Chalice Cover #3
Name/Title
Chalice Cover #3Description
This early 20th-century embroidered silk chalice cover, produced in 1925 for the Surp Hreshdagabet (Holy Archangels) Armenian Church in the Balat district of Istanbul, serves as a refined example of post-Ottoman Armenian ecclesiastical textile art. Crafted on a pale pink or blush silk satin ground framed by an ornate fringed border, the textiles features a square composition with a central floral medallion encircled by radiating metallic-thread rays that evoke a divine gloriette or solar monstrance. At the center of the medallion rests the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) bearing the banner of victory, surrounded by a delicate wreath of stylized grapevines and wheat motifs symbolic of the Eucharistic elements. Four winged seraphim embroidered in soft blues, white, and black occupy the inner corners, anchored within an outer perimeter of scrolling grapevines and foliage. Arranged in a semicircle around the central solar burst, an inscribed Western Armenian dedication in calligraphic script reads: "ՅԻՇԱՏԱԿ Է ԾԱԾԿՈՅՍ ԱՑՍ ՀՐՇՏԿՊՏ ԵԿՂՑՅ ՊԱԼԱՏՈՒ ՏԿՆ. ՖԻԼՕՄԷՆ ՃԻԼԱՃԵԱՆ ՎՍ ՀՈԳՒՈՅ ՀՕՐՆ ԻՒՐՈՅ ՃԱՆԻԿ ԱՂԱ ՊԻԼԷԶԻԿՃԵԱՆԻ 1925", translated as "May Surp Hreshdagabed of Balat remember Mrs. Philomène Chılacıyan, in memory of her late father, Janik Agha Bilezikjian 1925” recording the donor's name, memorial intent, and exact date of execution. In a 1943 newspaper article, Filomen Cilaciyan was noted which demonstrates she was still alive by then.Category
Textile