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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful illuminations from the Gladzor Gospels magnified in incredible detail. Part of my job as Loans Coordinator is to make sure our Head of Conservation, Chela Metzger, inspects the physical condition of all items that might go out on loan to other institutions for exhibits. In this case, Chela was testing the paint consolidation on a few of the leaves from the Gladzor Gospels in preparation for a potential loan in 2018. So Chela and I headed over to YRL Special Collections with a book sofa, portable microscope, and laptop in hand. Chela carefully prodded the pigments with a tool normally used by dentists called a paper point, which is a piece of paper rolled so finely that it almost looks like a needle. This allowed Chela to gently check that the pigments are still adhered to the parchment and won't potentially flake off during transportation or handling.
Seeing the level of detail and artistry in the early 14th century manuscript was absolutely amazing. It is hard to imagine how an artist in 14th century Armenia could paint a bird smaller than my pinky in such detail. To the artists, it was an act of devotion to put such care into their work.
To see the Gladzor Gospels for yourself, you can visit UCLA Library Digital Collections(opens in a new tab). Use the zoom tool to get up close and personal with the Gladzor too.
The Getty also has a book(opens in a new tab) that goes into detail about the history and production of the manuscript.