The Armenian Rugs Society is proud to announce it is now accepting applications for internship opportunities targeting high school, college, and university students, as well as others individuals interested in public service within a vibrant and growing non-profit organization.

Those interested in connecting with a passionate global community  learning about Armenian culture, the textile arts, exhibition and symposium organizing, curating, and event planning, as well as a slew of other activities and projects, are urged to apply. 

All interns will receive commensurate community service and volunteer experience and accreditation. Some positions may become paid part-time or full-time opportunities in due course.

Please inquire and/or apply via our website CONTACT page or via our e-mail info@armenianrugssociety.org with #internship in the comment section or subject line. ​

Dear Friends,
​
The Armenian Rugs Society is proud to announce its new eco-friendly, digital newsletter (part of our effort towards paperless operations) and the opening of our new website at armenianrugssociety.org which went live in late April/early May of this year, as did so many things in the world of Armenian arts, culture, and social life.

Changes in the Homeland were followed by great new activities and events here in the US with our three-week long participation in the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival and its associated activities in Washington DC, a rugs exhibit and lecture during Armenia's first Independence Centennial celebration in Detroit, and continued work with our amazing colleagues in Armenia at the Folk Arts Hub Foundation​, and so much more...
​
The Festival brought together Armenian woven arts and cultural artisans and performers from all over, especially from all parts of the Republic of Armenia, which included weavers, sculptors, stone carvers, culinary experts, singers, dancers, and Armenian heritage performers. I was honored to curate the Armenian woven arts/carpets portion of the festival which included master weavers from Armenia's Folk Arts Hub Foundation and Tufenkian Carpets, among others. We were able to interact with countless individuals (some estimates say close to one million...!) over the span of the festival's activities, bringing the rich culture of Armenian woven arts to a greater and very interested audience.

Prior to the festival's incredible outpouring of emotion and celebration, we also dealt with some challenges one of which is sadly ever-present in Armenian life, but reared its ugly head more audaciously, once again, in April. The Azeri government and allies began an international campaign, within the world press and international art circles, claiming age-old Armenian woven arts traditions and carpets were Azeri and part of so-called "Azeri culture." The Armenian Rugs Society rose to face this unmitigated criminal act head-on and, with the aid of a seasoned writer from within our community, issued a press release which echoed the truth throughout the Armenian and non-Armenian press, here and abroad.

Our age-old and, yet, so vibrant woven arts traditions continued to gain steam this year, not only here at the renowned Smithsonian, but in the Homeland where it matters most. New generations of Armenian artists and artisans, academics and experts have taken up both the cause of Armenian woven arts, as well as the weaver's loom. The Armenian Folk Arts Hub Foundation in Yerevan,  in conjunction with the Armenian Rugs Society, continues to raise the bar when it comes to transmitting our cultural traditions to new generations of artisans via our well-known (and well-received) Adopt-a-Loom initiative throughout rural Armenia. 

​In accordance with our commitment to transmitting our heritage to a new generation and serving our community in the cause of our culture, the Armenian Rugs Society is now initiating an internship program wherein interested individuals--high school, college and university students, as well as others--will have an opportunity to help a registered non-profit in its daily endeavors and, most importantly, work and learn in an environment of ever growing beauty and historical significance. Besides the unparalleled experience of working with the Armenian Rugs Society, all interns will also be earning volunteer, work experience, and community service credits.

Please contact us via our email at info@armenianrugssociety.org or through our CONTACT page with #intership in the subject line or comment area.

More new projects are in the offing including new collaborations and partnerships with universities, research centers, and museums as well as cultural groups both here and abroad, which we look forward to sharing with all our members, supporters and friends around the world and in Armenia and Artsakh.

Thank you for all your support and your generous donations both financial and in kind.

​
Yours Respectfully and Sincerely,

Hratch Kozibeyokian
​Armenian Rugs Society

​Azeris Portray Ancient Armenian Textile and Woven Arts Culture as Being an Azerbaijani Turkish Tradition
 
 
Official Azerbaijan, in collusion with members of the private sector close to the Azeri regime, has launched a campaign geared towards appropriating ancient Armenian carpet, rug, and textile weaving traditions and production as their own by generating articles in local and international news outlets, sponsoring exhibits, and publishing art books that portray Armenian woven arts and history, as their own.
 
Several Azeri news sources (Sputnik Azerbaijan, World Economics Magazine: Azerbaijan Journal of Economics, Finance and Business), supported and abetted by the Azeri government—a notorious human rights violator--have recently published articles erroneously claiming that what are clearly Armenian carpets and rugs of global renown, from a variety of historic Armenian regions, including the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), respectively, are Azeri cultural artifacts and traditions.
 
