Within the framework of the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies, held at the University of Vienna, Armine Gabrielyan delivered a presentation.

The 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies, entitled “Byzantium beyond Byzantium,” is being held at the University of Vienna from August 24 to 29. One of the largest international scholarly conferences in the field of Byzantine studies, the Congress is bringing together approximately 1,500 scholars from around the world this year. The participation of scholars from Armenia, as well as international specialists working in the field of Armenian studies, is particularly notable.

On August 25, Armine Gabrielyan, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, presented a paper entitled “Echoes of Classical Antiquity: The Reminiscences of the Carved Gems in the Iconographic Program of Cilician Armenian Miniatures.”

The paper explored the possible connections between the iconography of ancient engraved gems and Cilician Armenian manuscript illumination. Based on structural and compositional correspondences between a number of iconographic motifs, the paper examined the mechanisms through which ancient iconographic traditions may have been transmitted, as well as the possibility that, in certain cases, engraved gems may have served as direct iconographic models for medieval Armenian illuminators. The paper was presented in a session chaired by Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, a renowned specialist in Byzantine history.

Armine Gabrielyan’s participation in the Congress was made possible through the financial support of the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation Armenia.