Large 13 inch colorful hand painted plates
Armenian pottery
Hand painted in Jerusalem's Old City since 1919
Colorful plates, bowls, and dishes for serving
We are one of the three families who established Armenian pottery in Jerusalem starting in 1919, and are proud to be continuing this tradition today.
Our expertise is in hand painting and coloring of Armenian pottery.
Our hand painted plates, platters, trays, vases and mugs are all individually hand painted in our studio, and fired in our kilns. All the motifs are traditional designs - birds, peacocks, gazelles, trees, fish and various floral patterns.
We use vivid, strong colors to paint our wares. Each piece is hand painted with a hand made brush. First, the black is painted on to give the design its outline, and then the colors are filled in. After the wares are colored, they are hand dipped in a clear glaze and fired in our kilns. The clear glaze gives the wares a glossy finish after they are fired.
Featured Armenian Pottery
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Sold out
Armenian pottery online catalog
Large pottery bowls, 11 inches
Small bowls
Large 13 inch plates
Vases
small oval dishes
Mugs
Christmas ornaments
What is Armenian pottery?
Armenian pottery is part of the history and culture of Jerusalem. In 1919, the British mandate which governed Jerusalem at the time, decided to renovate the exterior ceramic tiles of the Dome of the Rock, which badly needed repair. There were no master ceramic craftsmen in Jerusalem at the time, so it was decided to invite three families of Armenian pottery and tile makers from Turkey to work on this project and replace the tiles.
One of the families was the Karakashian family. My grandfather, the painter Megerditch Karakashian, was the main painter. These artists were Armenians, and were happy to leave Turkey in those troubled times. They settled in Jerusalem and established the art of Armenian pottery in the Holy Land. In 1922 the first Armenian pottery workshop was opened and began producing all kinds of multi-colored hand painted pottery and ceramic tiles, which continues to this day.
If you visit Jerusalem today, you will find that the souvenir shops and bazaars are inundated with cheap, mass produced imitations of Armenian pottery. These are made in huge factories in Hebron, and are copies of the original art form. Besides the difference in quality and look, you can tell the originals from the imitations by looking at the bottom of the wares. The originals are hand signed. See an antique plate from the Palestine period (pre 1948).