In one such article, “Revival of Azerbaijani Carpet,” the author, Ainur Veliyeva, has actually paraphrased verbiage taken directly from an Armenian Rugs Society publication (Weavers, Merchants, and Kings, 1980) concerning historical accounts of Armenian rugs, and has replaced the words “Armenia” and “Armenian,” wherever they appeared in the text, with the words “Azerbaijan” and “Azerbaijani.”
 
 
“The Azerbaijani carpet has an ancient history - so ancient that already ancient historians Herodotus, Claudius Elian and Xenophon wrote about the development of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan. Carpet weaving, the most common kind of folk craft, became a symbol of the Azerbaijani people. Carpets expressing the idea of ​​protection of the home and harmony create coziness in the house, filling the space of the room with a meaning and visually increasing it. Not without reason, experienced housewives in the renovation of the interior primarily care about the quality and beauty of carpets, curtains and lighting fixtures. Today, Azerbaijan revives carpet weaving, which has somewhat reduced the pace of development and production volumes in the country. Currently, the first stage of the revival is under way, involving the construction of 10 carpet-making enterprises, and in the future their number will be brought to 30.”
 
 
                                                      --“Revival of Azerbaijani Carpet”
                                       World Economics Magazine: Azerbaijan Journal Of Economics, Finance And Business
                                                                           February 26, 2018
                                                  (Translated from the Russian via Google Chrome Translate)
 
 
These salacious contentions are, of course, diametrically opposed to decades of work produced by countless academics, experts, and specialists from around the world, regarding the provenance of the artifacts and the millennial traditions of Armenian artisans and craftspeople, as well as their vast influence on other cultures.
 
This unabashed falsification of history and cultural capital is the latest in a long line of smear campaigns and propaganda that not only strike at the heart and soul of Armenian cultural identity, but is a harsh blow to the international arts community and to woven arts scholarship in general, putting in serious danger whole academic disciplines and bodies of work.
Sadly, the Azeri and Turkish states have long engaged in heinous policies and actions targeting Armenians and Armenian culture.  The early part of the last century saw the wholesale slaughter and deportation of Armenians from the Armenian Highlands, and, then, the wholesale destruction of Armenian architectural sites, cultural artifacts, archeological treasures, and myriad other cultural properties, across once vibrant historic Armenia, filled-out the rest of the century.
 
Unfortunately, the early 21st century did not bode well for Armenian cultural preservation either, as atrocities both human and material continue at the hands of the Azeri state in and around historic Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Nakhichevan, the millennial home of indigenous Armenians.
 
These myriad and misguided attempts to erase the native origins of a far-reaching Armenian cultural reality, and the woven arts, in particular, are horrific in and of themselves. However, within the context of Azerbaijan’s bloody history of pogroms against its own Armenian population (as well as other minorities), its attempted genocide and current continued aggression against the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), and its despicable record of destroying precious World Heritage Sites, such as the once profoundly beautiful Cross Stones of Nakhichevan, this #altnews fiasco, in the age of the internet, begins to take on a wholly different and sinister meaning.
 
The Turkish and Azeri states have not only engaged in genocide, but continue to attempt to strip the survivors of genocide, and their progeny, of any and all cultural meaning, memory, and motifs that have somehow survived and, indeed, form the fundament of Armenian cultural identity. To leave the victims of genocide bereft of all meaning, tradition, and identity, to which they cling so dearly, is to deny their very existence and is the final and most horrendous stage of genocide.
 
This concerted effort to usurp, appropriate, and distort Armenian cultural traditions and production, and its dire consequences to international arts scholarship, must be stopped immediately.
 
The Armenian Rugs Society, a non-profit organization founded in Washington D.C., in 1980, has dedicated itself to the identification, preservation, and documentation of Armenian woven arts, as well as to the dissemination of the cultural contributions made by Armenian weavers and craftspeople to the rich and vibrant history of textile arts.


The Society, with the help of its members, supporters, academicians, and collectors has been at the forefront of preserving and promoting the precious global heritage treasure that is the Armenian woven arts tradition. The Society has also, by the nature of its very mission, been forced to deal with the callous, crass, and seemingly endless acts of aggression by the Azeris and their allies within the realm of art scholarship and culture.
 
Now, with the help of scholars, textile experts, and organizations, both Armenian and non-Armenian, we can begin to set the record straight and uphold, with dignity, these global cultural traditions that have brought so much joy, meaning, and artistic excellence to not only the Armenian people, but to world culture and history over the span of centuries.
 
 
Please join us in support of the truth and let your voice be heard.
 
 
 
                                                                                               --AKM
                                                                                For the Armenian Rugs Society
                                                                                                4/9/18
                                                                                             Los Angeles

 
​Dear sponsors of the Adopt-A-Loom Project,

We are approaching the end of the year and we would like to sum up the Adopt-A-Loom Project achievements for 2017.
​
2017 has been a success and we're happy to share with you the results from the villages of our Homeland.
In addition to the villages of Arakads, Karagert, and Sassounik, we've added six more, thanks to you!

