Պարը եւ խնջույքն՝ ըստ միջնադարյան դրոշմազարդ կարասների եւ տապանաքարային պատկերաքանդակների

<jats:p>Little information has been preserved about dancing and feasting in medieval Armenian Christian iconography. The official rejection of merriment and joy meant that many manifestations of worldly life were not to find a place in religious themes. This gap is to some extent filled by archaeologically well-studied stamped karases (storage vessels) of the 12th–13th centuries, on the belts of which scenes of feasting and dancing are sometimes also depicted, and tombstones of the 15th–18th centuries, depicting the deceased in a heavenly setting and in an idealized image. Only in rare cases is dance presented as an independent theme. In this case, the composition usually consists of three figures with raised arms։ a smaller figure is in the middle, and larger ones are on the sides. It can be considered probable that we are dealing with the theme of a family “portrait”, a theme that also found its expression in the iconography of khachkars.</jats:p>