P. 115. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News

Continued from the previous page

THE JANYAG ART 

THE ARMENIAN ETHNIC ART OF NEEDLE-LACE  AND EMBROIDERY

 By Maximillien de Lafayette

 

 “ I am going to show Osannah, how delicate my hands are, and how refined my soul is”.

 THE STORY OF OSANNAH, ARAM  AND THE ARMENIAN LACE MAKING

Look at this magnificent stone carving! A masterpiece!! It looks just like a very fine and extremely delicate piece of lace work. Yet, it is a stone carving. You got to pay the ultimate respect for those superb Armenian artists. They sculptured the most intricate designs and patterns with the most rudimentary and ordinary tools ever know to mankind! And there is a beautiful and a sweet story behind those carved stones. Legend has it that one night, Aram, an Armenian stone cutter came closer to Osannah his wife, much more closer than usual as a prelude for an intimate encounter but, Osannah turned him down, for she was very busy  with a lace pattern she as been working on for the past three days. No problem, Aram understood. Next day, same place, same time, Aram tried again. No dice! He tried again two nights later but Osannah showed no interest.  One week later, Aram tried again. No way, Jose.  Aram wanted to know the reason for his wife’s constant rejections. Needless to say that, he kept on trying night after night, and this infuriated Osannah who  one night, right in his face said to him “Can’t you see how busy I have been lately. Look, look at this very delicate needle work I am working on. You do not have delicate hands like mine or refined taste  to appreciate the kind of artwork I am working on.” Aram was deeply offended. He did not say a word. Instead,  he looked at his wife’s needle-lace work and left the room. The next day, he went to see a friend of his  to tell him about what was going on, just to get it out of his system. The last words Aram said to his friend were:” I am going to show Osannah, how delicate my hands are, and how refined my soul is.” For almost two weeks, Aram did not make any advances. It appears that, he was seriously taken by an important project. No body knew what he was up to. He has been working on something very secretive.  No questions asked. Hosannah cared less. One night, Aram stayed late at his shop.  The house was getting darker and darker. The light coming from Osannah ‘s oil lantern is getting weaker and weaker by the minute. She needed more fuel. So, she leaves the lace-fabric and needle on a nearby table and reaches for a small oil container on a shelve. And by mistake, she knocks down the lantern. Finally, she grabs the small oil container, fills the lantern and  the light comes back again but, the flame light was not bright enough.. Osannah  wants to resume her needle-work, so she reaches for the delicate lace  fabric but her fingers touch a strange cold surface of something she can not grab or lift, something she does not know what it is. It is her  lace all right,  but leaning further toward it to get a better grip,  she finds out that the lace she thought was her needle-work was nothing but a stone carved lace, as real, as refined, and as delicate as the lace  she had  on the table. This stone carved lace was Aram’s project for the past few weeks. Go back now to the photos of carved stones  you have seen before (above) and have a second look. Of course, those are not Aram’s stones. But who cares, as long as you can say “I want to show Osannah, how delicate  my hands are, and how  refined my soul is.”

 

 

 P. 116. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News

 

THE FABULOUS STORY AND LEGEND OF AN ARMENIAN LACE, AND PRINCESS ELISSA OF TYRE AND DIDON, QUEEN OF CARTHAGE

 

Photo: The Suicide of Queen Didon by Pierre-Paul Rubens. Louvre Collection.   Photo RMN

A 9^th century B.C. Phoenician tablet discovered among the ruins of the ancient Phoenician city of Carthage in Tunis contained a passage mentioning trade of goods and commerce exchanged between the Armenians and the Phoenicians who shared many enemies in common such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The inscriptions on the tablet were written in the early form of the Phoenician-Aramaic alphabet  widely used back then in the court of Persia, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Syria and among many Semitic tribes. The Phoenician passage referred to the Phoenicians and Armenians trade of raisins with the Greeks and the Romans. Three different kinds of grapes were described: Muscats, Sultanas and Currants  which were very popular in the Mediterranean basin and Near and Middle Eastern regions. Between 120-900 B.C. the Phoenicians  and the Armenians began  colonial vineyards in  Europe and Asia Minor. The Phoenicians started their vineyards colony in Corinth (Macedonia), Malaga and Valencia (Spain), while the Armenians began theirs in Turkey and Iraq.  Those colonies had the perfect climate for growing grapes and were conveniently located to facilitate  trade with Rome and Greece.  It is well documented that, the Phoenicians and the Armenians were  the world’s first  viticulture experts. Another segment of the passage tells us about  the story of  Elissa, princess of Tyre who became queen of Tyre in the 9^th  century B.C. and the murder of her husband on the hands of  Pygmalion, her brother. Horrified, queen Elissa  departs from Tyre and heads toward Tunis. Upon her arrival to the new lands of Tunisia, princess Elissa asks for an asylum. The natives told her that she can stay on a piece of land  not bigger or wider than an area which can be covered or “measured” by the skin of a cow! Elissa had no cows. So, very cleverly, she asked the natives if she could use a small piece of a lace instead. It is not  difficult for any one of us to  guess what was the reaction or the answer of the natives. Without hesitation, they granted her their approval. Elissa asked them again whether the land must be totally covered by this very small piece of lace or measured by it. And the natives replied that she is free to use any method she prefers. To them, it did not make any sense or any  difference, for this very small piece of lace she is holding in her hands will not cover or take the space of more than 10 inches of a dry land. And Elissa began the most ingenious topographic and geodesic task of all times.  She took the Armenian piece of lace and began to loosen up each knot, one by one, until she undone all of it  and got an extremely fine    and  a very long stretched  thread  exceeding 4 kilometers in length  which  she placed on the ground in the form of a circle, thus marking the borders of her new territory. What a genius! Or, should I say, what a great piece of fine art, this Armenian lace was!? It  was so fine, it was so delicate, it was so firm that it could stretch enough…enough to cover 4 kilometers

