Photograph

Apisoghom Utidjian (1853-1929) arrived in Cyprus from Constantinople shortly after July 1878 and stayed in the island until his death. He worked as the official state translator and chief interpreter to the colonial British government from 1878 to 1919. He was an educated person with a great professional career. In the photograph he is presented at an advanced age. He is wearing a dark western-style formal suit with a vest over a white pressed shirt with a high collar and a white bow tie. The jacket is decorated with several medals and one can also see the chain of a pocket watch attached to a button hole of the vest.

Hrant Utidjian (1889-1978), his wife Victoria Papasian (1901-1988) and their children, Aris and Lily, c. 1940. Hrant is wearing a western-style suit with a white shirt and a tie with light-coloured dots. Victoria is wearing in a dark-coloured dress with a V-shaped décolleté. Aris is dressed with a short-sleeved, light-coloured, shiny shirt with a rounded off collar, and trousers made of a different, also light-coloured fabric. Lily is wearing a white transparent dress with slightly puffed short sleeves and a necklace. A white bow decorates her hair.

Photograph taken in a studio to commemorate the wedding of Hrant Utidjian, who was a public servant, and Victoria Papasian who came from Egypt. The photograph was taken c. 1928-1929 in Alexandria. The bride is wearing a white, long-sleeved and knee-length western-style wedding dress with a V-shaped décolleté over a thin white blouse and a drop waist. The outfit is complemented with a long transparent hooded veil with fine decoration, white heeled shoes with one strap and white stockings. The special cut and decorative features of the wedding dress, as well as the whole appearance of the bride, recall the fashion of the mid-war period. The groom is wearing a dark western-style suit, a white shirt with a dark-coloured tie, and white gaiters over black shoes. In his right arm he is holding a pair of white gloves and in the left hand a black hat. The bride is holding the arm of her husband.

Studio photograph commemorating the wedding of Hrant Utidjian and Marie Melikian, daughter of Artin and Elise Melikian, on 27 December 1918. The groom is wearing a western-style suit with a white, high-collared shirt and a white bow tie. The bride is wearing a western-style, calf-length wedding dress, complemented with a long transparent hooded veil, with fine decoration all around its edges. She is also wearing white, heeled shoes and elbow-length gloves. Her appearance reflects the fashion of the second decade of the 20th century. She is looking at and touches a flower bouquet placed on top of a high stand. This wedding lasted only four years.

Photograph of Boghos Eramian Effendi (1840-1918), the seventh child of Artin Boghos Eramian and Caterina Luigi Carletti. The photograph was taken in a studio and it shows Boghos in an advanced age. He is dressed in a western-style black suit with an overcoat made of a thick fabric, a vest and a white high-collared shirt. The costume is complemented with a black tie and a tall fez.

The photograph shows Melikjan Melikian (1842-1914) and his brother Artin Bey Melikian (born in 1858). They were the sons of Hairabed Melikian Agha and Hripsime, the eldest daughter of Artin Boghos Eramian. They were both born in Cyprus, but Melikjan made a career in Turkey and was appointed a Judge for the Armenian community in Boursa, which was a high office for an Armenian in the Ottoman Empire. Artin Bey lived in Nicosia and was in search of a wife. However, it was difficult to find a suitable match, as all girls that were available were also his cousins. Hence, his brother decided to choose a good wife for Artin from among the large Armenian community in Boursa; he was lucky to find Elise Boursayerissian, a beautiful, thirteen-year-old girl. The wedding of Artin and Elise took place in Nicosia on 30/11 February 1895.

In the photograph Melikjan is dressed in a ceremonial army uniform with rich decorations on the collar, the sleeves and the trousers. He is also wearing a belt with an elaborate buckle, gloves and a tall fez. In his left hand he is holding a sabre. His brother is dressed in a western-style black suit with a long coat closed with two series of buttons, over a white long-sleeved undershirt. In his left hand he is holding a top hat.

The photograph depicts Shnorig Guvezian and Stepan Eramian on the day of their wedding (14 February 1913). The way to the altar was not smooth for this groom, who had to ask his beloved three times until she agreed to marry him. For the occasion Shenouk is dressed in a white western-style, ankle-length and sleeved wedding dress. A long, transparent, decorated veil is attached to a flower crown resting on top of her head. The bride is also wearing white shoes and white gloves, and is holding a bouquet of flowers. Stepan is wearing a dark western-style suit with a long jacket over a vest closed with buttons, also a white shirt and a bow tie.

This photograph shows Huliane Eramian in 1871. Her hair has been pinned up to form a most elaborate coiffure decorated with flowers. She is wearing a jacket over a white blouse edged with frills, as well as earrings.

The photograph shows Hanemie, Marie, Elbisse and Elise. All four women are wearing floor-length casual dresses with long sleeves and collars. Two of the dresses are dark-coloured, the third of a lighter hue and the fourth white. All four women have their hair caught up and are sitting on the steps of a staircase.

The photograph commemorates the wedding of Elbisse Eramian and Raphael Armadouni on 11 July 1920. He had to change his profession, move to Paris and wait for four years in order to be accepted as her groom to the family. The bride is wearing an elegant, white, floor-length and long-sleeved wedding dress decorated with a series of probably artificial flowers, from the neckline down to the hem of the dress, on her left side. Encircling her waist is a belt. The bride’s attire is complemented with a long transparent veil, which is attached to a flower crown on top of her head. She is also wearing white gloves and is holding with her right hand the groom’s right hand. Her hair is caught up. The groom is wearing a tall fez, a black western-style suit with a long jacket over a white shirt with a white bow tie, and black shoes. The couple is standing in front of an apse formed with transparent white curtains, which are made of bright patterned cloth similar to that of the wedding dress.