The Annunciation

Book TitleThe Four Gospels

Former TitleThe London Gospel Book

Artist Mesrop of Xizan (Xizanc'i) (Iranian Turkish, 1603 - 1652)

Date1618-1622

MediumOriental paper, ink, egg tempera, wax and gold paint (manuscript pages); Goat skin, wood, lacquer, gilded gesso, metal, silver, gemstones, and silk (binding); Parchment and paper (flyleaves)

DimensionsOverall: 8 1/2 × 6 1/2 × 2 1/2 inches (21.59 × 16.51 × 6.35 cm)

Credit LineGift of Lee Lyon in Memory of Joanne Lyon

Object number2015.27.2

InscribedThe Manuscript contains three colophons written in ancient Armenian, which are summarized below. Primary colophon by Mesrop of Xizan ff. 276r-277r: the MS was written and illuminated in 1618-22 by the scribe and miniaturist Mesrop of Xizan at the Persian capital of Sos (Isfahan) in patriarchate of the Armenian Kat’olikis Dawit’ [IV Valarsapatc’i] (1584-1624?), his co-adjutir Melk ‘eset [Garnec’i] (1593-1626) and during the reign of Shah Abbas [I] (1585-1629). Mesrop of Xizan also wrote about himself as the illuminator and scribe of the MS on ff. 23v, 33v and 278r-v. He also lists members of his family, his teachers and two patrons, with their names of their family members. These inscriptions are in small bolorgir (miniscule) script. Additional colophons by the scribe Yovhannes: ff. 21v, 37r, 279v, indicate that that the MS was made for the Church of the Holy Mother of God [located in in the Armenian quarters of New Julfa in the village of Dast] and that the MS was completed in 1622. These inscriptions are in small bolorgir (miniscule) script. A third group of inscriptions were written by the patron, who identifies himself as Yovhanes the priest, ff. 17v, 34r and 279v. In these inscriptions, the patron mentions himself, his wife Islim and his daughters, Alajan, Elisabet, Safa and Varvaf. These inscriptions are written in notrgir (late miniscule) script. For a detailed summary of these inscriptions, see Arakelyan, Mikayel, Mesrop of Xizan: An Armenian Master of the Seventeenth Century.London: Sam Fogg, 2012, p. 94. The inscriptions are transliterated, however a direct translation is not published.

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South and Southeast Asian Art

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DescriptionThe manuscript contains 278 leaves/pages, of which, 255 remain in the bound text block while 23 pages have been removed and are mounted separately and currently stored together in an archival box. The binding, including a protective foreflap, is dark brown leather with tooled designs in braidwork patterns, with areas of applied gold and lacquer. The front cover is decorated with two silver central/Eastern crosses with red stone insets and multiple metal studs. The binding exhibits considerable wear, as would be expected in a manuscript of this age.

This heavily illuminated manuscript includes 40 full-page miniature paintings and 206 marginalia illustrations. The subject matter of the text and illustrations relate to the Armenian Christian tradition. The manuscript consists of the following texts: a prefatory cycle with illustrations from the Old Testament and the Life of Christ, illustrations of the ten canon tables (xorans), a letter of Eusebius to Carpianus, and the four Gospels of the New Testament. The prefatory cycle is heavily illustrated with 23 full-page miniature paintings, which have been removed and mounted. Other large illustrations are found at the beginning of each Gospel, which illustrates the patriarch opposite and illuminated frontispice.

The manuscript is executed in the script and painting style associated with late Medieval Armenian book arts. The text is written in Middle bolorgir (miniscule) script in either one column of 25 lines or two columns. The text folios and tables are filled with marginalia illustrations. The paintings are rendered in the Armenian style that was prevalent in the regions around Lake Van (eastern Anatolia), where the artist originated. These works exhibit the influence of late Byzantine artistic styles which flourished in Turkey, including: the depiction of flattened figures with heavy outlines and linear definition of garments, architecture, and landscape elements, the use of luxurious materials to render bold colors and the prominent use of gold paint. Some of the manuscripts illustrations and decoration also demonstrate the artist’s awareness of contemporary Persian art, as several examples incorporate: figures in contemporary Persian dress, geometic patterns, scrolling vines, Persian and lobed arches and/or pointed domes.

The illustrations of the prefatory cycle depict:
1. The Vision of Ezekiel
2. The Tree of Jesse
3. The Annunciation
4. The Visitation
5. The Nativity
6. The Circumcision
7. The Presentation in the Temple
8. The Baptism
9. The Raising of Lazarus
10. The Entry into Jerusalem
11. The Washing of the Feet
12. The Betrayal of Judas and Denial of Peter
13. Jesus before Pilate
14. The Crucifixion
15. The Entombment
16. The Harrowing of Hell
17. The Holy Women at the Sepluchre
18. The Ascention of Christ
19. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
20. The Second Coming
21. The Last Judgment
22. The Saviour
23. The Mother of GodExhibition History

Exhibition History

No exhibition history known at this time.

Provenance

Paron T’asali, the priest Yovhanes and his spouse Islim, Šōš (Isfahan/New Julfa), 1622[1];

Early Printed Books, Manuscripts and Autograph Letters, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd. London, November 17, 1976, no. 383;

With Hans Peter Kraus, book dealer, New York, by 1981[2];

With Fine Arts Transport Natural Le Coultre SA, Geneva in or after 1989[3];

With Sam Fogg, dealer, London, by 1991[4];

Purchased from Sam Fogg by Lee Lyon, Kansas City, MO, 2014;

His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, 2015.

[1] Information provided in colophons found in the manuscript.

[2] Manuscript published in H. P. Kraus’ sale catalogue titled, Illuminated manuscripts: from the Eleventh to the Eighteenth Centuries, 1981.

[3] A small piece of paper is glued to the bottom of the left corner of the final flyleaf at the end of the manuscript. Its inscription reads, “073 Natural Le Coultre Geneve” and references a company name of the Fine Art Transporters Natural Le Coultre SA located at the Geneva Free Port. The firm opened in 1989 in Geneva.

[4] Manuscript published in Sam Fogg’s sale catalogue titled, Medieval Manuscripts, 1991.

Published References

Early Printed Books, Manuscripts, and Autograph Letters, The Properties of The Viscount Gage, Beverley Grammar School, sold by order of the Governors, etc. (London: Christie, Manson, and Woods, 1976) 110.

Kay Sutton and Sam Fogg. Medieval Manuscripts. (London: Sam Fogg Rare Books and Manuscripts, 1991), 178.

Thomas Francis Mathews, Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts, exh. cat. (New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1994), 204.

Mikayel Arakelyan and Mesrop. Mesrop of Xizan: an Armenian Master of the Seventeenth Century. (London: Sam Fogg, 2012), 92, pl. 13 (repro.).

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