Ornament of Armenian women of Vaspurakan

Ornament of Armenian women from the Lake Van region, Vaspurakan.

On a black background lies a silver ornament: a triangular plaque set with red and green stones, a long pin, chains with round discs and crescent-shaped pendants. Below is a caption in Armenian and English: “Vaspurakan, 18th–19th centuries, silver, coloured stones”, with museum number 6967.

Vaspurakan is a historical and geographical region in the south of historical Armenia, in the southern part of the Armenian Highlands, between Lakes Van and Urmia and the Araks River, with its centre in the city of Van. In antiquity it was the 8th province (ashkharh) of Greater Armenia. From 908 to 1021 the Armenian Kingdom of Vaspurakan existed here. Today the region roughly corresponds to south-eastern Turkey and north-western Iran.