A very rare reliquary in the shape of a right arm, known as - Lot 150

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Lot n° 150
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Estimation :
70000 - 90000 EUR
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A very rare reliquary in the shape of a right arm, known as - Lot 150
A very rare reliquary in the shape of a right arm, known as the dexter (?? ??????????). The thumb and forefinger are bent in blessing. The outer surface of the wrist is chiselled with vein lines, and the arm features floral and ornamental zigzag motifs engraved on its inner and outer surfaces. A relic was placed on the back of the hand in an oval cavity set with rubies. The Armenian inscription beneath the base reads: ??????? ? ??????? ????????? ????????? ?. ?????-?????? ?????????? (This is in memory of Margarit Hakobian/Hagopian, for the Church of Saints Paul and Peter in Tomarza). The Church of Saints Paul and Peter in Tomarza (Central Turkey, province of Caesarea) was first mentioned in 1570. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was no more than a small chapel in ruins. In 1837, the Armenians of Tomarza built a magnificent stone church at the crossroads of the town's four main districts. Our reliquary probably dates from the late 1840s. Ottoman Armenia, 19th century. 29 cm. The tradition of reliquary arms appeared in Armenian liturgical culture during the Cilician period under Western Catholic influence, and acquired lasting importance. The most revered example is the Right Hand of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, still used today for major ceremonies such as the blessing of the Holy Chrism (Muron), the consecration of catholicos and major national religious celebrations. Arm reliquaries were therefore not simply containers for relics, but genuine ceremonial objects associated with ecclesiastical authority and sacred continuity. Early Armenian dexters, however, concealed the relic inside the object, in keeping with Eastern tradition. Later examples displayed the relic under crystal or glass, fully adopting the Western model of visible presentation of relics, as is the case in our Tomarza reliquary. Note: This sacred object belongs to Mrs. Emma Ordjanian Melikian (born 1933), the mother of Mr. James Melikian. The Ordjanian family hailed from Salmast (Salmas) in northwestern Iran. The family emigrated to Rostov-on-Don, where they resided from 1880 to 1932, before moving to Tehran, where they remained until 1948. That year, Emma and her family including brother Nikit Ordjanian (1917-2004), arrived in New York City. Emma and her husband and children then settled in Phoenix in Arizona in 1969. Since then, Emma has been deeply involved with the Armenian Church of Arizona, the Melikian Center for Critical Languages at Arizona State University, and numerous other civic organizations.
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