Manuscript No. 30: Ritual Book

Item Overview

Title

Manuscript No. 30: Ritual Book

Uniform title

Mashtots'

Date Created

1825

Date

1825

Language

Armenian

Collection

Armenian Manuscripts

Notes

Description

Text in modern sheghagir, in black and red ink, written in one column of 23-26 lines. The book’s title is written in large, bold erkat’agir. Some large initials are in red erkat’agir; other smaller initials in erkat’agir or notragir capitals in black or red ink. The quires are not numbered.

Colophon

On title pagePages 124-125. Principle colophon.On back cover, written by Dr. Minasian.

Provenance

According to the colophon on pages 124-125, the codex was written at Busher in Iran on Naxay 15 (=July 3) in 1825. It was copied by mahtesi Yart’iwn At’amian at the behest of the priest Eghiazar Andreasian “as a token of love.” The place and date of execution of the codex appear on the title page as well. THe later history of the MS in unknown. Dr. Minasian acquired it on March 25, 1955, from an individual named Grigor Ter Dinisiasian.

Physical Description

Extent

125 pages

Dimensions

18x11 cm.

Binding note

None. Spine covered with white cloth, with darkened adhesive over it. No notches. Evidence of pink and yellow silk endbands at tail (endband with bead on the edge.) Two sewing stations; does not seem to be sewn on supports. Probably not an Armenian structure. Watermark: “[?] ISE & Co.”(on first page of this text, which is on a thicker paper than the rest of the textblock).

Condition note

The book is in a good state of preservation.

Illustrations note

The incipit of this codex is inspired by printed title pages. On a sheet of heavy paper, the scribe blocked out the large erkat’agir letters of his title in pencil outlines, which he erased after filling in the letters with dark brown ink. The subtitles, ending with the Armenian date (= A.D. 1825) centered at the bottom of the page, is in an open, angular bolorgir. The verso is blank; it faces the beginning of the text, which the scribe numbered as page 1, further reinforcing the image of the first page as a title page.

Keywords

Genre

Manuscripts
Illuminations

Resource type

text