A Silver Ark in the Collection of the Armenian Diocese of Romania: An Image of the Heavenly Jerusalem?

The article presents the first scholarly study of a silver ark preserved in the “Dudian” Museum of the Armenian Diocese of Romania, Bucharest. The object is examined through an interdisciplinary art-historical approach that integrates typological, iconographic, stylistic, and symbolic analysis. The donative inscription links the ark to pilgrimage practices, identifying it as a memorial commissioned in Constantinople in 1799 by Mahtesi Asfatur from the city of Focșani. Stylistically, the ark exemplifies the “Constantinople style”, reflecting a synthesis of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Its church-shaped form and iconography are interpreted as a symbolic representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem.