Marie Balian

In 1953 she met her distant cousin Setrak on his way to study ceramic technology with Ray Finch and Bernard Leach in England.

At a later age she herself becomes aware she is a link in an ancient chain, and that she has played a crucial role in rescuing one branch of a centuries-old tradition from oblivion.

In the 1600s, Armenian artisans in a small Turkish town named Kutahya developed a distinctive "Islamic" style in decorative ceramics, while also developing a series of unique and instantly recognizable local styles including playful figures, ceramic eggs, coffee cups, rosewater jars and various types of votive ware.

After some experiments with the existing 19th century kiln and local materials, Ohannessian returned to Kutahya to obtain the needed clays and other minerals and recruit the remaining Armenian ceramicists to join him in Jerusalem.

Ohannessian brought 8-10 Kutahya artisans to Jerusalem in 1919, including the expert wheel potter Nishan Balian, and the accomplished painter Mgrditch Karakashian.

Balian and Karakashian worked for Ohannessian until 1922, when they struck out on their own, opening a second Armenian ceramics atelier in Jerusalem, located on Nablus Road.