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181 - ** Calendar of liturgical feasts (Parzatomar) and personal d…
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Estimate €9,000 - €12,000
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Description
** Calendar of liturgical feasts (Parzatomar) and personal diary of the deacon Gaspar de Tatev Syunik (Siounie), village of Aghverdz, 1616-1630. A composite manuscript of the Parzatomar type, which also served as the personal diary of its patron and principal scribe, Gaspar sargavak Tatevetsi. The work brings together a variety of selected texts, showing that it was used for practical, devotional and intellectual purposes. 164 leaves. 14.4 x 10.9 x 3.3 cm. On thick paper, in continuous text of 18 lines, in notrgir script, by two separate hands: that of Gaspar sargavak, who also commissioned the work, and that of Ghoukas dpir, whose handwriting is distinguished by greater elegance and regularity. The decoration, sober but significant, includes chapter initials in red cinnabar, sometimes enhanced with green, as well as discreet title page frames, margins decorated with floral motifs, and ornate letters in archaic style. The whole shows an attachment to decorative forms inherited from earlier traditions. The manuscript also contains astrological tables and circles, integrated into the functional framework of the Parzatomar. The original binding, in dark brown calf leather, features a cold-stamped decoration composed of circular motifs (rosettes or florets) arranged freely on the boards. The calendar of liturgical feasts (Parzatomar) was designed to simplify complex calendar calculations, which originally required precise astronomical knowledge. The book provides practical, accessible information for everyday use. The text also includes weather forecasts, based on the observation of celestial phenomena. Stemming from a long tradition of studying the heavens, these forecasts made it possible to anticipate climatic conditions, such as the severity or mildness of winter. The manuscript also includes a section on body movements (Marmnakhaghats), in which certain physical phenomena - such as eyelid tremors - are interpreted as premonitory signs of events to come. The manuscript opens with a series of medieval fables, including that of the Fox and the Wolf (there is probably a gap at the beginning of the volume). It also includes hagiographic and liturgical texts, including : - the Vision of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (Տեսիլ սրբոյն Գրիգորի մերոյ լուսաւորչին), - the 17 March notice of the Armenian Synaxaries dedicated to Saint Alexis (Երանելի Ալեքսիանոս), - several canons from the Book of Machtots (Ritual), including the Lamentation through the Mouth of the Dead (Ողբ ի բերանոյ մեռելոյն. Ով քահանայք եւ վարդապետք), the canon concerning children who died before the age of ten (Կանովն զամենայն վաղճանեայս տղայոց որ ի տասն տարուն ի վայր են առ Քրիստոս յուղարկել), and the rite of the blessing of the water on Theophany Day (Կանովն ջուր աւրհնելոյ յաւուր Յայտնութեան)... Several colophons and autograph notes make it possible to pinpoint the production and use of the manuscript. Gaspar Sargavak refers to himself as a native of Tatev and the village of Aghverdz, asking readers to remember him and to pray for him: - Զգծող սորա աներես Գասբարս աղ[ա]չեմ փոքր մի յիշել որէ ահել ամեն: Թվ. ՌՀԹ ամիս ապրիլ (The scribe of this, the unworthy Gaspar, who is old, I beg to be remembered a little. Amen. The year 1630 in the month of April). Գրեց թվիս ՌՀԸ ձեռամբ Գասբար սրգի (Written in the year 1629, in the hand of the scribe Gaspard) Main colophon: - ԶԳասբար ս[ա]րգ[ա]ւ[ա]գս թաթեւացի որէ գեղ չեն յղվերձու, յիշեայ միով Ա[ստւա]ծ ողորմայիս եւ ըստայնմ մե որով չափով չափեք չափեսցի ձեզ որէ ա[ւր]հ[ն]եալ Ամեն : Թվ ՌՀԳ: (I, Deacon Gaspar of Tatev, a native of the village of Yghverdzu, have commemorated you: remember me also before God for mercy, and according to that - by whose measure you measure, you shall be measured. Bless you all. Amen. The year 1624). The manuscript also contains Ghoukas dpir's subscription, which attests to his participation in the copying from 1616, at the request of the venerable deacon Gaspar . The whole constitutes a particularly rich testimony to scribal practices, textual culture and individual piety in Syunik at the beginning of the seventeenth century, at the time of the
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About the sale ANA AND JAMES MELIKIAN COLLECTION - PART II
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Auction time 06/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
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