canon tables," Jerusalem) (Jerusalem, 1929), 507. hayeroun arewtouré XVII daroun" (The
Atti del quinto Simposio internazionale 56
di Vrej Nersessian, "Patronage of arts in trade of the New Julfa Armenians in the
arte Armenia (Venice, 1991), 687-94; V. Armenia," Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane XVII century), Anahit 4 (1908), 35-36;
H. Ghazaryan, Commentaries on Canon Turner (London, 1996), vol. 2,444-45. Aram Eremian, Nor Joughayi XVII rd
Tables (Erevan, 1995), 180-89; Ν. G. 57 Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Walters Art darou vormnakartchakan houshardzané

Kotanjyan, Tsvet ν rannesrednevekovoy Gallery, 66, n. 7. (The XVII century monument of

zhivopisi Armenii analiz pamyatnikov 58 Ibid., fig. 209, fig. 140; Nersessian and Armenian wall paintings in New Julfa)
VI-VII vv (The analysis of colour in Mekhitarian, Armenian miniatures from (New York, 1942).
Armenian manuscripts of the VI-VII Isfahan, fig. 51; Hravard Hakobyan, 64 Letter from John Shillinford, director,
centuries) (Erevan, 1978); James R. Haykakan manrankartchout'youn Blaketon Hall Ltd., written on behalf of
Russell, "Two interpretations of the ten Vaspourakan (Minatures from the Jack Franses, 20 July 1988.
canon tables," in Thomas F. Mathews Vaspourakan school) (Erevan, 1978), 65 Marian Wenzel, "Carpet and wall
and Avedis K. Sanjian, Armenian Gospel pi. 77. painting design in Persia: An Armenian
Iconography: The Tradition of the Glajor59 Evgine Mousheghyan, Hayeren inscribed 'Polonaise' carpet," Apollo (July
Gospel (Washington, D.C., 1991), ardzanagrout'eamb ararkaner (Objects 1988), 4-11. The silk and metal thread
206-11. with Armenian inscriptions) (Erevan, Bernheimer "Polonaise" carpet was
44 Vrej Nersessian, Treasures from the Ark, 1964). auctioned at Christie's on 14 February
79-82. 60 Vazgen Hakobyan and Ashot Hovhan 1996, lot 50,60.
45 Ibid., 80 nisyan, Hayeren Jeragreri 17 dari 66 Ibid., 11.
46 Translated by Russell James. Ibid, 207. hishatakaranner (1601 -1620) (Colo 67 H. S. Badalyan, Hayots tomari
47 Ibid., 137-38. phons of 17th century Armenian patmout'youn (History of the Armenian

240 THE REVEREND DR. VREJ NERSESSIAN

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 calendar) (Erevan, 1976); Β. E. 74 Maghak'ia Ôrmanian, Azgapatoum
T'oumanyan,Arjern tomaratsouyts (History of the nation) (Beirut, 1960),
(Abridged calendar) (Erevan, 1965), vol. 2, part 1,2390-422.
38-40; A. G. Abrahamyan, Haygri ev 75 Aghawnouni, Miabank' ev aytselouk' Hay
grtchout'yan patmut'youn (History of the Erousaghemi, 308-309; Tigran Sawalane
Armenian alphabet and paleography) ants, Patmout'iwn Erousaghemi (History
(Erevan, 1959), 261-76. of Jerusalem), modern Armenian
68 Mesrovb Seth, Armenians in India translation by Mesrop Nshanian
(Calcutta, 1983), no. 57,127; Yovhane (Jerusalem, 2000), 570-71. Others have
ants, Patmout'iwn Nor Djoughayou, vol. failed to spot the inscription on the cope,
1,314. which provides the details needed to
69 Avedis K. Sanjian, Medieval Armenian determine its precise provenance. See
Manuscripts at the University of Califor Bezalel Narkis, Armenian Art Treasures of
nia, Los Angeles (Berkeley, 1999), 237, Jerusalem (New York: Phaidon, 1980), fig.
241. 189, p. 158; Arpag Mekhitarian, Treasures
70 Leonard Harrow and Jack Franses, From of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
the Lands of Sultan and Shah (London, (Jerusalem, 1969), entry no. 74, p. 40; and
1987), no. 8,40; cf. no. 12,54; cf. Leonard Michael E. Stone, 'Epigraphica Vili, REA
Harrow and Jack Franses, The Riverbank 28(2001-2002).
Collection: Silk Rugs from Turkey and 76 Carswell, New Julfa, Appendix, 78-80;
Persia (London, 1996), for examples of Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn (1896),
silk rugs signed by Hagob Kapoudjian, 236-37.

Zareh Penyamin, and Tossounian. 77 Carswell, New Julfa, pi. 6,78-80.

71 Arthur Upham Pope, "The myth of the 78 Davrizhetsi, Patmout'iwn, (1896), chap.
Armenian dragon carpets," Jahrbuch der 29,302-303.
Asiasiatischen kunst 11 (1925), 152 (ill. 79 Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Chester Beatty
6); Armenag Bey Sakisian, in his article Library, ms. no. 615,185-86.
"Les tapis a dragons et leur origine 80 Sawalaneants, Patmout'iwn Erousaghemi,
Arménienne," Revue Syria ( 1928), 569.

238-56, does not comment on the said 81 Norayr Pogharian, Abp. Mayr Tsoutsak
Armenian inscription; V. Sassouni, "Rugs (Grand catalogue of the manuscripts of
with Armenian inscriptions and St. James Convent) (Jerusalem, 1995),
associated designs," Atti del terzo 102-11.

simposio internazionale de arte Armenia 82 Ibid., vol. 2, ms. no. 322.

1981 (Venice, 1984), 493-503. 83 Upham, Survey of Persian art; Bennett,
72 J. M. Rogers, Islamic arts and design: "Marcy-Indjoudjian Cope"; Carswell,
1500-1700 (London, 1983), 105; John New Julfa; and King, "Marcy-Indjoudjian
Carswell, Iznik Pottery (London, 2006), shoorchar."
45-55; cf. Venetia Porter, Islamic Tiles 84 Vrej Nersessian, "Exceptional astrolabe
(London, 1995), pl. 113, who has ignored ayant appartenu a Amir Dowlat Amasia,
the Armenian inscription and described physicien de la cour de Mehmet II le
the scene on that title as being "a scene of Conquérant," Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 19
Old Testament prophets when in fact it is December 1997 (extra publication with
that of the Armenian Translators."' eight colored plates).
73 Vrej Nersessian, Treasures from the Ark,
146-47.

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