Khatchkars have had their periods of gradual development and perfection. If the 4-7th centuries represent the period of emergence of the concept of khatchkars, and the 9-11th centuries the period of creation and formation, then 12-13th centuries are period of final improvement and perfection. Tootevordi's khatchkar at Sanahin monastery (1184), "Siroon khatchkar" at Dsegh, the khatchkar built by the master Boghos at Goshavank (1291), and others, belong to this class of exceptionally vauable monuments.
In the 16-17th centuries, when Armenia was finally divided and shared between Turkey and Iran, there was some revival in the tradition of erecting khatchkars, although, from an artistic point of view, it never reached the standard of the Middle Ages. There are numerous khatchkars relating to this period. These are mostly gravestones erected in cemeteries.
The decorative engravings and vignettes of the khatchkars of this period become simple, losing their previous delicate and complex forms and the various kinds of network. It is possible to meet khatchkars with similar characteristicsin more or less all regions of Armenia, particularly in the cemeteries of Noradooz, Kamo (Nor Bayazet), Vardenis, Martooni and Hin Djoogha. The number of khatchkars in the Noradooz and Djoogha cemeteries reaches to several hundreds even a thousand. The khatchkars in the Noradooz cemetery explain the phase of development of khatchkars beginning from the 10th up to the 17th centuries. Their series is completed with the works of the famous master, Kiram Kazmogh, whose khatchkars, according to preserved inscriptions, embrace the years 1551-1610 A.D. We also find khatchkars built by him in the cemeteries of Martooni, Kamo, Ashtarak (1602), and other places. The khatchkars created by Kiram's contemporaries, Arakel and Melikset, who worked together and created wonderful and similar khatchkars (Kamo cemetery), are not less skillfully engraved than Kiram's works. Of these only one (constructed in 1577) bears the names of the mentioned masters.
It is vital to talk about the master-craftsmen, who created these superb and original monuments. Unfortunately few names have reached us. The study of lithographs revealed the names of many masters known as "stone-mason", "constructor", "designer", whose talent and skills have created some of the above mentioned khatchkars. Beginning from the 12th century, Mkhitar, who had constructed the Tootevordi khatchkar along with his pupil Avedis, had been the most famous expert of that period. Many of the masters who created the khatchkars, were well-known architects who constructed and decorated churches. Momik, the famous scribe and painter, architect and sculptor worked in the years 1282-1321 A.D., in the Vayots valley of the Sunik region. The khatchkars that he created are to be found in Noravank (Amaghoo) of the Vayots Valley.
The masterpeices of the Armenian khatchkars are those of Goshavank, created by Boghos (1291 A.D.), and of Geghardavank, set in the porch by Timot and Mkhitar (1213 A.D.). We must also mention the name of Vahram, the author of the "Amenaprkitch" khatchkars of Haghbat and Dsegh, who gave a new form and meaning to the decorative engraving of the khatchkars.
The khatchkars of the cemetery of Hin Djoogha are samples of the final phase of development of the art of khatchkars. The thousands of specimens created in the 16-18th centuries in this cemetery, occupy a single place in the history of the art of Armenian khatchkars.
The khatchkars are a part of the Armenian art of sculpture, they have a pure national character, expressing the Christian faith, the patriotism and high culture, as well as the aesthetic sense of the Armenian people. For these reasons they occupy a worthy place in the treasury of World Art.