To the Interpretation of the Image of the So-called “Senmurv” According to the Armenian and Eastern Christian Monuments (VII-XIII cc.), P. 159-169 (in Russian). (original) (raw)

2019, Труды Государственного Эрмитажа : [Т.] 99: Византия в контексте мировой культуры: материалы конференции, посвященной памяти А. В. Банк / ГЭ, СПб.

The image of the so-called “senmurv”, a fantastic winged creature with a dog’s protome and a peacock tail, was widely used in the late Sasanian art of the 6th–7th centuries on silver vessels, textiles, decorative stucco, etc. The identification of the “senmurv” with the mythic bird Saena (Saena-Muravo) of the Avesta and the “senmurv” of the late Zoroastrian sources was made for the first time by K. Trever in the 1930s. This idea was strongly fixed in scholar tradition until the end of the century. According to that identification, the image of the “senmurv” in Iranian art embodied the deity of fertility which, according to Zoroastrian mythology, was the protector of three elements. It lived on the “Tree of all Seeds”, guarantying the fecundation of the nature. The image of “senmurv” was soon borrowed by the early Islamic culture and appeared in Armenia and eastern Christian countries. Its symbolism on the Islamic and Christian monuments was considered in the frame of Trever’s theory. But the linguistic studies and archeological discoveries of the two last decades showed the groundlessness of the traditional interpretation of that image and revealed its tie with Khwarenah (Farn), the deity of fortune, divine protection and providence. The latter interpretation was also confirmed by the inscriptions on Sogdian countermarks of the 7th–8th centuries which accompany the depiction of “senmurv”. Today the majority of specialists agrees, that the Sasanian dog-birds are the embodiments of Farn, alongside with the aries, the falcon and the fire nimbus. However, the new hypothesis is not without some disputable aspects, especially because of the existence of various iconographic versions of such creatures in Sogdian art. In this context, the examination of the image on Armenian, Georgian and Byzantine monuments is especially relevant in the light of the newest interpretations. It is important to take into consideration that the earliest depiction of “senmurv” in Cristian art was recently testified on column’s capital of the drum of the Echmiadzin Cathedral. It dates back to 620 AD, and so it is contemporary with the Sasanian images. The next relief sculpture depicting “senmurv” (one with a fish tail) can be seen on the Church of the Holy Cross on the Aghtamar Island (915–921), shown as a see monster in the scene of the Prophet Jonah. This example has a great significance for tracing back the origin of the Iranian creature to Antique sea monsters. The “senmurvs” dating from the 10th century are represented on the façade of the church of Ateni Sion and on the cathedrals of Martvili. There are “senmurvs” in medallions depicted on the frescoes of the Church of Tigran Honents in Ani (1215), etc. The detailed study of these images in the context of Armenian medieval culture and their comparison with Byzantine examples have shown that the “senmurv” was borrowed by Christian art as the commonly understandable symbol of the divine presence, protection and glory.