For decades, the art of Armenian ceramics creation in Jerusalem has
been dominated by two prominent clans, the Balians and Karakashians.
Between them, they have made their inspired creations , based on
motifs dreamed of by their ancestors in their mountainous homeland,
enriched and enhanced by the young blood of modernity.
Neshan
Balian
Jr,
scion
of
the
Balian
clan,
says
they
has
been
producing
exclusive
hand
painted
ceramic
tiles
and
pottery
since
1922,
just
a
few
years
after
his
grandfather
landed
in
Jerusalem,
bringing
with
him
the
lore
he
had
acquired
in
the
world-renowned
ceramics town of Kutayha in Turkey.
"This makes us one of the oldest-if not the oldest- business in existence in Jerusalem."
Neshan
notes
that
the
two
families,
master
potters
and
artists,
were
brought
over
from
Kutayha by the British government to renovate the ceramic tiles of the Dome of the Rock.
Before
the
arrival
of
his
grandfather,
the
production
of
decorative
ceramic
tiles
and
pottery in the region did not exist at all.
"It
was
Neshan
Balian
with
his
partners
the
Karakashians,
who
established
this
unique
form
of
world
famous
art
known
presently
as
the
Armenian
Pottery
of
Jerusalem,"
he
adds.
In
the
mid
1960's,
the
two
clans
split
amicably,
with
the
Balian
family
remaining
on
the
present premises and continuing the tradition of this unique form of pottery.
The
history
of
the
Armenian
cCeramics
is
full
of
ups
and
downs,
"suffering
and
joy,"
Neshan recalls.
"I
remember
my
late
father
telling
me
of
stories
from
the
late
40's
where
the
situation
was
so
desperate
that
they
used
to
burn
the
wooden
frames
of
the
factory
windows
just
to
get
a
kiln
firing.
The
factory
was
destroyed
totally
in
the
1967
Arab-Israeli
war
except
for
the
huge
dome
kiln
with
a
full
load
of
fired
ceramics
which
was
sold
and
helped
in
the
reconstruction.
Lack
of
raw
materials
in
the
early
30's
and
40's
was
also
a
problem
with
homemade
solutions
of
breaking
bottle
glass
and
crushing
it
as
ways
to
prepare
badly
needed
glazes.
But
eventually
my
grandfather
and
later
my
father
overcame
these
problems and the factory started to prosper."
Neshan's
father,
the
late
Setrak
Balian,
studied
ceramics
in
England
under
Bernard
Leach
and
then
came
back
to
Jerusalem
in
the
early
50's
and
established
a
ceramics
brick
and
roof
tile
factory
in
Amman,
Jordan,
taking
over
the
Armenian
ceramics
factory
in
1965 after the death of his grandfahter.
"My
grandfather
and
father
were
both
master
potters
in
their
own
right.
His
French-
Armenian
born
mother
Marie,
graduate
of
the
Beux
Art
institute
of
Lyon,
is
a
world
renowned
ceramic
tile
artist.
Her
ceramic
tile
murals
have
been
exhibited
all
over
the
world."
Neshan,
with
both
mechanical
engineering
and
ceramics
engineering
degrees
from
Ohio
University
and
Hocking
College
in
Ohio,
has
been
managing
the
factory
since
the
passing away of his father in 1996.
"The
present
location
of
our
factory
is
where
the
true
form
of
art
known
as
Armenian
Ceramics
of
Jerusalem
was
born.
We
are
the
only
studio
in
Jerusalem
producing
our
own
ceramic ware and tiles by methods handed over to us by our grandparents and parents.
Two
Karakashain
brothers,
Stepan
and
Berge,
and
the
son
Hagop,
produce
their
Armenian
ceramics,
Armenian
pottery
and
tiles
on
the
route
Jesus
took
on
his
way
to
the
cross,
the
Via Dolorosa, in the Old City of Jerusalem.
It
was
their
father,
Megerditch
Karakashian,
among
other
Armenian
potters,
whom
the
British
sought
to
undertake
the
repair
of
the
tiles
covering
the
external
walls
of
the
Dome of the Rock.
The
men
settled
in
Jerusalem,
and
continued
practicing
their
traditional
craft
of
making glazed pottery, richly colored and decorated with floral and animal designs.
But
the
story
of
Armenian
ceramics
does
not
end
here.
The
Sandrouni
brothers,
along
with
a
few
other
enterprising
artists,
are
making
sure
that
they
keep
the
tradition
alive,
with their own particular brands.
According
to
Kevork
Sandrouni,
the
youngest
member
of
the
Sandrouni
trio
of
artists
(the
others
are
Harout
and
Garo),
the
story
of
Armenian
ceramics
would
have
been
told
so
differently
had
it
not
been
for
the
"Pro-Jerusalem
Society".
This
committee,
founded
by
Sir
Ronald
Storrs,
the
first
military
governor
and
his
advisor
Charles
Robert
Ashbee,
undertook
the
restoration
and
preservation
of
Jerusalem's
historic
sites
during
the
British
mandate.
He
notes
that
tor
the
restoration
of
the
centuries
old
glazed
tiles
decorating
the
Dome
of
the
Rock,
the
"Society"
located
David
Ohannessian
of
Kutahya,
a
master
ceramist
whose
works
enhanced
the
splendour
of
palaces
in
Turkey,
Syria
and
Egypt,
and
were
much
in
demand
in
Europe
and
the
Middle
East.
David
Ohannessian
established
Jerusalem's
first
Armenian
ceramic
workshop
in
1919.
The
workshop
never
accomplished
the restoration project of the Dome of the Rock tiles, he points out.
"However,
it
was
not
long
before
it
started
catering
for
Jerusalem's
big
international
as
well
as
the
elite
of
its
local
communities.
In
spite
of
its
short
lived
production,
(1919-
1948),
the
grace
and
beauty
of
Ohannessian's
tiles
changed
the
face
of
the
city
by
decorating
its
mansions,
institutions
and
public
places,
and
influenced
Jerusalem's
arts
and crafts till this present day and time."
The
Ohannesians
(sadly
now
out
of
business)
will
remain
another
unforgettable
episode in the rich history of Armenian art and culture of Jerusalem.
Rockefeller Museum ceramics by David Ohannessian