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1900: TWO ARMENIAN SISTERS AND THEIR DOWRIES Sundays, May 20 - June 24 Special Programs: Review by Mary MacGregor-Villarreal Aintab Embroidery This gem of an exhibit is small and intimate. The Victorian house provides an appropriate and setting for the dowry of the Telfeyan sisters, who grew up in the Victorian period in Kayseri and Istanbul, Turkey. Each major room displays a number of items from the girls' dowries, including drawn-lace table scarves and cloths, embroidered ceremonial scarves and belts, bedding and slippers, and hand-made lace, among other pieces. An upstairs room holds a silk rug from their father's factory and the girls sewing box in wonderful condition and complete with all the tools used to make many of the extraordinary items on display. Docents guide all visitors on tours that last about 20 to 25 minutes. During that time they get a glimpse of family life for this particular Armenian family living in Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century. The Telfeyan family's role as silk merchants and rug makers in central Turkey, the process of how Armenian daughters began preparing a dowry starting at about 6 or 8 years old, and what it was like to be an Armenian Christian in Islamic Turkey at the time, all come alive through pictures of the family and of the locale and through the items on display. Information provided by the docents makes the items in the collection become more than mere examples of beautiful stitchery or of cultural artifacts. Docents explain how the items were made, the symbolism present in each, and their ceremonial and everyday uses. Visitors leave with detailed knowledge about the period and the lives of Armenians in Turkey at that time, as well as with information about the creativity and skill involved in the needlework, embroidery, and rugs on display. To a small degree, the exhibit opens a window into the home and lives of these two young women. Tina Dermirdjian, the curator, has accomplished a great deal through her passion to share her family's history and legacy. By keeping the exhibit small, but intimate, she is able to reach out to the audience in a very personal way. The docents, who are members of the family, researchers on the exhibit "team," and volunteer docents from the Glendale Historical Society and the Doctors' House, are very knowledgeable and committed to the project. The public programming is extensive. Three of the six Sundays of the exhibit have additional programs that include storytelling, an exploration of the role of Armenian women as tradition bearers through their clothing and textiles, a poetry workshop, and a discussion of fashion in the Victorian/Edwardian period. One small criticism. It was not always clear to me which items in the dowry were made by the sisters themselves. Clearly, the Telfayan sisters were from a fairly wealthy family that had access to the finest of materials. Given the wide variety of styles of needlework from varying places, it seemed that some of the items might have been purchased for the dowries. Many of the items on display were the handiwork of the girls. However, when the docent explained the process of preparing a dowry and its role in the lives among Armenian girls in general, it was not clear if her remarks applied strictly to this family, as well. Of course, the beauty of having a docent-led tour is that I could have asked her to clarify. The exhibit and programs seem to resonate with most of the visitors. The day I attended, about 80 people viewed the exhibit, with about 40 attending the storytelling session held by Alidz Agbabian. As one of a handful of non-Armenians, I was impressed by the avid interest of the Armenian visitors who came to view an exhibit that they clearly identified with in a personal way. Most were women, but a few husbands came and clearly were interested. During the storytelling session, which included narrative songs, many in the audience knew the stories and songs, joined in the singing. One woman, who had attended the previous Sunday, returned with samples of lace and crochet from her own family to share. To touch individual visitors at this personal level is, I believe, the goal of many of us who research traditional arts and curate exhibits, shows, and performances for the public.
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The Doctors' House
(in Brand Park)