Under the high patronage of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and organized by the renowned Balian family of Jerusalem, on 28 September at 19:30, an exceptional exhibition titled “From Kütahya to Jerusalem: A 100-Year Journey of Ceramic Craftsmanship” will open in the exhibition hall of the “Vatche and Tamar Manoukian” library of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
The exhibition is dedicated to the traditional work of the Balian family of Jerusalem — the centennial of the founding of Armenian ceramics in Jerusalem, which is being marked this year, in 2019. The exhibition provides a complete picture of the path traversed by the Balians and of the tradition of Armenian ceramics in Jerusalem, as well as showcasing the family heritage that the generations of the Balians faithfully preserve today, bringing it all the way to Armenia.
During the exhibition, the work of the original artist Marie Balian (d. 2017), who went from France to Jerusalem, is also presented, thanks to whom the traditional work of the Balians gained a new aesthetic breath.
…In 1919, the British transferred three Armenian families, masters of the renowned ceramic art of Kütahya, the birthplace of Komitas Vardapet, to Jerusalem to restore the tiles surrounding the Islamic shrine of the “Dome of the Rock.” Among them was also Nishan Balian, with whose family name the mystery of the Holy City’s blue charm is associated today.
