Connecting Armenians of the World.
My name is Hagop Karakashian, and I am the 3rd generation of a family of Armenian pottery painters and ceramic artists. I learned this art from my father, Stepan Karakashian, who learned it from his father Megerditch.
In 2019 we celebrated our centenary – a 100 years of making hand painted Armenian ceramic tiles and Armenian pottery in Jerusalem.
In 1919 during the British mandate in Jerusalem, the British governor invited three Armenian ceramic artists from Kutahia, Turkey, to come to Jerusalem to renovate the ceramic tiles of the Dome of the Rock.
My grandfather Megerditch Karakashian was one of those three ceramic artists. He was a master ceramic painter. He arrived in Jerusalem in 1919 and started painting ceramic tiles for the Dome of the Rock project.
However, soon the project was cancelled because of a lack of funds, and because the local Moslems did not want Armenian Christians to repair their holy dome. But my grandfather and his two colleagues stayed in Jerusalem and opened the first Armenian pottery workshop ever. That’s how Armenian pottery started in Jerusalem and became an integral part of the art and culture of the city.
The city of Kutahia was a well known center for making pottery and ceramics. Armenians existed in Kutahia since early times. In 1444 there is a record of an Armenian potter presenting a ceramic gift to a local Armenian church in Kutahia.
My grandfather brought with him many traditional designs from Kutahia. Intricate floral patterns, tulips, saz leaves, and pomegranate designs. However, as he produced Armenian pottery in Jerusalem, his repertory of designs increased because he was inspired by local mosaics and old Armenian manuscripts. Most of these designs are now part of the tradition of Armenian pottery.
In 1966 during the Jordanian rule in Jerusalem, the municipality of Jerusalem commissioned my father and uncle to paint the street name signs of the Old City of Jerusalem. My father did the signs in Arabic and English.
In 1967, when the Israelis took over Jerusalem, the mayor Mr. Teddy Kollek asked my father to add the Hebrew names of the streets above the Arabic and English.
If you visit Jerusalem today, you will still see these street name ceramic signs on the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Today, I, Hagop Karakashian, continue my family tradition of painting ceramic tile murals and Armenian pottery in Jerusalem’s Old city.
I continue to produce high quality Armenian pottery based on my family’s traditional designs. But I also make new designs of peacocks, birds, pomegranate trees and other intricate patterns
I am the third generation and am proud to carry on this tradition, and be part of Jerusalem’s art history and culture.
My shop is located at 3 The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Street, in Jerusalem’s Old City. All visitors are welcome.
Vistit our website for more details: https://www.jerusalempottery.biz/
