Armenia will purchase a unique item from a London international auction. This was reported by Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Harutyunyan posted a respective photograph on social media and wrote: “This unique sample of medieval Armenian woodcraft—the door leaf of a 12th-century Armenian church—by today’s government decision will be purchased from a London international auction and transferred to the History Museum of Armenia.”

At the Armenian government’s Cabinet session Thursday, it was reported that 175,360,000 drams (approx. US$461,850) would be allocated from the reserve fund so that this exceptional Armenian cultural asset—a carved wooden church door leaf made in 1188—being sold at a London international auction would be purchased and transported to Armenia.

“Until the 1990s, we were aware of [information] about only eight such pieces, and the wood-carving samples are exceptional. In this case, we are talking about one sample—one of those eight—that was put into circulation in the late 1980s and was located in a private collection in New York.

Very recently, we have acquired a painting by Arshile Gorky, which will soon be in Armenia; it was during that work [on that acquisition] that we noticed this [door] leaf. This is a [door] leaf used for the entrance of old Armenian churches, characteristic of the Bagratuni period. Appropriate radiocarbon analyses have also been carried out, attesting to its age. There are also published articles that attest to the cultural significance of the door. Also, we dispatched a specialist who was convinced on the spot that what we are acquiring is of exceptional significance.

We plan for the [door] leaf to be exhibited at the History Museum of Armenia,” Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan had stated.