Armenian nun

The photograph shows an Armenian nun in traditional church vestments. She stands in a long, light-coloured patterned robe, over which a dark embroidered band runs from the shoulder to the hem. Her head is covered by a sheer dotted veil that reaches the ground. In her right hand she holds a round disc with an image on a long handle. Below is an English caption: “Fig. 52. Armenian Nun.”

The picture is taken from the book “Armenia” by the English traveller Henry Lynch, published in 1890. It bears witness to Armenian spiritual life and monastic traditions in the period of the Ottoman Empire.