Armenian "Hayr Mer" Lord's Prayer Lithograph

A decorative lithographic rendering of the Hayr Mer, the Lord's Prayer, in Classical Armenian, printed in the late Ottoman period. Charts of this kind served a double purpose: liturgical decoration for church interiors, and instructional aids in Armenian Apostolic parish schools.

The composition is centered beneath the Eye of Providence set within a triangle. The opening words ՀԱՅՐ ՄԵՐ (Hayr Mer, "Our Father") rise from a celestial cloudburst, flanked by angelic figures bearing banners reading ՍՈՒՐԲ ("Holy") and ԵՂԻՑԻ ("Be [Thy name]").

The central block is distinguished by interwoven script: the petition for the forgiveness of debts (ԶՊԱՐՏԻՍ ՄԵՐ) is nested within the larger striped letters of ԵՒ ԹՈՂ ՄԵԶ ("And forgive us"), a device used in nineteenth-century ecclesiastical printing to express the theological link between divine and human forgiveness. At the base, the Agnus Dei rests upon a cross, and the closing ԱՄԷՆ sits within a wreath of roses. The lower title line reads ՏԷՐՈՒՆԱԿԱՆ ԱՂՕԹՔ (Derounagan Aghotk), "The Lord's Prayer."

The listing has been re-evaluated: earlier descriptions identified the sheet as a localized "Andor" print, an attribution corrected by translation of the Classical Armenian text.