CreatorUnknown

Place of OriginAgthamar Island, Armenia

Date12. Century

DescriptionThe crown of the Catholicos, the supreme representative of the autocephalic Gregorian Christian Church of Armenia, was gifted to Charles University in 1994 by German collector Reiner Kreissl. The crown reportedly originates from the Armenian island of Aghthamar, seat of the Catholicos from the 12th century. The crown is made from a metal alloy, which was once gilded. It is composed of 14 detachable discs, each topped with an arc with a stylised lily. The disks are decorated with reliefs of the figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the 12 apostles.

TagsArmenia, crown, byzantine ceremony

Dimensions125 mm x 200 mm dieameter of the rim

Material/MediumMetal alloy, gilded, textile

Image LicenseCC BY-NC_ND

Image Rights HolderCharles University, © Vladimír Šigut

Photographic CreditsDigital Imaging Unit

Metadata RightsCC-O