Though immediately recognizable in public discourse as a modern state in a political "hot zone," Armenia has a material history and visual culture that reaches back to the Paleolithic era. This book presents a timely and much-needed survey of the arts of Armenia from antiquity to the early eighteenth century C.E. Divided chronologically, it brings into discussion a wide range of media, including architecture, stone sculpture, works in metal, wood, and cloth, manuscript illumination, and ceramic arts. Critically, The Art of Armenia presents this material within historical and archaeological contexts, incorporating the results of specialist literature in various languages. It also positions Armenian art within a range of broader comparative contexts including, but not limited to, the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, Byzantium, the Islamic world, Yuan-dynasty China, and seventeenth-century Europe. The Art of Armenia offers students, scholars, and heritage readers of the Armenian community something long desired but never before available: a complete and authoritative introduction to three thousand years of Armenian art, archaeology, architecture, and design.

"Christina Maranci's The Art of Armenia: An Introduction offers a well-guided, and carefully selective, tour of pre-modern Armenian art from the ancient highlands of Urartu through the Ottoman and Safavid Empires.... Punctuated by short historical overviews, abundant color images, and a series of compelling readings.... The Art of Armenia offers a detailed look at the diversity of Armenian cultural production across media, space, and time. The past is never entirely past, Maranci reminds us, though its meanings are subject to change." - Michael Pifer, Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies

"Christina Maranci delivers an important and successful contribution to publications on Armenian art... A wide variety of information coupled with thoughtful analysis provides a complex yet accessible text... History, religious tradition, craftsmanship, and artistic materials and techniques all come together in this masterful introduction to the art of Armenia. This publication would benefit academic libraries and art libraries; it is an accessible and concise text to introduce students to Armenia and its art while having a high level of scholarship." - Annalise Welte, ARLIS/NA Reviews

"Recommended." - CHOICE

"This strickingly original volume will prove a unique source of inspiration for future researchers in the field and will stimulate further advances in an often difficult but highly rewarding area of scholarly endeavor, yet may also be enjoyed and cherished by a wider readership." - Haig Utidjian, Charles University, Prague, Convivium