“FAMILY CARPETS OF ARTSAKH”

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
19 April 05

Artsakh has always been famous for a high level of development of
folk arts and crafts. Carpet weaving has been especially popular.
However, during 70 years of the Soviet rule thousands of carpets
created by Artsakh women were taken to the museums of Azerbaijan. The
restoration of statehood was a chance to preserve our culture. Lately
the presentation of the book “Family Carpets of Artsakh” by Vahram
Tatikian took place in Stepanakert. The book has a scientific value
and is an important step in our science of history. Vahram Tatikian
presents the tradition of carpet weaving in Artsakh in the continuity
of the historical tradition of Armenian carpet weaving. We had a talk
with the author of the book. Nvard Soghomonian: “How did it happen that
the poet and composer Vahram Tatikian became interested in carpets,
and particularly Artsakh carpets?” Vahram Tatikian: “I was a student,
from Gandzassar I descended to the village of Vank on the mountain
side; I saw a carpet in some house which surprised me the student of
archaeology by its composition, the ornaments of vishap (i.e. snake)
coiled round the swastika. I was delighted with the Christian temple
of Gandzassar and the work of pagan art side by side. I had been
studying monuments of architecture by then; after that I began taking
photos of old Armenian carpets. Lori, Siunik, again Artsakh; going
from village to village I discovered the wonderful world of carpets
for me. My temptation of carpet art began in the ancient Armenian
region of Artsakh. N.S.: “Mr. Tatikian, your book is the result of
long years of study and work. Who helped you?” V.T.: “First of all,
it is my mother, writer, publicist, specialist of Diaspora studies,
Shakeh Varsian. Without her motherly devotion I could not come to this
result. I was helped by sculptor Youri Hovhannissian, my lecturer at
the university Zaven Arzumanian, the two workers of the shop buying
and exchanging carpets Robert Danielian and Armen Knorenian who
allowed me to photograph the carpets brought to them, the director
of Yerevan Museum of Art Hovhannes Sharambeyan, the director of the
museum of Parajanov Zaven Sarghissian. By the way, in the period
between 1960 and 1990 about 100 thousand carpets were exported from
Armenia. To compare, the number of carpets kept in all the museums
of Armenia is not more than 5000. Visiting Karabakh in those years,
I understood what lost homeland is, and I believed that it would not
share the fate of Kars, Mush. Going from village to village, I came to
understand Makar Barkhudarian, Bagrat Ulubabian. Look at the photos in
the book, how proudly the women of Artsakh are standing beside their
creation ~@” the carpet. By the way, foreign artists also notice the
bearing, the nature of the Armenian woman. The Azeris present hundreds
of carpets of Armenian villages as theirs. By the way, a great part
of carpets in the book do not exist any more, only their photos have
been preserved. It was difficult to combine love, history and politics
in one book, but owing to the assistance of the government everything
was done to create this collection of facts.” N.S.: “What other plans
connected with publishing books do you have?” V.T.: “My studies devoted
to the carpets and “vishap” carpets of Lori, Utik, Artsakh are going
to be published. It happened so that the book about the carpets of
Artsakh came out the first. By the way, what is included in “Family
Carpets of Artsakh” is only the third part of my studies.” N.S.:
“What would you like to tell your readers?” V.T. “The book is the
result of 35 years of work, the result of great love and devotion of
the Artsakh woman. I return to you what I took from you.”

NVARD SOGHOMONIAN.
19-04-2005