Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art [Hardcover]

Vreg Nersessian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0892366397 | ISBN-13: 978-0892366392

Treasures from the Ark, an extensive new survey of Armenian Christian art, catalogues a major exhibition during the spring 2001 at the British Library. The extraordinary quality and range of Armenian art that is documented includes sculpture, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, wood carvings, and illuminated manuscripts. It has been collected from around the world, much never seen outside Armenia.
In his authoritative text, Vrej Nersessian charts the development of Christianity in Armenia. This fascinating history is essential to an understanding of the art and religious tradition of Armenia, a country in which the sense of the sacred extends well beyond the purely religious, permeating the entire fabric of Armenian affairs to create a fascinating culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In 301 C.E., the Armenian people became the first to adopt Christianity as their official religion, and Nersessian (curator of Armenian collections at the British Library) celebrates 1700 years of Armenian Christian art in this exhibition catalog. Armenia's precarious political and geographical position directly affected the spread of Christianity, the place of the Armenian church in Christendom, and the development of a uniquely Armenian iconography. Unfortunately, this position also led to invasion and foreign rule throughout much of Armenia's history. The photos cover sculpture, metal works, textiles, carved wood, ceramics, and manuscripts, while the text builds a firm foundation through coverage of geography, history, religion, and politics, showing how religion and language held the Armenians together through foreign rule and diaspora. The result is an excellent holistic body of work whose single fault lies in the small size of the photos. Overall, Nersessian provides excellent coverage on a topic that is covered only in part elsewhere. Recommended for libraries specializing in art history and European history and for larger public libraries. Nadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Vrej Nersessian is curator of collections of the Christian Orient at the British Library and author of Armenian Illustrated Gospel Books (1987), as well as many scholarly catalogues and bibliographies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892366397
• ISBN-13: 978-0892366392
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,097,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible book, September 10, 2001

By 

"jgold1" (Medford, MA 02155) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art (Hardcover)

Unless you are already well versed in the topic of Armenian art, do not get this book. Every page it mentions about 20 names, and it only tells you who about half of those people are. It quickly jumps from topic to topic, making it difficult to follow. Finally, the language that it uses is extremely difficult to understand, both the vocabulary and sentence structure. There are other boooks out there, and they must be better. Pass on this one.