  1. Oshakan, in the Aragatsotn Region - 11 students and 2 teachers.

  2. Hatsik, in the Armavir Region - 10 students and 3 teachers.

  3. Ptghunk, in the Armavir Region - 13 students, 3 teachers, and 2 young girls from the nearby Light House
    Organization.

  4. Meghradzor, in the Kotayk Region - 10 students and 1 teacher.

  5. Voskevaz, in the Aragatsotn Region - 9 students and 2 teachers.

  6. Ujan, in the Aragatsotn Region - It's the last location for this year and we're in the process of setting up - 16 students
    and 4 teachers.

We have a total of 69 eager participants excited to learn the ancient and noble rug weaving craft, thanks to your valuable support and donations to the Armenian Rugs Society in the US and the Folk Arts Hub in Yerevan.

We hope to triple the number of villages in 2018 and include border villages, as well.

We appreciate your support and investment in renewing and preserving the precious art of Armenian carpet weaving and passing it on to the younger generation. You've brought joy, happiness and hope to our participants and their communities.

Be sure that these hand woven treasures are waiting for you, with open hearts, and we'll be happy to take you along to some of the villages next time you visit Armenia--I assure you, it will be memorable!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018...!

May your life be filled with joy and happiness and may each new day bring you moments to cherish.On this joyous day, and throughout the new year, may your life be filled with an abundance of love.

Merry Christmas and may you live a long and happy life filled with goodwill and friendship.

And, hope see you in Armenia during the upcoming year to enjoy the results of your donations together with us all.



                                                 Warm greetings from all the Regions and Yerevan, 
                                                                       Sincerely,
​
                                                                   Tatev Muradyan
                                                     Director of Folk Arts HUB Foundation and 
                                                                    Silk Road Hotel

​The Armenian words for carpet are "karpet" (Armenian: կարպետ) or "gorg" (Armenian: գորգ). Though both words in Armenian are synonymous, the word "karpet" is mostly used for non-pile rugs and "gorg" is for pile carpets.

Two of the most frequently used terms to designate woven woolen floor coverings emanate directly from the Armenian experience: carpet and kali/khali.

The term "karpet" (Armenian: կապերտ), formed of root "kap" (Armenian: կապ) which means "knot", later to become "karpet" (Armenian: կարպետ) in colloquial Armenian, is used in the 5th-century Armenian translation of the Bible (Matthew 9:16 and Mark 2:21).[10] 

It is assumed that the word "сarpet" entered into French (French: carpette) and English (English: carpet) in the 13th century (through Medieval Latin carpita, meaning "thick woolen cloth") as a consequence of the trade in rugs through the port cities of the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia. Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, a Florentine merchant stationed in Cyprus, reported in his La pratica della mercatura that from 1274 to 1330, carpets (kaperts) were imported from the Armenian cities of Ayas and Sis to Florence.

The Armenian word "gorg" (Armenian: գորգ) is first mentioned in written sources in the 13th century. This word ("gorg") is in the inscription that was cut out in the stone wall of the Kaptavan Church in Artsakh (Karabagh) and is dated 1242-1243 AD. Grigor Kapantsyan, professor of Armenian Studies, has posited that the Armenian "gorg" (Armenian: գորգ) is a derivative of Hittite-Armenian vocabulary, where it existed in the forms of "koork" and "koorkas." Edgar H. Sturtevant, an expert in Hittite studies, explains the etymology of word "koork"/"koorkas" as "horse cloth."
​
As for the Persian "qali", which entered into Turkish as "qali" or as "khali" in Anatolia Ottoman Turkish and Armenian, it derives from the city of Theodosiopolis-Karin-Erzerum, known to the Arabs as Qali-qala from the Armenian "Karnoy k‘aghak", the "City of Karin." The name "Erzerum" itself, as is well known, is of Armenian origin from the usage Artzen ar-Rum. This latter term came into being after the destruction of the important Armenian commercial center of Artzen, 15 kilometers east of Theodosiopolos-Karin, by the Seljuks, in 1041, after which the inhabitants fled to Karin, then in Rum, in Byzantine territory, renaming it Artzen in Rum or Arzerum/Erzerum/Erzurum.

​

The art of Armenian carpet and rug weaving has its roots in ancient times. However, due to the fragile nature of carpets very few examples have survived. Only one specimen has been discovered from the ancient (pre-Christian) period and relatively few specimens are in existence from the early medieval period which can be found in private collections, as well as various museums throughout the world.

