Notes: [1] Neither the date nor the location of the monastery where the manuscript was created is certain, since the fragment that survived into the Pozzi collection lacked a colophon. When Archbishop Artavazd Sirmeian first described the leaves in 1950, he gave a date range of the 13th–17th century. The current date and location are based on a comparison of the leaves to manuscripts described by Sirarpie der Nersessian in Armenian Manuscripts in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art Oriental Studies, no. 6 (Washington, DC, 1963), see especially pages 1–7 and plates 1–5 (FGA ms. 33.5 and FGA ms. 47.2–.4), and Lydia A. Dournovo in Armenian Miniatures (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.: New York, 1961), see especially pages 40–47 (The Gospel of 1038, Matenadaran ms. 6201) and pages 58–61 (The Gospel of the Eleventh Century, Matenadaran ms. 974). [2] The date of the acquisition appears in Archbishop Artavazd Sirmeian, Mayr ts'utsʿak hayerēn dzeṛagratsʿ Ewropayi masnawor hawakʿumneru (Grand Catalog of Armenian Manuscripts in European Private Collections), (Imp. Artistique: Paris, 1950) no. 22, 34–6. At the time, Pozzi was a diplomat representing France on the International Straits Commission that managed the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. According to Archbishop Sirmeian, who saw the manuscript in Paris in August 1949, Pozzi possessed twelve leaves. In addition to the text, he described four canon tables and four illuminations: Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Jesus’s betrayal, and the crucifixion. [3] Pierre Berès purchased these nine leaves at Pozzi’s estate auction at the Hôtel Drouot. Pozzi had previously presented two leaves containing two canon tables and the illuminations of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem and the Last Supper to Professor Jean-Bertrand Barrère (1914–1985) and his wife Micheline (d. 2007). These two leaves were sold at auction by Sotheby’s, London, on December 3, 2008, Lot 26. Sotheby’s description of the Barrère leaves also records the date and location of the purchase and sale of the Berès leaves. At present, it is uncertain what became of the remaining leaf. It contained the images of Jesus’s betrayal (possibly similar in composition to the one in the Gospel of The Eleventh Century, Dournovo, pages 58–59) and crucifixion (possibly similar in composition to the one in the Gospel of 1038, Dournovo, pages 44–45). [4] The acquisition date is uncertain, but the manuscript appears in Laura Light and Sandra Hindman, Before the King James Bible, Text Manuscripts 2 (Les Enluminures: Chicago, 2012), Lot 28. It had previously appeared in William Noah, Ink & Blood, Dead Sea Scrolls to the English Bible, The Museum Exhibit of the Bible, Commemorative Exhibit Catalogue (ACO, LLC: Murfreesboro, TN, 2005), 26–27. Not all items that appear in Ink & Blood catalogs belonged to Noah and his associates, so it is unclear whether this manuscript ever belonged to him.

Selected References

Laura Light and Sandra Hindman, Before the King James Bible, Text Manuscripts 2, Lot 28 (Les Enluminures: Chicago, 2012).

Sotheby’s, Western and Oriental Manuscripts, Lot 26 (Sotheby’s, December 3, 2008).

William Noah, Ink & Blood, Dead Sea Scrolls to the English Bible, The Museum Exhibit of the Bible, Commemorative Exhibit Catalogue (ACO, LLC: Murfreesboro, TN, 2005).

Vrej Nersessian, Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art (The British Library and the J. Paul Getty Museum: Los Angeles, CA, 2001).

Sirarpie der Nersessian, Armenian Manuscripts in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art Oriental Studies, no. 6 (Washington, DC, 1963).

Lydia A. Dournovo, Armenian Miniatures (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.: New York, 1961).

Archbishop Artavazd Sirmeian, Mayr ts'utsʿak hayerēn dzeṛagratsʿ Ewropayi masnawor hawakʿumneru (Grand Catalog of Armenian Manuscripts in European Private Collections) (Imp. Artistique: Paris, 1950), no. 22.