Armen Kyurkchyan - Armenian Ornamental Art

The price of this book was a considerable burden for me, so I spent nearly two years debating whether to buy it. In the end, I can honestly say that I am very satisfied with my purchase. That said, I think your level of satisfaction will depend greatly on what you intend to use it for.

If you are buying this book to incorporate Armenian elements into your design or illustration work, I believe you will be very pleased with it. Alongside photographs of the artifacts, it also includes carefully traced outline illustrations, making it remarkably easy to identify and study their visual characteristics. Even in this age of the internet, it is difficult to find such a large amount of visual reference material that has been organized so thoroughly.

However, if your primary goal is archaeological research, I would not recommend this book for that purpose. It was simply not designed with that in mind, and detailed explanations are kept to a minimum.

I am a history undergraduate who also draws as a hobby. I bought this book both to find inspiration for my artwork and to learn something new. The former exceeded my expectations, while the latter left me somewhat disappointed. Even so, the value of its visual material alone made it a thoroughly worthwhile purchase, and I expect it will remain a reference that I return to for years to come.