Armenian traditional garments represented across China
Armenian traditional garments or national costume (Taraz) has always played a significantrole in the perception and expression of the Armenian identity. Armenian students havetaken active participation in the international festivals and various cultural activities withinand beyond university programs, while living, learning, and working in China, attendingperformances and contests wearing their traditional outfits. The Chinese audience was very enthusiastic to encounter Armenian culture and countlesstimes expressed curiosity regarding particularly national costume details, silverwareaccessories, embroidered pieces, handicrafts- the exquisite works of the Armeniandraughtsmen, artists, and artisans worldwide.
Cardboard Sculptures of Chinese Villagers as a Tribute to the Ancestral Heritage
Warren King began sculpting with cardboard as an attempt to add fantasy to the lives of hischildren, creatively crafting masks and helmets out of the recyclable material. This slowly evolvedinto a more time-consuming arts practice as the artist began focusing less time on costumes, andmore time making large sculptures of his own. After a visit to his grandparents’ village in Shaoxing,China, the New York City-based artist felt compelled to more deeply connect with his cultural past.This sparked “Grandfather’s Friend, and Arrival Times”, a series of life-size cardboard recreationsof his ancestors. Read the full article https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/12/life-size-cardboard-sculptures-of-chinese-villagers-warren-king
An Armenian miniature reflecting the role of cradles in the Armenian collective memory
In one of the Armenian manuscripts created and illuminated in Crimea by GrigorSukiasiants in the year 1332 (Matenadaran N7664), in the particular scene of Nativity(Pic.) Jesus is not depicted in the manger, neither on the castle-like structure nor evenlying on the stylised abstract ornament. The illuminator drew baby Christ in the cradle orcrib next to his mother. This iconographic nuance in fact speaks on Armenian ethnicideologies and conventional family relations. Armenia itself was frequently described by the foreigners as a “cradle of civilisations” .According to the prominent linguist and etymologist Hrachia Acharian, cradle, “ororots”(օրորոց) in Armenian, derives from the word “oror” (օրոր)-
Chinese dragons and heavenly dogs in the Armenian medieval manuscript
The elements perceived as emanating from Chinese art, such as “heavenly dogs”, “phoenix” and“dragon” motifs, made their appearance in Armenian manuscript illuminations in the second half ofthe thirteenth century. The context was royal Armenian patronage in the kingdom of Cilician duringyears when the small Mediterranean state was in direct alliance with the Mongols.The Lectionary of 1286 (Lectionary of Hethum II, Yerevan. Matenadaran MS 979) contains anorganically integrated group of ancient Chinese mythical creatures. Though neither the name of thescribe nor the artist of the Lectionary is preserved, we know Prince Hethum/Het’um (later king1289–1301) commissioned the manuscript.The Incipit page (fol.292r) displays
The Armenian “blue-and-white” inspired by Chinese art
The V&A Museum, London, hosts an early-seventeenth-century blue-and-white pottery samplethat is considered a part of a rare, small group of wares commissioned by or for members of theArmenian community living in New Julfa/Jugha, outside Isfahan, Iran. Being created circa 1700, itis painted in underglaze blue with the “Aster pattern” after a Chinese ornamental motif, and thecentre incorporating an Armenian merchant's monogram “NZT”, an abbreviation of “Nazaret”. There are a number of dishes painted with “Nazaret”, a name attributed to “Khawaje Nazar”(d.1636 [Kurdian]), who was the head of the Armenian community in New Julfa, or a descendent.The present dish both with its
