In 1905-1906, due to the efforts of “Tatavus Hunanian”, the son of “Haroton Hunanian”, the author of “The Book of History of Jolfa of Isfahan”, rooms were built on the north side of the courtyard of Vank Church to store and display books, manuscripts and historical objects. These rooms were used simultaneously as a museum and a library until 1930.
With the guidance of Sarkis Khachatourian, changes were made in the said building. In 1930, Vank Museum was established. In the warehouse of Vank church and other churches and houses of Armenians, there were many paintings and antique and exquisite objects. Those objects and works of art were collected and displayed in the museum hall.
In 1968, considering Jolfa’s geographical and political location; The new museum should be built in the north of the altar of Vank Church. The construction of the museum building was completed in May 1971. At the suggestion of the spiritual leader of the Armenians, Khalifa Garegin Sarkisian, Arpak Mkhitarian, an Armenian archaeologist and Orientalist and the head of the Islamic department of the Royal Museum of Brussels, was invited to classify objects and organize the museum. After the completion of Mkhitarian’s work, on September 23 of the same year, the old museum was closed and the museum objects were moved.
One of the most famous works kept in Vank Church Museum is a strand of hair belonging to an eighteen-year-old girl on which Vahram Hakopian wrote a sentence from the Torah in Armenian with a diamond pen in 1975. has been donated and visitors can see this sentence on the hair with a microscope installed for this purpose.
Sections of the Wank Church Museum:
The classification of the objects in the museum is such that each pavilion is a separate collection, which at the same time is in harmony with other pavilions. After the establishment of the museum, many cultural works have been added to the objects of the museum, which were either purchased by the Isfahan Armenian Caliphate Council or donated to the museum by individuals. As a result, new booths have been added to the museum over time.
Books and manuscripts:
There are seven hundred and ten volumes of “handwritten books”, of which nearly two hundred volumes are Torah, Bible, and holy books written in Armenian script and language on parchment and paper. Some of these books have gilded titles.
Plaster panels and paintings:
The paintings of the museum are also a precious collection of works of art by European and Armenian painters. These paintings are drawn on canvas, leather, metal and glass. The subject of most of these works is religious and includes images of the birth of Christ, the events of his life and his followers, the image of the Holy Mary, etc. One of the best works of the mentioned section is a black pen drawing of the face of Prophet Abraham, which was drawn by Rembrandt, a great Dutch painter in the 17th century; Also, pictures of Iranian men and famous Armenian faces with special clothes of Jolfa Armenians can also be seen in this section.
Metal works:
The collection of metal works of this museum includes gold and silver ornaments, belts, cloak hooks, trays, various types of cross boxes, incense burners, holy oil containers, etc.

Textiles (handwoven and traditional embroidery):
These textiles can be divided into three groups: a) religious clothes of Armenian clerics; b) pieces of fabric used in church ceremonies and c) samples of traditional Armenian clothing.

Porcelain and earthenware:
A large booth in the Wank Church Museum is dedicated to porcelain and pottery. These containers have a lot of diversity in terms of roles and decorative subjects.

Commands:
These decrees belong to the 17th to 19th centuries AD and most of them are about Armenian immigration, giving business and religious privileges to Jolfa Armenians and how to collect taxes from Jolfa residents and merchants.

Wood works:
This section includes all kinds of clocks, furniture, candlesticks, boxes, crosses, inlaid panels, etc.

Armenian printing industry booth:
The only works left from this printing house are: a number of letters, books that were printed for the first time in different parts of the world in Armenian language, as well as examples of the art of writing at that time, such as types of cover, oil, oil, inlaid, and religious. Belonging to the 17th to 18th centuries AD.

Yprem Khan’s booth:
Includes personal belongings, photographs and personal correspondence of Yprem Khan. The objects of this pavilion were donated to the museum in 1974.

Armenian Genocide Pavilion:
It includes published books about the Armenian Genocide in different languages, examples of Ottoman sultans’ correspondence, etc.

Muskokat:
The coins of Vank Church Museum are divided into three categories: a) Prehistoric coins; b) coins of the Islamic era and c) coins of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, all of which were donated to the museum in the 1970s.

Pavilion of the First Republic of Armenia:
Examples of official government documents, which were used on this date, are displayed in this pavilion, including passports, stamps, banknotes, coins and papers related to the financial assistance of Jolfa Armenians to the newly established government of Armenia on that date. This pavilion was opened in 1975.