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184 - ** Small Armenian book of hours, 17th - early 18th century M…
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Estimate €7,000 - €9,000
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Description
** Small Armenian book of hours, 17th - early 18th century Manuscript on parchment (vellum). In-16° (9 x 7 x 3 cm). 156 leaves (312 pages). Bound in 19th century green morocco, a little rubbed. Spine ribbed. This small-format Jamagirk (book of hours) is of great elegance. It is executed on parchment of exceptional quality, in notrgir script of remarkable finesse and precision. The miniature format, comparable to the smallest known Armenian manuscripts, indicates that this book was used for personal, portable devotional purposes. The pages are adorned with rich floral margins, broad and elegant, executed in red cinnabar and blue. They are accompanied by large ornate letters and zoomorphic lettering in the shape of birds. Some passages open with decorative bands, executed in the same chromatic palette and in coherent ornamental forms. The Jamagirk is a liturgical book of the Armenian Church structured according to the cycle of canonical hours (ժամեր), intended for daily prayer. The heart of our book is made up of the offices corresponding to the different hours of the day (Կարգաւորութիւն հասարակաց աղօթից Հայաստանեայց եկեղեցւոյ): midnight office, morning office, dawn office, third hour, sixth hour, ninth hour, vespers, compline. The manuscript opens with a series of psalms (Psalms 3 to 142), copied down to folio 12r. On folios 12v-13r the verse from Psalm 142:10 is inserted: May your good Spirit lead me to the land of righteousness ((Քո բարի Հոգին ինձ պիտի առաջնորդի դեպի արդար երկիր Սաղմոս ՃԽԲ). This section is followed by a hymn composed by the Catholicos Nerses the Gracious for the night service (Երգ Նտեառն Ներսիսի Շնորհալւոյ Կաթողիկոսի Հայոց Ասացեալ Ի Պաշտաման Գիշերի), marking the transition to the hymnographic parts of the collection. The manuscript also includes, on folios 14v-15r, an extract from Gregory of Tatev's Voskephorik, devoted to the degrees of the profession of faith (Հավատքի Դավանության Աստիճաններ). This passage sets out the Christological foundations of the doctrine of the Armenian Apostolic Church, structured around an anti-Chalcedonian position and faithful to the definitions of the Council of Ephesus, thus affirming a Christology of the Miaphysite type. The palaeographic characteristics of the handwriting, combined with the style of the decoration, suggest that the manuscript dates from the seventeenth or early eighteenth century. The manuscript's small format, the exceptional quality of its execution and the fact that it was copied on parchment - a material that became rare in the 17th century and was generally reserved for private commissions - suggest that it was produced for a high-ranking patron. The finesse of the work testifies to the hand of a first-rate artist and scribe, capable of mastering such precise execution on such a small scale.
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About the sale ANA AND JAMES MELIKIAN COLLECTION - PART II
Auction location
Auction time 06/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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