184 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[June, 



the centre of the hemicycle, as is customary in the Armenian rites. 

 A wooden screen, called by the Greeks Khangelon, extended from one 

 extremity of the hemicycle to the other; it is to this screen that the 

 curtains and tapestries, of which mention is frequently made, are at- 

 tached. To the right and left of the hemicycle are two small sacris- 

 ties, one to preserve the gospels, the other to contain the sacred 

 vases; such is the simplicity of the plan of this edifice. Its deco- 

 ration consists in paintings, which, however, time has destroyed; 

 there now only remains in the choir some traces of the figures of the 

 twelve Apostles. The whole of the interior of the church was co- 

 vered with stucco, which has fallen off gradually. The central lan- 

 tern is at this time dilapidated, the fragments have accumulated in 

 the centre of the church ; it is possible to recognize the greater part 

 of the exterior decoration, and the system of covering is precisely 

 the same as that of a neighbouring church, of which the lantern is 

 still perfect. 



The stucco in falling has laid open the stone used in the construc- 

 tion of the pillars. It is a volcanic tufo, which has the property of 

 hardening on exposure to the air. The courses of the pillars are 

 formed of alternate yellow and black stone, which recal certain con- 

 structions of the thirteenth century in Italy. This taste of zones of 

 various colours was very general among the Mussulmen of Syria and 

 Egypt. In Cairo, they are still careful to paint on their mosques 

 horizontal bands with slacked lime and red ocre, but in other towns in 

 the East these zones are made with different coloured stones. The 

 first impression which is produced on entering this half destroyed 

 nave, is a feeling of melancholy, on witnessing the nakedness of the 

 stone and the coldness of the lines. The narrowness of the side 

 ailes apparently increases the thickness of the pillars. But painting 

 formerly enlivened these high walls, and the small quantity of light 

 shed on the nave when the cupola was complete, must have given to 

 the interior of this temple a melancholy and austere tone, which was 

 in harmony with the grave character of the people who frequented it. 



Those, who have observed the progress of the arts in the middle 

 ages in Europe, will be disposed to consider this edifice as a work of 

 the thirteenth century; it indeed bears the characteristics: but the 

 date inscribed on the portal proves it to be far more ancient, and that 

 the pointed arch was in use in Armenia at the period when the Roman 

 style was the only one which was adopted in Europe. 



The facade of this church, constructed with remarkable simplicity 

 and decorated with great reserve, presents, however, an interesting 

 subject, as it may be regarded as the type of the German architecture 

 of the middle ages. It is easy to explain why, throughout this coun- 

 try, is found the dome with the conic roof peculiar to the Armenian 

 architecture. After the taking of Ani by the Mussulmen, a great 

 number of the citizens abandoned the town. They could not retire 

 into Persia, where they would have been received as enemies. The 

 Greeks in Byzantium, being equally hostile to them as the Persians, 

 it was towards the North country they directed their steps. They 

 were received by the kings of Georgia, and spread themselves over 

 Moldavia as far as Poland, where they formed different establish- 

 ments. All these countries, which were still immersed in ignorance, 

 availed themselves of the knowledge brought to them by these new 

 comers. Although a religious spirit was dominant among the Arme- 

 nians, they were too timid to make any effort to promulgate their doc- 

 trines. The rising Christianity of those countries borrowed of them 

 what they could adopt of their arts, but remained faithful to the 

 ritual of the Greek church. The style of this architecture progressed 

 by degrees towards the North. It was from them that the Russians 

 imbibed their first elements. 



The facade of the church is in harmony with the simplicity of the 

 plan. All superfluous ornament is excluded. Slight engaged co- 

 lumns on the face of the walls support circular arches, which are 

 raised a little above their centre. The middle arch, on the contrary, 

 approaches the pointed form. Two semicircular panels to the right 

 and left of the window, present to the eyes of the faithful the image 

 of the cross, placed in the middle of an hexagonal star, surrounded 

 by a foliage of flowers. 



