“Made by These Unworthy Hands”: The Armenian Silversmiths of Kayseri

Friday, February 24, 2017, 6:30 pm
Tickets: 
$15; free for members and students with valid ID. Tickets include free museum admission for the day of program.

Specialists of silver liturgical objects, the 17th–18th century workshop of Armenian silversmiths in the town of Kayseri in central Anatolia, endured for almost ninety years. The Morgan is fortunate to own three sets of silver and enameled covers from this workshop, now on exhibition in Mr. Morgan’s Library. Join Sylvie L. Merian, scholar and Reader Services Librarian at the Morgan, for an illustrated lecture discussing what is known about these silversmiths and the Dutch woodcuts used as inspiration by some of the craftsmen featuring dozens of examples of these splendid objects now found in collections worldwide.

Silver repoussé cover with cloisonné enamel and jewels, Ottoman Empire, Kayseri, 1653. On a songbook, in Armenian, Ottoman Empire, Erzincan region, Kap’os Monastery, 1418. Gift of Julia P. Wightman, 1993. The Morgan Library & Museum, MS W.7. Photography by Graham S. Haber, 2016.

Please call (212) 685-0008 ext. 560 or e-mail tickets@themorgan.org for information.