The collection

More than 1,500 objects in eight galleries, spanning nearly three thousand years of Armenian history.

The museum's holdings include illuminated manuscripts, early printed books, rugs and carpets, sacred vessels and vestments, textiles and embroidery, ceramics, metalwork, paintings, coins, and objects from the ancient kingdom of Urartu. The galleries were designed by museum professionals, and more than 160 of the most important pieces are published in the catalogue A Legacy of Armenian Treasures.

Bronze belt incised with running animals

Ancient Objects

The oldest piece in the museum dates to the 9th century B.C. This gallery covers the Urartian kingdom, which flourished on the Armenian Plateau from 1275 to 590 B.C., and the few periods of early Armenian coinage.

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Manuscript painting of Christ surrounded by apostles and soldiers

Manuscripts

The earliest manuscript here was written between 1206 and 1269, and the gallery also holds an 11th-century fragment. The collection includes work from most of the well-known monastic centers where Armenian books were copied and illuminated.

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An early printed Armenian book open to an ornamented page

Early Printed Books

Armenian printing began in Venice in 1511 or 1512. The gallery shows copies of the first Armenian Bible, printed in Amsterdam in 1666, along with many books printed before 1799 for clergy and for private readers.

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Blue silk altar cloth embroidered with gold columns, a hanging lamp, and flowers

Sacred Vessels and Vestments

Embroidered vestments, altar cloths, ceramic sphere ornaments, and liturgical silver commissioned as gifts to the church. Filigree, granulation, and niello work from Van, Vaspurakan, and Kütahya is well represented.

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Detail of a red pile carpet with large ivory star medallions

Rugs and Carpets

Historians long described Armenia as a center of rug weaving. The carpets in this gallery date back to the 18th century, and most of them carry woven inscriptions.

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Gold and silver flowers embroidered on dark velvet

Textiles

Lace, embroidery, and garments show the skill of Armenian women, who passed their techniques from one generation to the next. Many pieces were made for a bride's trousseau.

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Pair of wide gold bracelets with relief portraits and flowers

Household and Personal Objects

Hundreds of objects by Armenian goldsmiths, silversmiths, and blacksmiths, together with Kütahya ceramics from the 18th century.

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Painting of Mount Ararat glowing pink above a dark plain and a small church

Paintings

More than 100 canvases and sculptures by Armenian artists, including seascapes by Hovhannes Aivazovsky, a landscape by Kevork Pashingchagian, and a portrait by Hovsep Pushman.

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Objects lent to The Met

These three pieces traveled to New York for Armenia! at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on view from September 2018 to January 2019. Read more about each object.

The 18th-century reliquary case of St. Abulmuse, shaped around an open hand — **Reliquary of St. Abulmuse**Hand relic of the 8th century in an 18th-century case. L1988.63

Egg-shaped ceramic ornament painted with seraphim and the Virgin and Child — **Egg-shaped hanging ornament**Kütahya, 18th century. L1990.14

Hexagonal ceramic tile painted with a church complex of blue domes and arcades — **Hexagonal tile with an architectural scene**Kütahya, 18th century. L1990.11

Plan your visit

The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 5 pm by appointment. Please call ahead so a docent can meet you and walk with you through the galleries. Parking is free.

Call 248-719-2600 Hours and directions