GRAPES AND WINE IN THE ICONOGRAPHY OF MEDIEVAL ARMENIA

The history of grape iconography dates back to the first millennium BC, during the Hellenistic era. Being semantically rich in the history of Greek mythology, the entire host culture and its individual elements reflected the semantics of grapes in virtually all areas of culture, architecture, and art as well.

The architectural pearls of medieval Armenia, spanning various periods, are often adorned with a rich and unique abundance of grapes, pomegranates, and wine. The main purpose of the iconography of early medieval Armenian monuments was to represent the Bible through various images and symbols that emphasize the scene of Christ’s salvation[1]. Inscriptions depicting grapes and pomegranates have been found since at least the early Middle Ages: in the royal tomb of Aghtsk, in the temples of Tekor, Ptghni, Kasakh, Yereruyk, and elsewhere.

Zvartnots Temple from the 7th century occupies a special place, being the most expressive in its execution and unique in the iconography of its ornaments, which feature grapes and pomegranates.

One of the most interesting iconographies of the garden-world is the registers of the Surb Khach monastery complex on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van. This monument, with its unique sculptural decoration, exceptional frescoes, as well as important historical passages and sources related to its patron Gagik III Artsruni (904/8–943), continues to attract the attention of Armenian and foreign specialists to this day. The reliefs of the Holy Cross are arranged in registers: in the main, widest zone, narrative scenes are presented, mainly from the Old Testament, as well as images of the Virgin Mary, Christ, and saints, a composition of the founder, several mythological and symbolic animals, etc. Above is a row of bas-reliefs, followed by a grape register area[2]. The garden is depicted in the process of ripening. The continuous, twisting vine itself appears as timeless, radiant, eternal time, filling the entire universe with grapes. Several scenes of garden cultivation are depicted, including digging and pruning. There are also numerous scenes depicting animals that infest grapes. The ornamental belt of the eastern facade of Akhtamar ends with a scene of harvesting and wine tasting, where the king is depicted with two of his closest companions. The king does not sit on a throne in a palace, but in a vineyard, under a grapevine and a pomegranate tree, holding the cup of life in his right hand, and with his left hand, he plucks grapes from the tree of life. Among the most famous scenes dedicated to the grapevine are the grape harvest and wine production, one of which depicts a person participating in the harvest – a man with a basket in his hand, and a little further on is a scene of grapes being crushed in a winepress.

The allegorical image of Christ as the true vine and bunch of grapes was also closely associated with the cross. A similar symbolism of the cross-tree of life is contained in the sculpture of the 5th-century Ashtarak church Tsiranavor, where bunches of grapes growing from the upper vertical wings of the cross are pecked by a pair of peacocks. Hovhannes Odznetsi’s theory that the tree of paradise is comparable to the cross finds its iconographic confirmation in the sculptures on the lintels of a several churches: Kasakh, Mren, Tsakhats Kar, Nor Getik, Geghard, Areni, and others. Ultimately, Christ, crushed like a grape on the cross, sacrificed his blood for the cleansing of sinners. David Anakht’s quote on this subject is noteworthy: “Blessed are you, holy tree, called khndzan, for in you is gathered the heavenly harvest, sufficient for the abundance of heaven and earth.” David Anakht; “For the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man, an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard” (Matt. 2:1); also “there was a certain householder, who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a vineyard in it, and built a tower…” (Matt. 21:33, 34; Mark 12:1).

The cross, identified with Christ, functions as a grapevine, organizing the entire universe, as seen in the lintel sculpture discovered in ancient Dvin. In some early medieval sculptures, bunches of grapes are combined with or replaced by pomegranates. Beginning in the 12th century, khachkars, which typically formed the cornice or upper part of an altar, became particularly widespread. The top and cornice of the khachkar altars symbolize the heavenly paradise. On the famous khachkar at Sevanavank, Trdat the master depicted Paradise as a vineyard.

The ornamental carvings of medieval Armenian monuments are dominated by plant motifs, with grapes and pomegranates serving as the central element and conceptual basis. Portals, windows, capitals, and, in general, architectural details of the interior and exterior of a number of churches are decorated primarily with stylized, multi-branched, interwoven ornamentation. These compositions suggest that the house of God is a heavenly garden. The entrances to spiritual structures, like the canonical entrances of the Gospels, are presented as ceremonial entrances, specifically opened for the believer into the Divine world, inviting them in.

[1] Petrosyan, Khachkar, Yerevan, 2007.

[2] Միքաելյան Լ., Աղթամարի Սբ. Խաչ եկեղեցու Հովնանի պատմության տեսարանների պատկերագրությունը. վաղքրիստոնեական, հուդայական, սասանյան ակունքները և նորարարական լուծումները // Վէմ համահայկական հանդես, 2018, 3 (63), էջ 182-204