Azerbaijan appropriating Armenian carpet weaving traditions -  Monument Watch

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan is appropriating the traditions of Armenian carpet weaving. This was reported by Monument Watch, which monitors the cultural heritage of Artsakh.

"In the center of the so-called "Victory Park", which glorifies the  military conquest of Nagorno-Karabakh and the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population, Azerbaijan erected a monument with an ornament in the form of the traditional Armenian Artsakh eagle "Artsvagor" and presented it to international observers at the 29th Conference of the States Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)," the Organization said in a statement.

As political scientist Sosi Tatikyan notes, this action is the  construction of another monument in Azerbaijan glorifying military aggression and ethnic cleansing by appropriating the Armenian cultural heritage.

It is noted that this ornament is the central pattern, dating back to the carpet weaving traditions of the feudal power in Jraberd,  Artsakh.

The main ornament is an eagle. According to experts, this is one of the images of the winged sun or the Urartian deity Khald, and then the Zoroastrian Ahuramazda. Such an image of the winged sun has been known in Armenian art since ancient times and is also expressed in the Armenian late medieval carpets of Artsakh-Syunik.

In foreign literature, it is known as "Tschelaberd".

"It should be noted that the appropriation of Artsakh carpet weaving traditions is part of the state policy of Azerbaijan. Recently, this policy of cultural appropriation has shown significant activity on international platforms.

The people of Artsakh, who have rich carpet weaving traditions, are today, as a result of forced deportation, deprived of the opportunity to continue their cultural practice, to contribute to the cultural life of their community, which is a gross violation of the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to culture in accordance with Articles 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 15 of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It turns out that, on the one hand, the practice of carpet weaving of Artsakh Armenians was suspended by forced deportation by Azerbaijan, and on the other hand, they were deprived of the opportunity to enrich and preserve their intangible heritage.

By distorting historical facts, Azerbaijan neutralizes the true  tradition of heritage, depriving it of authenticity. This violates  the principle of heritage authenticity adopted by UNESCO, since, according to the document adopted in Nara in 1994, the knowledge underlying the heritage must be true and reliable, and it must be stored in reliable information.

We also recall that back in May 2024, an exhibition of the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design "Azerbaijani Carpets: Genetic Code of Memory" opened in Riga, the main exposition of which was dedicated to Armenian carpets from Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. It should be noted that the ornaments on the carpets presented as Azerbaijani, images of animals and birds, compositional patterns in decorative design and the beliefs associated with them were used in the Armenian carpet culture and have a centuries- old history. In addition, in November 2024, another similar exhibition opened in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi.

By appropriating Armenian heritage, Azerbaijan violates the  Conventions on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The implementation of this state-targeted policy by Azerbaijan  undermines the identity of the Armenians of Artsakh and the ability to pass it on to future generations," Monument Watch said in a statement.