MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE: THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS, AGHT'AMAR

By J.G. Davies

The Church of the Holy Cross at Aght'amar is one of the outstanding monuments of medieval Armenian architecture. The church, due to its protected position on an island in Lake Van, has survived the ten centuries since its construction in a remarkable state of preservation. Professor Davies has attempted the first detailed iconographic interpretation of the sculptural programme on the exterior o the church, and the surviving interior frescoes of the same date. The sources available in the tenth century for the creation of the sculptural and mural programmes are dealt with, and the surviving works examined in that light. The book begins with a surey of the reign of King Gagik, the architectural traditions his architect drew on, and the subsequent history of the church. This is followed by a discussion of the literary sources available to the creators of the sculptural and mural programmes, and how the resulting works of art should be identified and interpreted. An analysis of the sculptural programme forms the basis of the book. 

The Pindar Press (1991)