David of Sassoun (statue)

David of Sassoun («Սասունցի Դավիթ») is a copper equestrian statue depicting David of Sassoun (Sasuntsi Davit) in Yerevan, Armenia. Erected by Yervand Kochar in 1959, it depicts the protagonist of the Armenian national epic Daredevils of Sassoun. It is placed on a rock-like basalt pedestal in the middle of a large square in front of Yerevan's main railway station.

Background
The concept of erecting a statue dedicated to David of Sassoun, the epic hero from the national epic Daredevils of Sassoun, originated in the late 1930s, preceding the thousandth-anniversary celebrations of the epic in Soviet Armenia in 1939. Yervand Kochar was selected and he created it gypsum in just 18 days. The authorities erected the statue in the square in front of the Yerevan Railway Station to greet city visitors, the majority of whom came by train at the time. The statue was destroyed in 1941, days after Kochar was arrested for having supposedly praised Adolf Hitler. :28

Current statue
In 1957, on the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, the Yerevan authorities decided to restore the statue. Kochar recreated it, with significant changes from the original, which notably included an old Arab man besides David. The restored (current) statue was inaugurated on December 3, 1959. The opening ceremony attracted a large crowd despite the winter weather, including many Armenians hailing from the Sasun region and their descendants, while senior officials from the local Communist Party did not attend. Khachikian, who witnessed its opening, said there was much enthusiasm and jubilation among the crowd. It was erected during a period of an Armenian nationalist resurgence amid the Khrushchev Thaw.

Restoration
In the post-Soviet period the statue deteriorated and the "cup of patience", at the feet of the horse, was repeatedly stolen․ It was recovered in 2011. :1 That year, the statue underwent general restoration, which was funded, primarily, by Ruben Vardanyan. The pool around the statue was also restored. :18 However, in 2012 several sculptors said the statue needed further restoration.

Description and symbolism
David is mounted on his legendary horse Kurkik Jalali ("fiery colt") and wields his sword Tur ketsaki ("lightning sword"). The sculpture is made of wrought copper. It is 6.5 m tall, 9.3 m long and 2.2 m wide, and weights 3.5 t. The entire monument, with the base, is 12.5 m tall.

The basalt base is placed at the center of a round reflecting pool with a diameter of 25 m. The base was designed by the architect Mikayel Mazmanian, although Kochar conceived the idea of a pedestal from natural rock. It is meant to reflect the uneven and rocky landscape of the Armenian Highlands, but especially the Sasun region. Nona Stepanian argued that its small pedestal set a new trend in statues in Yerevan, where they no longer dominate over people and streets by their formidable height.

The water and the round shape of the pool, from which the epic hero rises, symbolize the idea of eternity. At the horse's feet Kochar placed a bowl, from which water constantly flows, reflecting the naturalness of the pedestal. The bowl is partially a visualization of the Armenian expression "filling the bowl of patience" (համբերության բաժակը լցվել) and a free interpretation of the epic.

David's face was modelled after Vanoush Khanamirian, who in the 1950s portrayed David in Khandut, a ballet inspired by the epic. Tigran Simyan described David as menacing and calm, and his head posture as stern and contrasted it with Varaz Samuelian's statue of David in Fresno, California, which is emotional and extroverted. Simyan argues that although David is depicted in a battle scene against Msra Melik ("King of Egypt"), the lack of an enemy in the sculpture leaves an uninitiated viewer open to "choosing" an enemy of the Armenian people. He argues that the sculpture thus functions on a timeless level. Simyan suggests that Kochar's sculpture is independent of the epic. Earl R. Anderson argued that the statue "symbolizes traditional Armenian resistance to world-kingship as evil."

Reception
The statue, which earned him a State Prize of the Armenian SSR in 1967, is widely considered Kochar's best-known and most important work.

