Abstract

The medieval ‘Armenian’ western stretch of the Silk Road was a place of intense exchanges in the widest sense between Christians, Roman and Armenian, of languages and alphabets, long-distance trade, mission and colonies and the arts with Armenians leading role and looking back onto a long tradition as cultural transmitters. Marco Polo travelled on its main stretch and describes it, and a lot, if not at times most of (not only) Italy’s luxury trade went through its trading centres. From the Mediterranean port of Ayas in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, the best protected in the Mediterranean, it crosses the entire length of Anatolia and passes between the Ararat and Lake Van before turning south towards Tabriz. Starting in the Roman Borgo with its compounds for the Oriental Christian pilgrims, mainly the Armenians, this talk follows the Europeans’ and Armenians’ presence and intense mutual interests in each other’s lands in the way of a geography of the dogma. It discusses Dominican missions, trade and trading colonies, foreign language and alphabet learning and exchanges of material culture and artistic transfer for example on Armenian khachkars in Vayots Dzor, Armenian inscriptions on the bronze doors of St. Peter’s in Rome and Armenian and Mongol luxury fabrics in miniature painting of Cilicia and later on in Tuscan painting.

About the speaker: Christiane Esche-Ramshorn is an independent art historian who has completed her latest research project at the University of Cambridge with her book East-West Artistic Transfer through Rome, Armenia and the Silk Road, Routledge 2022. In 2018, Reflections on Armenia and the Christian Orient. Studies in the Honour of Vrej Nersessian appeared at Ankyunacar, Erevan.