The Gospel according to St. Mark and St. Luke (both incomplete)

The Gospel according to St. Mark and St. Luke (both incomplete). Sewed (4 leaves and 1 quire loose). Brown-black vertical uncials on 113 parchment folios plus 1 paper folio. Illuminated title-page (St. Luke), paragraphs (122) and ornamented intials (122). One of a series: 33.5, 47.2-47.4.

Historical period(s)
11th century
Medium
Ink and color on parchment
Dimensions
H x W x D: 33.6 × 25.9 × 4.1 cm (13 1/4 × 10 3/16 × 1 5/8 in)
Geography
Armenia
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1933.5
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Manuscript
Type

Manuscript

Keywords
Armenia, Gospels
Provenance

To 1933
Kirkor Minassian (1874-1944), New York. [1]

From 1933
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Kirkor Minassian, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Kirkor Minassian 1874-1944

Description

The Gospel according to St. Mark and St. Luke (both incomplete). Sewed (4 leaves and 1 quire loose). Brown-black vertical uncials on 113 parchment folios plus 1 paper folio. Illuminated title-page (St. Luke), paragraphs (122) and ornamented intials (122). One of a series: 33.5, 47.2-47.4.

Label

This opening page of the Gospel of St. Luke is the only one from the manuscript that has been preserved. The text is framed by a double band, and unusual method of presentation, which gives the appearance of a rug, with the text taking the place of the central motif. On the basis of the style of the script and decoration, the page can be assigned to a provincial school in the region of Melitene and the Taurus Mountains and dated to the middle of the 11th century.

Published References
  • Seymour de Ricci, W. J. Wilson. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. 3 vols., New York, 1935-1940. cat. 13, vol. 1: p. 469.
  • Sirarpie Der Nersessian. Armenian Manuscripts in the Freer Gallery of Art. Oriental Studies Series, no. 6 Washington, 1963. pp. 1-7, pl. 1, 4, fig. 7.
  • Frederic Macler. Documents d'Art Armeniens: de Arte Illustrandi, Collections Diverses. Paris. pp. 37-38, pls. 8-10.
  • Avedis Krikor Sajian. Catalogue of Medieval Armenian Manuscripts in the United States. University of California Publications, Near Eastern Studies; vol. 16 Berkeley. pp. 709-711.
Collection Area(s)
Biblical Manuscripts
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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