Armenian Gospel Iconography: The Tradition of the Glajor Gospel

Dumbarton Oaks
Thomas F. Mathews and Avedis K. Sanjian
ISBN: 0884021831
price: $50.00  

The Glajor Gospel, an illustrated Armenian gospel book of the fourteenth century, is one of the prized possessions of the University Research Library at the University of California, Los Angeles. Commissioned by the scholar/abbot Esayi Nc'ec'i of the monastery of Glajor in Greater Armenia, the manuscript was produced there in 1300-1307.
The Glajor Gospel was lavishly illustrated by five different artists, who embellished it with four evangelist portraits, ten canon tables, and fifty-five narrative paintings as well as numerous marginal ornaments and decorative initials. This volume presents all the full-page illuminations from the gospel book at their original size and includes twenty-four color illustrations of full-page paintings and details. In addition, over two hundred comparative illustrations are used to examine the Armenian tradition of gospel iconography.
This collaborative study-the first monographic study of a single Armenian manuscript-provides an introduction to Armenian cultural and artistic history; the history of the Glajor Gospel and the political and cultural setting in which it was produced, including the role of princely patrons; and the history of the monastery and school of Glajor.