Advancing the Heritage of Armenians in Jewellery
TREASURES OF WESTERN ARMENIA PUBLISHED
Inauguration of the Catalogue & Exhibit Scheduled on April 27, 2015 in Saint Petersburg
Geneva, April 25, 2015 – The Armenian Jewellers Foundation (AJF) released the first issue of its Treasures of Western Armenia: A.A. Miller’s Armenia Collection of 1916 catalogue today in Armenia. The initiative is a special tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on behalf of the Armenian jewellery community worldwide. It was made possible through the generous donations of AJF’s Heritage Society patrons.
The joint publication with the Russian Museum of Ethnography, one of the largest in the world, will be formally inaugurated on April 27, 2015, in Saint Petersburg. An exhibit of the full 1916 collection will also be opened to the public for the first time. High officials from both countries including the Chief of Staff of Armenia’s President and Chief Coordinator of Events Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Mr. Vigen Sargsyan, will take part. Other VIPs including AJF’s patrons are also invited to the ceremony.
The Treasures of Western Armenia will present, for the first time, the collection that Alexander A. Miller and his fellow ethnographers at the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg recovered from Western Armenia. The Imperial Academy’s Expedition of 1916 intended to salvage a piece of history in view of the
catastrophe that was befalling the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. The Expedition’s team meticulously documented the daily lives of ordinary Armenians, especially in the region of Van, through their material culture. This collection, which was literally stored away for almost 100 years, now affords
us a kaleidoscopic view of the cultural heritage of the indigenous people of Western Armenia, who developed
the crafts of their civilization over several millennia.
The Armenian Jewellers Foundation was established to advance the heritage of Armenians in jewellery. AJF's mission is to undertake historical research, document present-day success-stories and ensure the transfer of knowledge to a new generation of industry leaders.