The Gospel of John, in Armenian, leaves from an extremely early Biblical codex on vellum, with another substantial fragment from another Armenian Biblical or liturgical codex on vellum [Armenia, ninth to twelfth century]

4 leaves, with one complete leaf and a lower half (bisected horizontally across the page) from an early Armenian translation of John 10-11, the complete leaf 320mm. by 230mm., double column, 17 lines in dark brown ink in large  and imposing erkat'agir majuscules (the so-called ‘Iron Writing’, the earliest Armenian script to survive in manuscript) with capitals with long trailing descenders, notably similar to British Library, Add. MS.21932, trimmed to edges of text, Armenia, probably ninth or tenth century; plus the lower half of a leaf from a Biblical or liturgical manuscript, 200mm. by 135mm., with remains of double column, 12 lines in light brown ink in a smaller and squarer hand closer to that of Dublin, Chester Beatty MSS.554 and 556, both twelfth century (Catalogue of the Armenian Manuscripts, 1958 II: pls.1 and 4), Armenia, probably twelfth century; all leaves recovered from bindings and with stains, tears, folds and later pen-trials and notes, but overall in fair and sound condition 

At the beginning of the fourth century Armenia became the first nation to officially adopt Christianity, and the first text translated into Armenian was the Bible, produced by the scholars St. Sahak (d.439), whose biographer credits him with “giving birth to new and amazing creatures [ie. an alphabet] with his holy right hand”, and his assistant Mesrop Mahtots. Few Armenian manuscripts predate the present example; a handful of books survive for the later ninth and tenth century (cf. Sacred: Books of the Three Faiths, 2007, p.74), but they are not common until the thirteenth century. Another smaller fragment from a translation of Luke from c.1000 was sold in the Schøyen sale in our rooms, 10 July 2012, lot 9, for £5500.