Advancing the Heritage of Armenians in Jewellery
AJF CHAIRMAN
TREASURES OF WESTERN ARMENIA: AJF CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH DURING THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY, ST. PETERSBURG, APRIL 27, 2015
Dear Friends,
I am delighted to be in the majestic hometown of Peter the Great. This is my second visit to your hospitable city for which I am privileged!
On behalf of the trustees and patrons at the Armenian Jewellers Foundation, I congratulate and thank everyone involved in the realisation of the Treasures of Western Armenia catalogue and exhibition, which we inaugurate today. We extend our special gratitude to the Director of this world-renowned Museum, Professor Vladimir Grussman and his team of curators for their close collaboration and for crafting, together with our publishing team, an academic yet a wonderful artbook we can all be proud of!
The artifacts of the Alexander Miller's collection of 1916 exhibited for the first time are very symbolic. They are a microcosmic representation of the ordinary Western Armenian life, which is now extinct. I myself am a descendent of Armenian Genocide survivors and so are, in many ways, the artifacts we see exhibited today in this museum. Unfortunately, most of our treasures perished together with their owners and few only survived.
On the Centennial commemorative anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, we dedicate our initiative to the memory of the victims, as well as to the resilience and prosperity of Armenians as a nation!
May the friendship of the Armenian and Russian people last forever!
Pierre Akkelian
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Armenian Jewellers Foundation