Photograph

The photograph shows Asdghig Eramian and Vahan Kouyoumdjian’s wedding. The groom is wearing a dark-coloured western-style suit with a white shirt and bow tie. He also has a small brooch pinned to his lapel. In his left hand he is holding a pair of white gloves. The bride is wearing a long white, western-style wedding dress and elbow-length gloves. She is further accessorised with a medium-length hooded veil, which is decorated with flowers in the front and an elegant embroidered ending. All bridesmaids are wearing similar in style, long white dresses with slightly ruffled sleeves and three horizontal ruffled stripes around the lower part of the dress, also wide-brimmed hats and white gloves. Hats and gloves were crucial to a respectable appearance for both sexes. The two bridesmaids on the right are further accessorised with pearl necklaces. Two of the flower girls are standing at the front and the other two are sitting on the floor. They are all wearing western-style dresses with ruffles. The dresses of the three of them are sleeveless, while the dress of the girl on the right has puffed sleeves. All the girls are wearing different styles of flower crowns. The little boy in the centre is wearing a white shirt with a collar and dark-coloured overalls with braces to hold them up.

The photograph was taken in Cairo, on the occasion of the wedding of Armenian-Cypriot Dickran Melikian and Egyptian-Armenian Alice Meutemedian either in 1919 or 1920. The groom is wearing a western-style suit, and white shirt with a high collar. The bride is wearing a white, ankle-length dress, white gloves and a hat that has a long transparent veil attached to it. Around the couple, the men are wearing European-style suits and fezzes. The man on the left side of the photograph is wearing a brimmed straw-hat decorated with a dark ribbon, and is holding a walking stick. The car for the newly-wed couple is decorated with flowers.

Armenian School in Nicosia, c. 1907. Originally formed as a place to give an Armenian education to the few local Armenian children, it evolved into a safe harbour for Armenian orphans fleeing persecution and genocide, and eventually the school became one of the best academically performing schools in Cyprus. All children in the photograph are dressed in their best clothes and the girls’ hair is decorated with ribbons. The three adults are presumably associated with the school, most probably being teachers. The priest is most probably der Hovhannes Shahinian. The man on the left is wearing a western-style suit, a white shirt and a tie. The woman on the right is wearing a long skirt with a belt around her waist and a white, high-necked, long-sleeved blouse. She has her hair caught up.

The photograph shows the wedding of Yevkenia Boudakian and Peniamin Boyadjian. The groom is wearing a western-style suit with a long overcoat, a white shirt with a high collar, bow tie and gloves. In his hand he is holding a bowler hat. The bride is wearing a white long and wide wedding dress spreading down on the floor and a transparent hooded veil. This opulent wedding dress is decorated with intricate patterns. She is also wearing white gloves and white shoes with high heels. In her right hand she is holding a rich bouquet of flowers. The photograph has been taken in a studio.

The photograph shows Aghavni Arslanian (née Boudaghian) and Artin Arslanian. He is wearing a tall fez, a white shirt with a high collar and white bow tie, trousers and a long overcoat closed with buttons. Aghavni is wearing a white blouse with a wide collar, a dark-coloured long skirt, and a jacket that accentuates her waist, according to the fashion of the 1910s. She is further wearing elbow-length gloves, a brooch and an impressive, black hat. The photograph has been taken in a studio.

The photograph shows Aghavni Arslanian (née Boudaghian, 1878-1976) and Artin Arslanian. He is wearing a western-style suit, with dark-coloured shoes, a vest, a white shirt with a high collar and a tie. On a buttonhole of his vest is attached the chain of a pocket watch. Aghavni is wearing a white blouse with a high ruffled neck, a long dark-coloured skirt and a thick jacket with an elaborate decoration of three buttons on each shoulder and on the cuffs. She is further accessorised with a large, impressive hat, decorated with feathers and flower applications. She has short hair and in her right hand she is holding a bouquet of flowers. The photograph has been taken in a studio.

The photograph shows the wedding of Alice Sinanian and Hagop Keukdjian on 28 February 1935. The bride is wearing a western-style long, close-fitting wedding dress with gathered sleeves that are puffed at the top. She is also wearing a long white veil, which is fastened to her head with a headband and also elbow-length white gloves. The groom is wearing a western-style suit with a white shirt and white bow tie. In his right hand he is holding a pair of white gloves. The three young flower girls sitting on the floor (Pinna Assadourian, Sonia Balian and Anahid Sinanian) are all wearing similar western-style dresses ruffled at the lower part. However, they differentiate at the top.

The girl sitting on the left is wearing a flower headband and gloves. Her dress has short, slightly puffed sleeves. On her collar there is a small flower application. The girl in the middle is wearing a thin headband, a small necklace, and a bracelet. Her dress has large ruffles on the transparent sleeves. The girl on the right is also wearing a small headband. The short sleeves of her dress have many small ruffles.

The maids of honour (Araxi Sinanian and Marie Sinanian) are wearing similar European-style dresses that reach the floor. Both dresses are ruffled at the lower part and at the sleeves. They are also wearing gloves and their coiffure is similar in style, with short-cut hair. They are wearing a dark lipstick similar to the bride’s. The photograph has been taken in a studio.

This family photograph depicts Philip and Gulenia Sinanian (née Boudakian) with their daughters Alice, Nevart, Marie and Araxi, c. 1921-1922. The father is wearing a dark western-style suit, with a white shirt, vest and tie. On a button hole of the vest is attached a chain of a pocket watch. Gulenia is wearing a loose-fitting, sleeved blouse, a long skirt and dark heeled shoes. The oldest daughter, Marie, standing close to her mother, is wearing a knee-long dress with a large loose belt and two necklaces. Her sister next to her, Araxi, is wearing a similar knee-long dress with ruffled sleeves and a long pearl necklace. The two other girls on the left, Alice and Nevart, are wearing dresses similar in style, with the most notable difference being that the dress of the girl on the far left (Alice) has open slitted sleeves. The dress of the youngest girl, Nevart, has long sleeves gathered at her elbows. All the girls are wearing white shoes with one strap. The three younger girls are also wearing white socks. Their coiffure is also similar with short-cut hair. The photograph has been taken in a studio.

This photograph depicts Teodolinda and Margarita Carletti (mother and daughter) c. 1880. Teodolinda is wearing a long-sleeved dress with a collar. The dress appears to be made of a bright, light material with stripes and many folds on the lower part. She is also wearing a jacket made from a dark thick fabric. The jacket is decorated on the cuffs and the buttonholes with appliqué embroidery. She has an elaborate coiffure, with most of her hair pinned up, while part of it is falling on the right shoulder and her back. She is also wearing small earrings.

Margarita is wearing a dress and a sleeved jacket similar in style to her mother’s, however it has a light colour and it is made of a different material, which seems to be the same with the fabric of the dress.

The photograph depicts Annig Bedelian (née Nigogossian) on her wedding day. She is wearing a long lace covered western-style dress with long sleeves, and white gloves. The upper part of the chest up to the neckline and the arms are covered only with the transparent lace fabric. The long veil that is attached to the flower crown on her head reaches all the way to the floor. Lipstick and light eye-make up, as well as the bouquet of flowers, complete her wedding look.