Design in Center and Periphery: Three Generations of Armenian Ceramic Artists in Jerusalem

It is my contention that from its inception, the Karakashian-Balian workshop stressed ancient Christian elements, thus distancing itself from the traditions of Iznik and Kütahya, which focused mainly on depicting flowers and branches. I believe that this inclination toward a new repertoire of images reflected the new reality in which the workshop's artists lived in Jerusalem within their indigenous Armenian Christian community. The first monumental work of the Karakashian-Balian workshop was done for the Armenian graveyard on Mount Zion. It is a series of six large panels installed in an open gallery wall forming the backdrop to large stone sarcophagi forming the patriarchal tombs. The northern and western sections of the gallery are paved and roofed and the ceramic arched panels are set in the thickness of the wall (fig.4).

This work was produced in the early 1930s after abandonment of the enterprise for which the Armenian artists had been invited to Jerusalem – the repair of the tiles on the Dome of the Rock and preparation of new ones. The first panel is installed on the short side of the entrance gate and appears to have been made by David Ohannessian (fig 5), but the other five panels were done by Karakashian and Balian (fig.6). All six panels feature a magnificent cross in the center. Since early Christianity the image of a cross, planted in the sky, has been perceived as a symbol of victory over death and a gateway to paradise. The cross appears in the monumental works of Early Christianity such as the mosaic dome of the fifth century mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna and the apse mosaic in the sixth century church of Sant' Apollinare in Classe in the same city. It also appears in mosaic floors in Early Christian churches in Palestine and Jordan and is even found on coins and graves. The image of the cross is a most prominent element on Armenian Hatchkars (stone panels serving as votive panels donated by pilgrims and as tomb stones in Armenia) since the twelfth century. In the ceramic panels Karakashian-Balian have quoted the patterns of such Armenian tombstones. Thus the Hatchkar's cross appearance on the tiles panels serving as background to the Patriarchs' graves appears to serve as a symbol of the resurrection and triumph of the Church. It is possible that this work in the Armenian cemetery constituted a conscious statement of a commemorative nature, thus declaring their identification with their old-new community.

Furthermore, in the routine of the Balian-Karakashian workshop, two local mosaic pavements served as source of inspiration and model for the workshop: the Bird Mosaic from the Armenian sepulchral chapel near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, dating from the sixth century, and the mosaic in the Umayyad Palace near Jericho. Alongside these two prominent formal sources of the workshop, a broader corpus of mosaic pavements from the Holy Land and Jordan, provided a world of additional images routinelyused.

The Armenian Bird Mosaic (fig.7)

The iconographic cycle of the mosaic, discovered in 1895, is structured around a central axis. An amphora interlaced with vine scrolls is placed at the bottom of the picture, and a peacock is depicted heraldically on either side of the amphora. Above the amphora, along the entire central axis, the following images are placed one above the other: a basket of fruit, a pelican, a bird in a cage, and, at the very top, two birds. Pairs of birds, male and female, are arranged along the axis. An Armenian inscription appears at the top of the mosaic: 'To the salvation of the souls of all the unknown Armenians, whose names only the Lord knows'.

These images had symbolic significance in the language of early Christian art. The vine scrolls symbolized the blood of Christ. The image of the bird in the cage represented the soul imprisoned within the body. The basket of fruit was a sign for the flesh of Christ, while the birds were common images of the believers' souls.

The strong relationship between the Armenian ceramic workshop and the subjects and images of the Armenian Bird Mosaic may be attributed to the Armenian inscription at the top of the mosaic. The Bird Mosaic is also a constant reminder of the dead and their association with the heavenly Jerusalem. This mosaic pavement is associated with a large group of mosaics with the same pictorial scheme used in synagogues as well as in churches, for example in Ma`on, in the Monastery of Lady Mary in Bet Shean, in the churches on Mt. Nebo in Jordan, etc.

