Episcopal staff also called Tau. - Lot 21

Episcopal staff also called Tau. Carved walrus ivory highlighted in red and black with ebony, bronze and mother-of-pearl inlays forming rosettes. The tau is symmetrical in the shape of two painted dragons, upside down, with open mouths and outstretched tongues. The three-part staff is made from the same material, but is octagonal in shape and carved with crosses and crosses. The upper part of the stick features the same motifs as the tau, while the base ends in a ball. Two knots separate the three parts of the stick, which can be unscrewed to allow the whole unit to be dismantled. Each part is numbered. Armenian art, Turkey, probably Constantinople, circa 1700. Length: 165 cm. (Slight accidents to the knots and in one mouth). Various comparable tau exist in the collections of the Victor & Albert Museum (inv. 461-1877 in particular), in the Etchmiadzin Museum treasury or in the National Museum of Ireland. This type of episcopal staff is based on the style and materials used by the Ottoman court in Istanbul since the 15th century, in particular exotic materials such as marine ivory and mother-of-pearl. Note: The tau represents the capital letter "T" in Greek and the ansata cross or St. Anthony's crozier. Some sources trace the Tau back to the ancient Egyptian symbol of the Ankh. Since the 3rd century, the Tau has been associated with Saint Anthony, one of the founding fathers of the Coptic monastic movement. The secular clergy of Eastern abbeys and monasteries adopted this type of Tau as their episcopal staff, while the regular Eastern clergy adopted the episcopal crozier. This type of episcopal tau has been mainly used in the Armenian church since the 15th century.