"The complex history of Armenian weaving and needlework was acted out in the Near East, a vast, ancient, and ethnically diverse region. Few are the people who, like the Armenians, can boast of a continuous and consistent record of fine textile production from the 1st millennium BC to the present. Armenians today are blessed by the diversity and richness of a textile heritage passed on by thirty centuries of diligent practice; yet they are burdened by the pressure to keep alive a tradition nearly destroyed in the Armenian Genocideof 1915, and subverted by a technology that condemns handmade fabrics to museums and lets machines produce perfect, but lifeless cloth."

The Pazyryk Rug

Various rug fragments have been excavated in Armenia dating back to the 7th century BC or earlier. Complete rugs, or nearly complete rugs of this period have not yet been found. The oldest, single, surviving knotted carpet in existence is the Pazyryk carpet, excavated from a frozen tomb in Siberia, dated from the 5th to the 3rd century BC, now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Although claimed by many cultures, this square tufted carpet, almost perfectly intact, is considered by many experts to be of Caucasian, specifically Armenian, origin. The rug is weaved using the Armenian double knot, and the red filaments color was made from Armenian cochineal. The eminent authority of ancient carpets, Ulrich Schurmann, says of it, "From all the evidence available, I am convinced that the Pazyryk rug was a funeral accessory and most likely a masterpiece of Armenian workmanship." Gantzhorn concurs with this thesis. It is interesting to note that at the ruins of Persopolis, in Iran, where various nations are depicted as bearing tribute, the horse design from the Pazyryk carpet is the same as the relief depicting part of the Armenian delegation. The historian Herodotus writing in the 5th century BC also informs us that the inhabitants of the Caucasus wove beautiful rugs with brilliant colors which would never fade.

The Christian Period

Apart from the Pazyryk carpet, after Armenia declared itself as the first Christian state in 301 AD, carpet making took on a decidedly Christian art form and identity. This art form existed continuously unaltered until the Armenian Genocide. By the Middle Ages, Armenia was a major exporter of carpets to as far away places as China. In many Medieval Chinese artworks for example, carpets were depicted in which the designs were typically that of Armenian carpets with some even depicting clear Christian crosses. The art of the Armenian carpet during this period evolved alongside Armenian church architecture, Armenian cross-stones and illuminated manuscript art, with typical rug motifs using the same elements of these designs. The cruciform with its variations would eventually come to dominate Armenian carpet designs.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Orphan Rug also known as the Ghazir Rug

The period of the Armenian Genocide from 1894-1923 saw a demographic change in the hitherto Armenian tradition of rug and carpet making in Anatolia (Western Armenia, as well as Turkey). Even though carpets from this region had established the commercial name of "Turkish Carpet," there is evidence to suggest that the majority of weavers in the Ottoman Empire were Armenians. However, after 1923, carpet making in the newly established Turkish republic was erroneously declared a "historically Turkish craft," as is claimed, for example, by the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum where many Armenian carpets are depicted as "Turkish or Islamic art."

During the Genocide, in addition to the catastrophic loss of many expert carpet weavers, thousands of Armenian children were also orphaned and the Near East Relief saved many of these children, some of whom ended up in the northern part of Beirut, where a rug factory would be established under the guidance of Dr. Jacob Kuenzler, a Swiss missionary. This factory was established for the purpose of teaching young orphans (mainly girls) rug weaving, so that they may go on making a living later on in their adult lives. Thus for a brief period "orphan-rugs" were created in this factory, the most famous of which was gifted to the White House in 1925, as a gesture of gratitude and good will towards the American people by the orphans. Known as the Armenian Orphan Rug, the rug depicts a Biblical Garden of Eden featuring various animals and symbols and measuring 12 feet by 18 feet with 4 million knots. This rug is said to have been made by 400 orphans over a period of 18 months from 1924-1925.

The Soviet Period

After a short-lived republic, Armenia fell to Soviet rule in 1920 and within a short period, carpet making in the Caucasus, as well as Central Asia, would take a new turn. The Soviet Union commercialized the trade and sponsored much of the production. Thus, carpet making went from a mostly home craft to a mostly commercial craft. However, in rural areas, the carpet making tradition in some families continued. Although commercial carpet makers were mostly free to practice their art, religious themes were discouraged. During this period the designs on Armenian rugs also changed somewhat, although the overall character remained. Many "Soviet carpets" were also produced depicting Communist leaders.

The Modern Era​

With the fall of the Soviet Union, carpet making in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh continued. Private companies, as well as home workshops, were again revived. Among some weavers, the traditional method of using rug motifs from Armenian churches, manuscript art and cross-stones was also revived. After the Nagorno-Karabakh War, some carpet making workshops were formed to help the many displaced Armenians find employment. Today the traditional art of Armenian carpet making is kept alive by weavers in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh using all the methods, techniques, and designs from ancient times. This is remarkable considering the history of Armenia.