The initial works of the Karakashian-Balian workshop borrowed from the birds mosaic its scheme as well as its images. On some occasions, its entire pattern would be included in the drawing on one vase. On others, the birds would nest inside the framework of the vine scrolls (fig.8). Thus, a rich and varied repertoire of imaginary birds developed within this formal and ancient framework of Christian symbolic significance. These bird images might have had different meanings depending upon the audience - as simple narratives, as symbols, or as ongoing symbolic narratives.

The Mosaic of the Umayyad Palace in Jericho

This mosaic depicts the tree of life as a spreading apple tree, with two gazelles peacefully grazing on the left and a lion attacking a gazelle on the right (fig.9). This mosaic belongs to visual traditions adopted by the Umayyad dynasty. In this set of images, the tree, serving as the tree of life, separates the just, as represented by the grazing gazelles, and the evil and sinful element, as symbolized by the attacking lion. Becoming a central motif for the Karakashian-Balian workshop the specific side on which the symbols of good and evil were placed was no longer significant, and the image of the tree itself underwent small yet numerous changes.

Bucks, gazelles and young deer, grazing in the meadow or standing alone looking upwards, also became a major motif for the workshop (fig.10).

These images, which had been adopted in the artistic repertoire of the Umayyad Palace, were common already in Early Christian art. The deer, which symbolized the spirit of the believer ('like a deer, my soul languishes for water', Psalms 42:1) often were depicted in baptismal churches near the images of pools and springs that symbolized the fountain of life. Deer were also often depicted intertwined among acanthus scrolls, where they symbolized renewed life. The Karakashian-Balian workshop adopted this image though it was not ordinarily used in traditional pottery from Iznik and Kütahya.

The Role and Function of the Paper Designs in the Workshop's Routine

The Karakashian-Balian workshop worked according to ancient practices, with the painter playing a central role. The master painter would first paint on paper. Then, his designs were transferred working in the workshop to the vessels and then colored. For special orders, the painter would prepare a pencil or a watercolor sketch. And, of course, there were cases where the painter would paint directly onto the vessel, confirming his autonomy as creator and designer. The differences and variations between the primary design on the paper and its copying onto a vessel and the art of drawing directly onto the vessel or tile have not yet been investigated and should be the subject of future study.

These designs are the treasury of the workshop and the archives of its vocabulary of forms. They enable the usage of old designs in modern times and their combinations with new inventions.

The Separation and Creation of the Balian and Karakashian Workshops

When Setrak Balian (1922-1996) and Stephan Karakashian (b. 1929) separated in 1964, the common property - paints material and paper designs - were divided between them. Numerous equal designs were given to each of the workshops (they were on hand as such designs on paper were executed by several workers at the same time). This fact enabled the future artists to develop their work from the same point of departure. While the symbolic meanings were perceived similarly by both new workshops the development of their common heritage was different.

Marie Balian's Work during the First Period

Marie Balian was born in 1927 in Lyon, France, to the family of Armenian immigrants who came from Kütahya to Lyon in 1919. They were far relatives of the Balian family and so Setrak Balian came to meet Marie in Lyon. Marie came to Jerusalem in 1954, when she married Setrak Balian. Though she had studied painting in Lyon, she did not work at the workshop until the early 1960s, when Stephan Karakashian and her husband, Setrak, went their separate ways, each setting up an independent workshop. Then, at the age of thirty five and the mother of three children, Marie began her career as the designer at the Balian workshop.

Marie Balian's oeuvre can be divided into three major periods:

• First period, 1964-1975: Marie Balian begins work at the Karakashian-Balian workshop and initiates her search for a personal repertoire of forms and images within the workshop's traditional pictorial schemes.
• Second Period, the 1980s: Marie Balian begins to concentrate on painting large panels that are composed of several units rather than on smaller tiles, experimenting with the depiction of new subjects and images in this monumental medium. She also begins her attempts to paint larger vessels.
• Third Period, the 1990s: Marie Balian develops her tile painting into unique compositions and drawings on very large panels
  
  
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