The Four Gospels in Armenian

copied for Minas Vardepet and bound in silver

This manuscript is one of the finest to survive from the School of Constantinople in the 17th century. Apart from the cycle of full-page miniatures, canon tables and Evangelist portraits there are over 110 marginal scenes of the Life of Christ. The decoration, which seems to be by two artists, is all of very high quality and executed in bright radiant colours. It closely resembles a Four Gospels once in the Marquess of Bute's collection, now British Library Or. Ms. 14161.'

The Armenian inscription on the lower front cover reads 'Xacatourean Eagoup' (Khachatourian Yakop); probably the silversmith who executed the work, most likely at Tokat. According to the principal colophon on folios 245-246 the receiver of the manuscript, Minas Vardapet, had it 'bound in silver' in 1675 before presenting it to the Holy Church of the Virgin Mary in Ankuri (Konya) in Anatolia. Each cover is overlaid with a heavy silver plaque in repoussé, with a silver chain spine and silver clasps shaped like arms and hands. The front cover with figures in relief shows the Resurrection. The back cover shows the Crucifixion: Christ on the cross, the figures of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene on either side, above them the sun and moon in the form of human faces, and a round, bearded head at the base of the cross representing the skull of Golgotha. The borders are formed of grapevine. The initials YNT'H (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews) are inscribed above. Below is an inscription in bolorgir, which reads: kineak' Kiwliwn e (the woman is Kiwliwn).

The principal divisions are:
ff. ff. ff. ff. 14-23, Canon Tables and Eusebian letter; ff. 24-25v, Chapter headings of St. Matthew's Gospel; 25v-26, List of Parallel headings; f. 26, Preface to St. Matthew's Gospel; f. 26v, Memorial notice; 27-87, Gospel According to St. Matthew; ff. 87v-88v, Chapter headings of St. Mark's Gospel; 88v-89 Preface to St. Mark's Gospel; ff. 90-123v, Gospel According to St. Mark, lacking Chapter II:v.2 to IV:40 between folios 92v-93; ff. 124-126, Chapter headings of St. Luke's Gospel; ff. 126, Preface to St. Luke; f. 127, blank; ff. 128-193, Gospel According to St. Luke, lacking Chapter X:v.31 to Chapter XI:v.19, between folios 158-159 and Chapter XX:vv.7-44 between ff. 180v and 181; ff. 193v-194, Headings of St. John's Gospel; f. 194, Preface to St. John's Gospel; f. 195, blank; ff. 196-245, Gospel According to St. John. Includes the episode of the woman taken into adultery.; ff. 245-246, Colophon; ff. 246v-248v, blank.

Single volume (167x120 mm), 248 folios in 20 signed gatherings of 12 leaves except for l3°, 76, 811, 911, 1310, 1510 and 2010. Text copied in small-medium bolorgir, in double columns, 25 lines to a column; headings in gold and scarlet bolorgir, paragraph initials large bird capitals, concordance numbers in middle column and lower margins. Ten full-page miniatures open the manuscript. The Eusebian Letter and 8 full-page canon tables. Three headpieces and three evangelist portraits. The portrait and headpiece to St Matthew is missing. II o 110 marginal miniatures all in colours and sometimes gold. The manuscript is on brilliant white vellum and in superb condition; bound in bespoke covers of silver.