 

 

WHAT IS  ARMENIAN JANYAQ

 

Armenian Janyag ( art of the needle-lace or lace-making) is an Armenian traditional and an old family art. An ethnic handcraft that every Armenian girl had learned from her mother,  older sisters, grandmother or aunts at a very early age. Janyaq is an Armenian tradition. A domestic artifact, an institution! Today in most Armenian homes in Armenia and foreign countries as well, one can always find exquisite pieces and examples of this very fine handwork. At a certain time in Armenia’s history, under foreign occupations, particularly the Ottomans,  almost all aspects of Armenian arts were seriously affected, hurt, or completely annihilated, except the art of Janyag. Many Armenian artisans and artists fled the homeland with their families and loved ones. They sought refuge in friendly neighboring countries or countries willing to accept them. Thus, many of those artisans and artists were unable to carry with them the tools, material or materiel they used in their trade, especially if they were for instance mosaic and frescoes  painters, metal miners, stone carvers, etc. Consequently, many forms of Armenian arts ceased to exist under the Ottomans occupation which lasted for centuries. Very few Armenian arts practice survived or continued  under foreign occupations, regardless whether the Armenians remained at home or fled the country. Those were the arts or artifacts that did not require or need large space, facilities, a lot of tools, expensive material and collective help, such as the art of the needle-lace or lace-making and embroidery. In some  other cases, the arts of miniatures, iconography and illuminated manuscripts painting  continued at a slower pace and a much meager chronological speed than other more developed arts, provided that the artisans and artists were sheltered, fed and boarded by Armenian monks in remote and far distant monasteries. The art of Janyaq was not totally affected by the  presence of foreign occupation because it did not require so much tools, a capital, cash flow, a spacious facility or hard to find material. It continued at home. My personal belief is that, the art of Janyaq went ahead full speed, maybe it prospered under foreign occupation, simply because it was safer for Armenian women to stay at home and get busy with something,  some sort of activities which would not attract the attention of the foreign authorities or create any unnecessary trouble or burdensome and which could be carried easily by any women in the privacy of her home. Janyaq fit the bill. On one hand, it was a passé-temps, and on another hand it preserved a national art which was transmitted for generations and generations from mother to daughter.

 

P.117. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News 

 

THE TRADITIONAL JANYAQ

 

The  traditional Janyag consists of very tiny and delicate knots made with a sewing needle and fine cotton thread. It had various styles, forms and compositions yet, it remained purely an Armenian signature. Some styles and needle-works had simple and common motifs which included for instance, bow type motifs,  rosettes, leaf patterns and designs and rosettes in various forms and shapes.  While other styles were very complex and complicated and included sophisticated patterns, illustrations, drawings, compositions, borders, complex margins, multiple crochet stitches, very advanced floral design and compositions, multiple fringes and rich needle-points fillings.  The Armenian woman through her perseverance, exemplary patience, determination and constant training by and advice from her family gained an advanced level of learning, know-how,  artistic creativity, ability to design very complex and sophisticated patterns, thus reaching a very high standard of workmanship and making a name for herself in the lace making business.

  The knotted lace is know under a variety of names including Bebilla,  Dandella, Armenian lace, and Nazareth lace.  To your left, there is a detailed section taken from a Katchkar; a stone carved cross. Armenian artists and artisans were equally expert in fabric lace-making, delicate needle-work and hard basalt rocks and stone carving and sculpture. Their intricate art of lace design, carving and needle work  is characterized by meticulous sense of details, intricate motifs, individualized and personal patterns design, a genuine patriotism and a religious fervor. For many centuries and through out the ages from the 9^th century B.C., to present, almost  all Armenian women have done handwork: tatting, knitting,  needle-lacing, crocheting and embroidery. Some of them, even done   rug weaving. They have become experts in creating netlike ornamental knots, overcast cordonnets, multiple flower petals and leaves floral trims,  complex “Guipere”,  gold and silver thread bars, “Reticella” needlepoint motifs, crocheted ball fringes which one day will influence the Victorian style, the famous needle-run embroidery on a net, etc.

