ART HISTORY AND HERITAGE

117

By Maximillien de Lafayette

THE JANYAG ART THE ETHNIC ART OF NEEDLE-LACE AND EMBROIDERY

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

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.”