David of Sassoun Armenian Porcelain Figurine Vintage, Yerevan Faience Factory, Armenian Soviet Porcelain Vintage Armenian David of Sassoun figurine made of porcelain/ceramic in 1960s from the Yerevan faience factory during the soviet era, hand painted and the author was Arto Chakmakchyan. Yerevan red first quality ca. 1960s - 1988 mark. Height 23cm – 9.05in Length 27cm – 10.62in Width 12cm – 4.72in Weight 1439gr “David of Sassoun” is the Armenian national folk epic representing the ethos of the Armenian people in their age-old struggle for freedom from invasion and oppression. The epic portrays the Armenian heroes as the defenders against all foreign efforts to subjugate their people. The epic’s center is Sassoun, a sacred place that represents not only the home of the heroes but also Armenia itself. The one-thousand-year history of David of Sassoun (9th-19th c.) spans extraordinary events in Armenian history. Filled with brave heroes who overcome many challenges, the epic came to represent an authentic Armenian world-view that anchored the Armenians to a place and encapsulated their identity as a people constantly defending their beliefs and homeland. The heroes represent the highest values of the Armenian people as they are always willing to sacrifice themselves to protect their way of life. They are also flawed individuals, however, and when they break an oath, they are punished for their mistake. Initially there was a small ceramic workshop at the Yerevan cement factory. But in 1947/48 the Yerevan faience factory was created and organized on the basis of the workshop. At first the factory used German shapes and forms. Only in the end of the 40s the painters came to the factory, these were painter and sculpter R. L. Simonjan (series “Armenian dancing” was her work during 1948-1949) and sculptor-ceramist Vagan Teruni (since 1953 was the floor manager of artistic workshop). In the 60s new generation of creators came to the factory, among them were D Babajan and A. Chakmakchjan. In 1976 the workshop, which had manufactured figurine, was closed and in 1988 the factory ceased to exist totally.