Armenians in Ottoman jewellery and an Armenian family model: The Arslanyans

In this study named "Armenians in Ottoman Jewellery and an Armenian Family Model: The Arslanyans", the works of Armenians who had been under the service of the Ottomans and who had played a significant role through the development of Ottoman style jewellery and art of jewellery in which Turkish syle of jewellery can also be seen, take place within the framework of art activities as elements that unite nations. In this thesis, besides the known facts that the two nations having merged in the fields of art, commerce, etc. know about each other, the unknown facts or little known are brougnt into light, as well. The effect of the Armenian craftsmen within the Ottoman Empire Jewellery is conveyed not only via the developments in Istanbul but also via the jewellery works which existed in Anatolia. During the development period, The Ottoman Empire gained power in the field of art as well as gaining power in the fields of economy, policy and military. The art of jewellery has always been popularly in demand at all times both as a reflection of the society and as an indication of magnificence. Starting from the point of view that the Armenian craftsmen had an important role in the Ottoman Empire art of jewellery, the biography as well as the works of Hraç Arslanyan who has an impressive fame in continuing the Ottoman style jewellery traditions besides todays contemporay works of jewellery are conveyed within the study. In this study, relevant literature has been scanned, the data of Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives have been searched, relevant people whose names appear in this study have been interviwed, several researchers, writers, and academics are referred to for their precious resources. Key Words: Jewellery, Ottoman, Armenian, Arslanyan, Jewels, Gem Stones.