The
birds, just like the cross, are a movable element of the composition. In
khachkar composition the ideological indicator is not the bird itself
but its position: the bottom position is mainly occupied by water and
terrestrial birds, the middle position is occupied by woodpecker-like
birds, and the top position by soaring birds. This Armenian variation of
a common model of the world is one of the vividly represented features
of the khachkar, when the top, the middle and the bottom are depicted
through the hierarchy of the birds. Despite this, khachkars on which
birds occupy the top position of the composition or the cornice are
greater in numbers. These consist of twin partridges facing one another,
doves or peacocks (drinking from the chalice, pecking the grape rods and
bushes), which depicts the celestial-holy sphere, celestial garden, the
immortality of souls, which can be reached through the mediation of the
cross.
The
birds, just like the cross, are a movable element of the composition. In
khachkar composition the ideological indicator is not the bird itself
but its position: the bottom position is mainly occupied by water and
terrestrial birds, the middle position is occupied by woodpecker-like
birds, and the top position by soaring birds. This Armenian variation of
a common model of the world is one of the vividly represented features
of the khachkar, when the top, the middle and the bottom are depicted
through the hierarchy of the birds. Despite this, khachkars on which
birds occupy the top position of the composition or the cornice are
greater in numbers. These consist of twin partridges facing one another,
doves or peacocks (drinking from the chalice, pecking the grape rods and
bushes), which depicts the celestial-holy sphere, celestial garden, the
immortality of souls, which can be reached through the mediation of the
cross.
