On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Altar Frontal
Not on view
Used to cover the front of an altar, this work illustrates the founding of the cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin as seen in Saint Gregory the Illuminator’s vision. The archangel, standing by the saint and the boar-headed King Tridates, reveals the vision. Above is the Trinity, with God presented as an old man, the Holy Spirit as a radiant dove, and Christ as a young man, holding the golden hammer with which he will strike the earth to announce the location of Holy Etchmiadzin, the first Armenian church, which stands across from them. The cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin is depicted as it appeared when the frontal was embroidered.
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