Shepherd Saro Armenian Porcelain Figurine Vintage, Yerevan Faience Factory, Armenian Soviet Porcelain

Vintage Armenian Shepherd Saro figurine made of porcelain/ceramic in 1956 from the Yerevan faience factory during the soviet era, hand painted and the author was Vagan Teruni made from the character of the poem “Anush” by Hovhannes Tumanyan, Saro is Anush’s lover.

Young Saro sings on the slope, -

Anush cannot sit in the tent.

“You know, nani, someone is calling us...

Well, listen, nani... Well, let me see!”

O. Tumanyan

Height 19.5cm – 7.67in

Weight 859gr

Anoush or Anush is as well a five-act opera composed by Armen Tigranian, based on the 1892 poem of the same name by Hovhannes Tumanyan. Originally composed in 1912, it was first performed in Alexandropol, but it had to wait until 1935 for its full professional staging at the Armenian National Opera Theater. Anoush remains in the repertoire in Armenia.

The opera has special importance to Armenian musical history as one of its most significant accomplishments. Being a work of national character, Anoush was the first opera truly inspired by Armenian folk music and culture, and it is perhaps the most popular Armenian musical and theatrical work.

The opera is about the tragedy of a peasant girl (Anoush) whose short love affair ends in loss and death because of conflict between her lover (Saro) and her brother (Mossy).

Initially there was a small ceramic workshop at the Yerevan cement factory. But in 1947/48 the Yerevan faience factory was created and organized on the basis of the workshop. At first the factory used German shapes and forms.

Only in the end of the 40s the painters came to the factory, these were painter and sculpter R. L. Simonjan (series “Armenian dancing” was her work during 1948-1949) and sculptor-ceramist Vagan Teruni (since 1953 was the floor manager of artistic workshop).

In the 60s new generation of creators came to the factory, among them were D Babajan and A. Chakmakchjan. In 1976 the workshop, which had manufactured figurine, was closed and in 1988 the factory ceased to exist totally.