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The Gospels
12169 5/8 x 7 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. (24.5 x 19 x 10.5 cm)
Grigor of Tarsos
Armenia (active 1215 - 1255)
Object Type:
Manuscript
Medium and Support:
Ink, tempera, and gold on parchment; tooled brown leather and green silk binding
Credit Line:
Marion Stratton Gould Fund
Accession Number:
1950.8
Location: Currently on view
Illuminated manuscripts introduced the Byzantine style to most of Europe. This beautifully illustrated version of the Gospels comes from Armenia in modern-day Turkey. It was commissioned by a priest and written by the scribe Grigor of Tarsos; an unknown artist created the four illuminations of the Evangelists at a later date. The fragile manuscript traded hands during the Armenian Genocide in 1915, and came into Memorial Art Gallery’s collections in 1950, where conservators have treated it in hopes of preserving it for generations to come.
[Label text from It Came From the Vault exhibition, 2013]
[Label text from It Came From the Vault exhibition, 2013]
Provenance
Vladimir H. Simkovitch, New York; purchased from him by the Gallery in 1950
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Additional Images
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- Recent Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection Memorial Art Gallery 9/30/1949 - 10/30/1949
- Treasures from Rochester Memorial Art Gallery 4/14/1977 - 5/28/1977
- Byzantium in the West: Ten Centuries of Influence Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies 10/20/1978 - 11/19/1978
- Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts The Pierpont Morgan Library 5/4/1994 - 10/23/1994
- It Came from the Vault: Rarely Seen Works from MAG's Collection 3/17/2013 - 6/9/2013
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988.
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Denys Sutton. Treasures from Rochester: Exhibited at Wildenstein Galleries, New York, April 14-May 28, 1977: Summary Catalogue. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1977.
- Apollo. London, England: Apollo
- MAGazine. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Roger S. Wieck, ed. Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts. New York, NY: The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1994.
- Sirarpie Der Nersessian and Sylvia Agémian. Miniature painting in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1993.
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios:
Web Links
See links to web pages and lesson plans
GOSPEL LESSON
Listen to music chosen for this artwork from MUSICUS, the world’s first online museum of music.
GRATES NUNC OMNES
Listen to music chosen for this artwork from MUSICUS, the world’s first online museum of music. This brief (and rare) sequence was sung at the first Christmas Mass in German-speaking areas. Its melody, known as Ostende nobis, was widely sung throughout England, France, and parts of the Italian peninsula and was typically reserved for the season of Advent.
It Came from the Vault exhibition catalogue
Entry for this artwork in the It Came from the Vault exhibition catalogue. The exhibition ran from March 17-June 9, 2013