The Galerie du Temps at the Louvre-Lens A unique presentation of ...

10. Tile panel with Christian scene
and cuera seca (black line) decoration
Iran, 17 th century
Fritware (stonepaste)
Musée du Louvre, Department of Islamic
Art, Ucad 15118.1
© 2005 Musée du Louvre / Claire Tabbagh
A Christian procession
On the left-hand side of the scene, seven bearded figures wearing pointed caps stand out on a deep blue
background. They are holding tall crosses, an incense burner and processional flags. In the foreground, a figure
holding a cross in his left hand leans over a stream represented by gray undulations. On the right, another figure
atop a building rings bells using a hammer. This detail reveals that the edifice is a church rather than a mosque,
as the cupola and squareness of the structure might lead one to suppose. A man is shown entering this building
through the front doors.
The Armenians of Iran
This tile decoration bears witness to the presence of a Christian community in Iran, concentrated in New Julfa,
the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, which was established in 1605. This quarter was populated by wealthy
merchants, refugees from Armenia and Georgia, who specialized in the silk trade and enjoyed many privileges
under the Safavids.
The scene might represent a baptism by immersion, as traditionally practiced by Armenians. The procession
leads one to conclude that a very important baptism is being depicted, perhaps that of the Armenian king
Tiridates III in 314 by Saint Gregory the Illuminator (c. 257–331), who displayed miraculous powers and
converted all of Armenia’s nobles to Christianity. Tiridates III subsequently declared Armenia to be
Christianized, making it the first nation to formally adopt Christianity as its official religion. But another, more
plausible hypothesis suggests that the ceremony represented here is one known as a “baptism of the Cross,” a
tradition involving major processions during which crosses are baptized by immersion. This practice is often
noted in the accounts of seventeenth-century travelers.
A church dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator?
This iconographic composition is very seldom found in Armenian church decoration in Isfahan. A New Julfa
church dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator might very well have included the Louvre panel in its
decoration. Although this place of worship dates from the seventeenth century, later adjustments were made to
its original decoration and prevent the validation of this hypothesis. But it is likely that the church included
decoration on a large scale, showing scenes from everyday life as well as the lives of saints. Indeed, other
similar tile panels with blue backgrounds are held at the Louvre and in Berlin.
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