 

THE EARLY CIRCULAR STYLE OF THE ARMENIAN JANYAQ

Originally, the Armenian needle-lace was done in circular shapes, oval forms or on  long rectangular trimming strips. The circular style representing the circular shapes and forms  was the most popular one among Armenian women. It consisted of various circular forms, geometrical patterns with sun rays and different shapes and sizes of Armenian  crosses connected in a  concentrically manner, like the one we see on our right. In the years to come, this style will gain ground and popularity in Spain, Italy, Portugal and almost all Asia Minor and the Middle East where it was referred to as “Tatreez Armini”. This very particular Armenian style became the favorite choice of Near and Middle Eastern women. A very large number of homes in that part of the world had a good size set of the Tatreez Armini. It was used everywhere as an ornamental art, a decorative item as well as a principal part of Middle Eastern women gowns and dresses patterns. This style expanded its creativity to include elaborate floral designs which were very limited at the early stage of Armenian  lace-making style. For instance, the lace-making and broidery schools of  Marash, Van and later, those of Tbilisi, Konya, Adana, Izmir,  Kamishli and Antioch incorporated very unique motifs and illustrations such as doves, birds, roosters, pigeons, fish, multiple layers of roses, lilies, carnations, wild flowers, tulips, cyclamen and wild roses not even know in on the Armenian plateau.

 

 

 

 

P. 118. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News

 

ANALOGY AND ILLUSTRATED COMPARISON BETWEEN ARMENIAN,  MIDDLE EASTERN, EUROPEAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN STYLES

 

IRISH STYLE

 

  Irish Guipere

 

UKRAINIAN STYLE

The Hardan , worn around the neck. Photo courtesy of the Ukraine Society, Kiev.

 

 ANCIENT PERUVIAN STYLE

  A very rare and unusual Chancay Peruvian Net Lace, circa 1,000-1,350

 

P. 119. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News

 

PALESTINIAN STYLE

 

Palestininian  "Taqsireh" jacket made out of felt fabric and silk couching embroidery,  Bethlehem, circa 1,910

 

VICTORIAN STYLE

Victorian crocheted Lace

 

AMERICAN STYLE

American Tatting

 

P. 120. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News

AZORES STYLE

A late 18^th century to early 19^th century Azores Knit Pita Lace

 

SPANISH PARAGUAYAN STYLE

A 20^th  century Paraguayan  NANDUTI Lace, also known as TENNERIFE

 

  Irish Tambour Embroidery Style

 

 

P. 121. History of the Civilization and Arts of Armenia from the Bronze Age to Present. By Maximillien de Lafayette. The Globe Weekly News

 

THE MAKING OF THE  LACE

THE MAKING OF THE ARMENIAN LACE: THE FOUR REQUIREMENTS

To a make a lace, one needs the following:

A- THE FIRST REQUIREMENT: Certain ingredients extracted from plants, vegetables, wood, insects, fruits skin, worms and minerals to make the dye.

B- THE SECOND REQUIREMENT: Raw materials such as cotton, wool, flax, hemp and silk for threads.

C- THE THIRD REQUIREMENT: Wooden or preferably metallic tools such as shuttles, thimbles, needles and knives for spinning threads, doubling and constructing the web.

D- THE FOURTH REQUIREMENT: Wood for hoops, looms, stretchers and frames. Armenia’s soil and dense forests rich with oak trees and walnut trees  produced a superb wood quality perfect for manufacturing durable looms, strong rods, wheels for spinning the threads and fibers. The Armenian wood was most suitable for framing and web construction. It was frequently used to build various  tools, materiel and instruments needed in other fields of industry and production and particularly in artisanat areas such as textiles, fabrics, carpet and rug weaving.

 

THE ARMENIAN DYE

THE ORIGIN OF THE DYE

WHO DISCOVERED IT FIRST? WHO USED IT FIRST? ARMENIANS OR TURKS?

Khoren, a 5^th century Armenian historian,  mentioned the Gallnuts as the main dye ingredient. Arab noted travelers and geographers like Ibn Battuta referred to a cochineal dye, a red color pigment (Armenian Vortan Garmir) which was extracted from some indigenous insects which looked like worms. Those insects produced a sort of a net they used as a protection shield and surrounded themselves with. Similar coloring process was used by the Incas and the Mayas in Peru and Mexico to dye belts and warriors hats’ feathers and decorations. In the 9^th century and maybe much much earlier, the Phoenicians in Byblos, Na’oura, Tyre, Khalde and Sidon extracted the Ourjawan (A Phoenician purple dye and novelty) from sea shells. In the 3^rd century A.D., the Arabs in Syria and Iraq extracted Al Zaa’faran, a very special dye liquid produced by worms and wild plants leaves. As always, Armenians and Phoenicians were the Middle and the Near East forerunners and innovative creators when it comes to art products and decorative items discovery and production.