Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture and its catalogue present some of the accomplishments of a not-very-well-known people and their culture whose history goes back more than 2,500 years.
It also shows a modern, vibrant culture that, as a post-Soviet state, continues to build an independent country on an eastern sliver of the Armenian Highland.
Prior to its Soviet rule, Armenia suffered the 1915 massacre inflicted by the ruling Ottoman Empire – modern day Turkey denies genocide, and disputes the death toll, to this day.
Bringing together the manifold aspects that constitute a culture in all its rich variety over a period of three millennia is a challenge that’s impossible to meet in a publication and exhibition of the scale at our disposal.
However, the trappings of empire and kingship, with their coinage, manuscript production,
achievements in print and worldwide merchant networks supporting secular and religious
aspects of Armenian culture, are well represented.
We were lucky to obtain the co-operation of world experts in the fields of codicology, palaeography, inscriptions, manuscript illumination and Armenian printing, and to draw on the works of historians and legal experts who have placed the study of Armenia’s past on an impeccable scholarly footing.
The catalogue is the result of a collaboration between professionals from differing
backgrounds: scholars, book designers, photographers, editors and publishing professionals. The keeper of the Oriental Collection at the Bodleian had overall responsibility for the publication.
The great care lavished on the photography and layout makes the volume visually attractive. An exhibition catalogue has to be available at the opening of the exhibition, hence meeting print deadlines is all important. Items on display can be installed hours before the public starts to file in, the catalogue has to be submitted for printing months earlier.
This led to an interesting dynamic. Weeks before the opening, lists with Armenian
recipes handed down through generations became available: too late to be included in the catalogue, but far too good to not include in the exhibition.
Conversely, there is a description of an item that had not been confirmed for the exhibition, which has created a phantom presence in the catalogue – the item turned out to be too fragile to travel and is therefore expertly described in the catalogue, but not on display in the exhibition.
Theo Maarten van Lint is the curator and author of Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture, at the Bodleian Weston Library until 28 February
It also shows a modern, vibrant culture that, as a post-Soviet state, continues to build an independent country on an eastern sliver of the Armenian Highland.
Prior to its Soviet rule, Armenia suffered the 1915 massacre inflicted by the ruling Ottoman Empire – modern day Turkey denies genocide, and disputes the death toll, to this day.
Bringing together the manifold aspects that constitute a culture in all its rich variety over a period of three millennia is a challenge that’s impossible to meet in a publication and exhibition of the scale at our disposal.
However, the trappings of empire and kingship, with their coinage, manuscript production,
achievements in print and worldwide merchant networks supporting secular and religious
aspects of Armenian culture, are well represented.
We were lucky to obtain the co-operation of world experts in the fields of codicology, palaeography, inscriptions, manuscript illumination and Armenian printing, and to draw on the works of historians and legal experts who have placed the study of Armenia’s past on an impeccable scholarly footing.
The catalogue is the result of a collaboration between professionals from differing
backgrounds: scholars, book designers, photographers, editors and publishing professionals. The keeper of the Oriental Collection at the Bodleian had overall responsibility for the publication.
The great care lavished on the photography and layout makes the volume visually attractive. An exhibition catalogue has to be available at the opening of the exhibition, hence meeting print deadlines is all important. Items on display can be installed hours before the public starts to file in, the catalogue has to be submitted for printing months earlier.
This led to an interesting dynamic. Weeks before the opening, lists with Armenian
recipes handed down through generations became available: too late to be included in the catalogue, but far too good to not include in the exhibition.
Conversely, there is a description of an item that had not been confirmed for the exhibition, which has created a phantom presence in the catalogue – the item turned out to be too fragile to travel and is therefore expertly described in the catalogue, but not on display in the exhibition.
Theo Maarten van Lint is the curator and author of Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture, at the Bodleian Weston Library until 28 February
