Sarah Mayhew Craddock explores Armenian culture at the Bodleian

Uncovering a rich cultural heritage that spans more than two-and-a-half millennia, an exhibition of rare Armenian masterpieces on display in at the Bodleian Library offers a glimpse into the early days of Christianity.

It celebrates more than 2,500 years of history and culture of the mountainous Caucasian nation, in a sumptuous display of over 100 manuscripts, books, sacred objects and everyday artefacts from the Armenian community presented alongside treasures from the Bodleian’s magnificent collections.

“Armenian culture has shaped humanity and given it great gifts, from precious manuscripts, literature and art to religious and secular music,” said Theo Maarten van Lint. “In this exhibition, we present to the public the historical, artistic and other cultural achievements of a people not often in the focus of the public eye, in an effort to educate, fascinate and create a dialogue between nations and peoples.”

The objects selected for display have been gathered from private and national collections in Armenia, the Netherlands and the UK and demonstrate the enormous achievements of a nation with a fascinating and often turbulent history. It was initially conceived by exhibition curator, Theo Maarten van Lint, the Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at Oxford, in 2002.

Classicist Robin Meyer was invited to co-curate the exhibition alongside Maarten van Lint, who says: “The University of Oxford has been engaged with Armenia and its culture for more than 400 years, ever since Archbishop Laud, the then Chancellor of the University donated Armenian manuscripts to the Bodleian Library.”

Making a conscious effort to highlight Armenian endurance through times of suffering and hardship, notably the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during World War I (it is estimated that between 800,000 and 1.5 million people were killed, starting with 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople on 24 April 1915) and reflecting upon the reputation that Armenians have gained for smiling in the face of adversity, Maarten van Lint explained the importance of the show’s timing.

“2015 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment in the University of Oxford of the Calouste Gulbenkian Professorship of Armenian Studies,” he said .

“Survivors spread worldwide, and came also to Britain. So 2015 is in more than one way a milestone, and the combination of commemoration with celebration is very apt in an Armenian context: embracing life and creating a meaningful, joyous future, despite the sorrows inflicted upon them is very much the Armenians’ attitude, one that the organisers of the exhibition wholeheartedly subscribe to.”

Highlights of the exhibition include a venerated holy book containing mystical prayer poems with healing powers on loan from a UK-based Armenian family who have passed down their copy through generations, a brightly coloured gospel manuscript featuring a ‘hidden demon’ that has been rubbed out over the centuries by pious readers, and a collection of 20 ancient coins telling the story of Armenia’s political and economic history.

But, as always. it is the human stories behind the objects which make this essential exhibition a delight.

Where and when
Armenia: Masterpieces from an Enduring Culture exhibition is at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
For more information visit bodleian.ox.ac.uk/armenia