Sacred Vessels and Vestments

The gallery's objects reflect the religious heritage of the Armenian people and exhibit the work of artisans who themselves were masters of their trade. Of exceptional beauty are the ceramic sphere ornaments, the embroidered church vestments, and altar cloths.

Wealthy individuals or communities commissioned the vessels and some of the handwritten copies of liturgical books with lavishly decorated bindings to be gifted to the church, and they are often by the anonymous hands of highly skilled artisans, representing great works of art. Filigree, granulation, and niello techniques reached a highpoint in pre-Genocide Armenian communities in the region of Van and the wider Vaspurakan and Kütahya area.

Liturgical vessels and reliquaries made of precious metals and decorated with costly gems and stones were prone to loss. As a result of deportations, wars, and the general scattering of the Armenian people, a significant percentage of Armenian metalwork has been lost.