Exceptional radiant monstrance (djadjandj / ճաճանչ) - Lot 154

Exceptional radiant monstrance (djadjandj / ճաճանչ) Silver and vermeil, consisting of a radiating oval medallion decorated with seraphim among clouds and a representation of the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, and a handle also decorated with seraphim and an inscription in Armenian: Pour la mémoire de Harouthi(oun) Bezdjian 1828. Probably donated to the Armenian church of Saint Mother of God (Sourp Asdvadzadzine) in Ortaköy, a district of Istanbul. A decorative element is probably missing from the back. H: 51 cm. Provenance: Boisgirard sale, Arts d'Orient : collection Kélékian et à divers amateurs, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 18, 2001, lot 321. Harouthioun Bezdjian(Յարութիւն Պէզճեան) (1771-1834), also known as Kazaz Artin (Գազազ Արթին),, was a philanthropist, merchant, financier, amira , advisor and founder of the Sourp Prgich Armenian Hospital in Constantinople. Two other similar monstrances (same workmanship, same inscription) with different decorations (Annunciation and Trinity) are still in the Sourp Asdvadzadzin Church in Ortaköy. They are reproduced in Mr. Arsen Yarman's magnificent book, Jewelry and Armenian Goldsmiths under the Ottomans, Istanbul (Yapi Kredi Yayinlari), 2025, vol II, p. 152. The master craftsman of these djadjandj is probably Yeghiazar Agha, to whom Bezdjian entrusted the creation of works for the Sourp Asdvadzadzine church.