It has been widely admired by visitors and often described as a masterpiece. Artists and scholars have broadly applauded its artistic merit. Lado Gudiashvili found it to be "the best work of contemporary sculpture". Jean Carzou remarked that such a fine equestrian statue had not been created in Europe in 300 years. Leonid Volynsky described it as the "best equestrian statue erected in [the territory of the Soviet Union] in a century, and perhaps even more". Armen Shekoyan opined that it is one of the world's finest equestrian statues.

It has been described as iconic, Armenia's "most famous contemporary monument", an "outstanding landmark" of the country, a symbol of Yerevan, and the city's finest statue.

An American scientific delegation that visited in 1971 found it "remarkably powerful". Rouben Paul Adalian noted that the "dynamic and forceful" statue is "such a compelling work of sculpture that the image became an emblematic portrait" of Soviet Armenia. David Marshall Lang called it a "spirited masterpiece" and a "fitting symbol of Armenia's national renaissance, and her age long defiance of her foes." James R. Russell suggested that it is "perhaps the most widely-recognized emblem of Armenia" along with Mount Ararat. Vartoug Basmadjian wrote that the statue "became, after Mount Ararat, the most powerful and popular symbol of Armenia."

Yakov Khachikian called it an "unparalleled specimen" of Armenian sculpture art, admired its richness in expression, dynamism, and power, and compared favorably to the Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Others have called it a "symbol of the Armenian people" and as "particularly consonant with the Armenian spirit". Zori Balayan wrote that it has become a "symbol of the spirit of the [Armenian] people." Ara Baliozian suggested that the "splendid" statue has "acquired archetypal dimension." Aleksandr Dymshits wrote that the statue, along with that of Kochar's Vardan Mamikonian, is "epically grand and at the same time full of drama, movement, impulse, and passion." Soviet travel writer Nikolai Mikhailov admired how it captures impetuousness like nowhere else.

Proposals to relocate
As early as 1998 Armen Shekoyan proposed moving the statue to Republic Square, where the statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin used to stand before it was taken down in 1991. Shekoyan argued that it would fit nicely in Yerevan's finest square and would cost less than erecting a new statue. He added that it would be at the center of attention and be seen by the city's visitors, unlike at its current location, which has become an ordinary residential district with the decline in train arrivals. He also claimed that Kochar himself envisaged (in private conservations) the statue at then Lenin's Square. Other proponents have also argued that its current setting no longer fits its original and the statue no longer greets visitors.

When the proposal was made at a 2006 competition, Mkrtich Minasyan, head of Armenia's Union of Architects, called the proposal reasonable, but opined that statue's proportions are small for the square and warned that it may be damaged while moving. One proponent, architect Garri Rashidyan, wrote in his 2007 book that it may be the "best solution for replacing Lenin as the central and focal point of the most important square of our republic." Kochar's son, Haykaz, reportedly said that placing the statue in Republic Square was his father's dream. In 2013 Diana Ter-Ghazaryan noted that David of Sassoun would be a safe choice because of the epic hero's fundamentally apolitical nature and his statue at Yerevan's central square would be acceptable to most Armenians, but considered the relocation unlikely.

Cultural depictions

 * The film studio Hayfilm (formerly Armenfilm) uses the statue as its logo.
 * Stamps and currency
 * It appeared on a 1968 and 1990 Soviet stamps and a 1991 Soviet commemorative coin.
 * The statue appeared on the obverse of 10 Armenian dram banknotes of the first series (1993–1998) and an uncirculated 1994 silver commemorative coin. A 2009 stamp commemorated its 50th anniversary.
 * The Yerevan Metro tokens issued up to 2009 depicted the statue on in side.


 * Film
 * The statue is featured in the 1987 Soviet Armenian film The Road to Sasuntsi Davit.
 * Literature
 * In his 1983 essay collection entitled Nor Hayastan, nor Hayer (New Armenia, New Armenians), Antranig Dzarugian writes that Armenian national symbols became real, in concrete and bronze, in Lenin's Armenia, including the statue of David of Sasun.
 * It is mentioned in the poem "Statues of Haig" by Diana Der Hovanessian included in the collection The Circle Dancers (1996).