2010=Kalfayan family exhibition in Greece extended due to popularity A rare exhibition that launched in June this year at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Greece, displaying Greek-Armenian Kalfayan family’s private collection of Armenian culture and artifacts dating 16th to 19th centuries has been extended till the 10th of October due to its popularity among visitors, as reported by the organizers. This is the first public display of the collection consisting of ecclesiastical as well as secular works which were either made by Armenian artists and craftsmen or else belonged to Armenians, as the inscriptions indicate. Many of the works are rare items of the finest artistic value but there are also simpler works, mostly gifts to churches. The collection includes manuscripts, textiles, exceptional porcelains from China, ceramics from Kutahya, decorative objects as well as rare ecclesiastical and secular works which reveal the many aspects of Armenian history. Collecting works scattered around the globe and recovering the objects themselves and the cultural identity that they represent is one of the primary objectives of the Kalfayan family. Their collection conveys the wealth of Armenian culture that flourished parallel to Greek culture in Asia Minor during the Ottoman Empire, says the statement released by the organizers. Only a portion of the Kalfayan Collection is presented at the Museum of Byzantine Culture with the works gradually transported from London to the Museum of Byzantine Culture, where they were catalogued, photographed and restored. The Kalfayan family’s presence in Thessaloniki dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century with the active participation of its members in the social, political and cultural affairs of the city. Originating in Talas (Moutalaski) in Cappadocia, the Gazarian family and later the Kalfayans, who are related to the Gulbenkian family, settled in Thessaloniki in order to expand their business in the European part of the Ottoman Empire. During the early 1970s, the younger members of the family began systematically collecting Armenian works of art, a tradition continued today by Roupen, Arsen and Veronica Kalfayan. A comprehensive catalogue, which should prove to be a valuable guide for the further study of Armenian art, accompanies the exhibition (Kalfayangalleries).
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 04:57:57 +0000
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