TITLE LEAF OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW - Lot 1

TITLE LEAF OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW Illuminated cotton paper. Berkri, Vaspourakan region, late 13th - early 14th century. 31.7 x 24.3 cm. Formal description: This leaf is typical of the title pages (incipit) of Armenian gospels, with its composition of three main decorative elements: an arcaded table d'honneur at the top of the page, a marginal frieze running from top to bottom, and the ornate initial. The head table is illuminated by two harpies in a foliage scroll, surmounted by two partridges. The marginal frieze with its vegetal motif is remarkable for its interlacing forming a Star of David, symbolizing Christ's dual human and divine nature. The initial of the main text, in uncial yerkat'agir characters, is ichthyomorphic (in the shape of a fish, one of Christ's symbols). The marginal text is in lower-case bolorgir. The text on the reverse is in bolorgir in two columns. Provenance: This folio has been studied by Madame Emma Chookaszian, who has traced its provenance and highlighted its exceptional interest. It was part of a set of three leaves from the same gospel manuscript held in the collection of Ervand Alianakian at the beginning of the 20th century, then in that of French diplomat Jean Pozzi from 1936. In 1950, while still in the Pozzi collection, the three leaves were described by Artavazd Sourmeyan in his Grand catalog des manuscrits arméniens dans les collections privées en Europe. In 1971, after Jean Pozzi's death, the three leaves were auctioned at Hôtel Drouot under the hammer of Maurice Rheims and René Laurin (sale April 30, 1971, lot 111: "Feuillets d'un manuscrit du XIIIe siècle"). The leaves were subsequently separated: - One leaf is currently in the British Library collection as Or. 15591 (recto: The Four Evangelists; verso: The Ascension). It was previously in the collection of the great London bookseller Sam Fogg. - One leaf is currently in the collection of Robert MacCarthy in London, with the Entombment and Descent into Hell on the recto and the Resurrection and Holy Women at the Tomb on the verso (ms. 1195). - The third leaf is the one offered for sale (coll. G. Aral). Mrs. Emma Chookaszian has also identified a double leaf from the same manuscript (presenting the Lettre d'Eusèbe and the concordance tables for indexes I, V, VI and VII) which is also now in the collection of Robert McCarthy (ms. 1235). Identification of the artist : Mr. Vrej Nersessian, who has studied the British Library folio, attributes this miniature (and therefore ours) to Yovsian (Hovsian), one of the most famous scribes and artists of the Vaspourakan school (i.e. the Lake Van region). He was active in the Arberan region, in the town of Berkri and the villages of Berdak and Hazarak, in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The Matenadaran (M. Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan) holds three manuscripts copied and illuminated by this artist between 1303 and 1316 (mss 4806, 4818 and 10670). However, after careful examination of the three Gospels in the Matenadaran collection mentioned above, and comparison of the Yovsian works with the three leaves, Madame Emma Chookaszian considers that the latter are by another, unidentified Vaspourakan artist. This artist uses a very limited palette, creating a much more sober and mysterious atmosphere. The facial expressions and gestures of the figures are more dynamic, expressing a certain freedom that does not appear in Yovsian's works. Our artist excels in the depiction of hands and draperies, which are modeled in a very specific way that cannot be traced in Yovsian's scenes. The style and iconography of the concordance tables in R. McCarthy's collection and of the title page in G. Aral's collection is much closer to that of the Yovsian scenes. Aral's collection is much closer to that of works of art created in the 13th century, as the style of the decorative parts of the Gospels illustrated in the Vaspourakan approaches Islamic traditions and begins to feature ornaments characteristic of this style in their decorations from the 14th century onwards. The simplicity of the tables of concordance and the monumentality of Matthew's title page recall the archaic style that prevailed under the influence of Byzantine manuscripts and those created in Melitene (Asia Minor) in the 11th and 12th centuries. The iconographic model of G. Aral's title-page decorations can be found in the Matthew title-page of the Berkri Gospel, illustrated by the scribe and artist Hovhannes in 1318 (collection of Mr. Gary Tatintsian, Dubai). In this sense