A 5th century A.D. Babylonian map on a clay tablet is one of the world 's oldest maps. One of the six countries represented on it is Armenia. This proud, independent Christian country in the Islamic Near East has survived genocide, exile, and looting of their property and art.

Today Armenia near Lake Sevan is only a tiny piece of a nation that has survived intact from ancient times when it was noted for more than a thousand years as a place of learning, architecture and the textile art.

Most Armenian weavers were rural peasants (farmers, craftsmen, merchants) with different backgrounds, separate villages and orchards, yet a common way of life. Armenian weavers show free self-expression, often weaving short messages with dates and signatures.

Inscribed Armenian Rugs from the Gregorian Collection were donated to the Armenian Library and Museum in Watertown, Massachusetts. It includes many examples with Christian icons and Armenian inscriptions. Samples of the Collection can be viewed here.