Armenian Khatchkar at The Met
12th-century Stone Cross on Long-term Loan to New York Museum
A 12th-century Khatchkar or stone cross is on loan-term loan from the Republic of Armenia to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
A 2000-pound monumental Khatchkar or monumental stone cross from the 12th Century is on long-term loan to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art from the State History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan. The object is on view in the first-floor Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries for Byzantine Art. The Met's installation of this massive sculpture is a first for any United States museum.
Khatchkar is derived from the words for cross (khatch) and stone (kar) in Armenian. During the Middle Ages, Armenian Christians on the eastern border of Byzantium erected khatchkars to memorialize the deceased and commemorate significant local events.
The basalt sculpture from Lori, the Republic of Armenia's northermost province, stands nearly eight feet in height. On its surface are rare carved symbols of the New Testament's four evangelists (the angel of Matthew, lion of Mark, ox of Luke and eagle of John), an oversized cross and birds at fountains, surrounded by intricate patterns of interlacing. The Khatchkar's iconography, reminiscent of designs found in Armenian Gospel manuscripts, demonstrates the New Testament's importance in medieval Armenian culture.
This Fall, additional works of art from medieval Armenia from The Metropolitan Museum of Art and other institutions will go on display near the Khatchkar.
Sources:
- Mathews, Thomas F. Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Art, Religion, and Society (exh. cat.). New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1998.
- _____, et al. Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts (exh. cat.). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
