Armenian artifacts collections at AMA

Armenian artifacts collections at AMA

Over 20,000 objects

The Armenian Museum of America (AMA) was created to locate, collect, preserve, and present the culture, history, art, and contributions of the Armenian people during the past 3,000 years. Founded in 1971 and located in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States, the AMA is an institution that has the largest collection of Armenian artifacts in North America.

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Museum’s collections hold over 20,000 artifacts, including: 5,000 ancient and medieval Armenian coins, over 3,000 textiles and 180 Armenian inscribed rugs, and an extensive collection of Urartian and religious artifacts, ceramics, medieval illuminations and various other objects. The Library houses over 27,000 titles, an oral history collection, archival materials and various other publications.

The Museum maintains an active program of changing exhibits for the public to provide new experiences for returning visitors and to showcase the wide range of materials in the collection. The museum averages 14 different exhibits annually.

Manuscript collection

Armenian Museum of America owns a small collection of 20 illuminated paintings and handwritten books dating from the 13th to the 19th century. These are primarily religious works (gospel books, hymnals, prayer books) created in monasteries, but also include works on astronomy, demonology, divination, and other issues of the day.

The coin collection, mostly donated by Dr. Paul Bedoukian, is one of the finest in the world. It includes almost 5,000 coins reflecting the classical, medieval and modern periods. This collection has been augmented by a major contribution of the Walter & Laurel Karabian Collection, and by other collectors and specialists.

The numismatic collection is organized into several genres: Ancient coins of the Orontid and Artaxid dynasties, and related coins of Greek, Roman and Persian origin; Medieval coins from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, related coins from the Crusader kingdoms, and Byzantine and Arab coins of the period; Contemporary currency including coinage and paper currency from the late Russian and Ottoman Empires, the First Republic, the Soviet Republic, and the Third Republic; Commemorative coins and medals struck in Armenia and the Diaspora.

Coin collection

The ceramics collection ranging from Neolithic potsherds to contemporary tourist art was contribute different individuals, the most significant ceramics being the Walter & Laurel Karabian Collection and the Paul & Vicky Bedoukian Collection. The ceramics are grouped in 4 separate genres: Kutahya and Iznik pottery created by Armenian artisans from the 15th to 19th centuries; Jerusalem pottery from the 20th century artisans of Jerusalem; Contemporary ceramics including tourist souvenirs from Armenia, commemorative examples from Armenian communities in the United States, Turkey, Japan, Iran and elsewhere, and fine art examples created by professional artists; Archeological artifacts including ancient potsherds and related works.

Ceramics collection

The stamp collection includes most genres of Armenian related stamps: postage stamps of the First Republic, Soviet Republic, present Republic, 20th century Armenian related stamps issued by other countries, and non-postage commemorative stamps issued by Armenian institutions for various special causes (fund-raising, Easter, Christmas, etc.)

The Armenian Museum of America’s rug collection is the most comprehensive single resource on Armenian carpets in North America. Its largest component is the renowned Arthur T. Gregorian Collection of Armenian Inscribed Rugs (114 carpets). The holdings consist of three components:

Over 300 Armenian carpets and kilims, which include over 175 inscribed examples; Over 2,400 books on the subject of oriental carpets in the Herbert Offen Oriental Rug Research Collection in the Armenian Museum of America Library; A diverse collection of photographs, cartoons used to design rugs, documents on Armenian rug merchants and other related materials.

Rug collection

The Mesrob G. Boyajian Library contains a research collection of over 30,000 titles that cover all aspects of Armenian history and culture, including religion, philosophy, numismatics, history, immigration studies, sociology, music, art, literature, science, cooking, and other fields of interest. The periodical holdings include over 600 different titles.

The Museum also maintains a separate small circulating collection of 500 titles housed in the reading room that may be borrowed by the Museum members.

Lusine Dallakyan / PanARMENIAN.Net
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