The three divisions of the nave are indicated outwardly bv a pedi- 

 ment, which adjusts itself with the wall of partition of the cross, and 

 by the two slopes of the roof which cover the side ailes. 



This arrangement of the upper part was often emploved in the 

 churches of the middle ages in Europe. It is the most simple and 

 logical arrangement. The cornices a>-e composed of slightly pro- 

 jecting mouldings, separated by a rather broad fascia, decorated with 

 a Greek scroll. Below the summit of the pediment there is another 

 bas-relief, in the middle of which is a Latin cross placed in a richly 

 sculptured frame. 



This grouping is frequently repeated in various ways on the doors, 

 monuments, and exterior walls. It was not only at Ani that this cus- 

 tom prevailed, the principal towns of Armenia were also decorated in 

 the same manner. Ibn Alather, in his chronicle, makes frequent men- 

 tion of this peculiarity. The town of Matian Neschin was surrounded 

 by a wall composed of large stones, and ornamented with crosses fixed 

 with lead and iron. The quarries of Ani furnished materials of va- 

 rious colours ; they availed themselves of this opportunity to execute 

 crosses in yellow and black mosaic. The facade of the church par- 

 ticipated in this polychromatic decoration; but we cannot conceive 

 what induced the builder of the church to work in, in an irregular 

 manner, black and yellow stones promiscuously in the wall of the 

 elevation. The quarries which produced the stones for the church 

 are sufficiently abundant to have furnished all the materials they re- 

 quired. Three windows afforded light to the nave ; that in the 

 middle is square, surrounded by a broad framework, the two side 

 windows are hardly wide enough to give light to the side aisles. 

 There is au inscription on one side the door in the Armenian language, 

 which states that the metropolitan church of Ani was built by '^ueen 

 Gadramia, wife of King Kakig, the first successor of Sempad who 

 laid the foundations of the edifice in the year 1U10 of our era. 



Hence it appears that at the time the pointed arch was unknown 

 in Europe, monuments of the Gothic style were constructed in Ar- 

 menia. At Diarbekir there is a very remarkable monument, which is 

 now converted into a mosque, also constructed in the Gothic style. 

 The Armenians call this edifice the palace of Tigranes, and there is 

 nothing to disprove its having been the residence of this prince. The 

 ground floor of this palace is embellished with columns in the Roman 

 style, with Corinthian capitals of tolerably correct workmanship; these 

 columns support a range of Gothic arches. The order of the first 

 story is also Corinthian much enriched; the frieze and cornices are 

 formed upon the principle of the Roman arch in the fourth century; 

 the Gothic arch is, however, mixed up with this architecture, so as to 

 iudicate its common use in these countries. Although it is difficult to 

 fix the precise date when the pointed arch was first used in architec- 

 ture, we cannot form any positive conclusion as to the date of the 

 monument in which it is found. Up to the present time this question 

 is far from being decided, but it is very certain that the pointed arch 

 is of eastern origin, since it may be traced in Mesopotamia long before 

 it was known in Europe. 



As to the arch greater than the semicircle, which we are accustomed 

 to regard as Saracenic, it is of such rare occurrence in the West, that 

 its eastern origin cannot be contested. It appears certain that it was 

 first introduced into Europe by the Moors, but it may be observed in 

 the eastern buildings, even before the birth of Mahomet. The Ar- 

 menian church of Dighour presents a remarkable example of this 

 kind of arches, their curve or rather the elevation of the centre above 

 the line of impost is much more decided than in the church at Ani. 

 It bsars the date of 1104. 



The lateral front of the metropolitan church at Ani is constructed 

 in the same style as the principal front. The gable end of the cross 

 is enlightened by a circular window, as on the facade: under this win- 

 dow is a kind of tympanum or table with a Gothic arch. This table 

 projects very little, and has no particular decoration. To the right 

 and left of the door there are two very elongated niches, or rather two 

 species of sinkings, which correspond with cavities in the engaged 

 columns. The same adjustment may be observed in the back elevation 

 of the church. But there it is more defined, as it disengages the cir- 



