Over 10 thousand fund values.

The museum has a rather big collection. Over ten thousand fund values are preserved here: books, manuscripts, photos, sculptures, paintings, personal belongings, various documents, household items presenting the poet’s life and work. Each year the museum is enriched with new collections. All the exhibits are scientifically studied and presented to the visitors. The poet’s rich library is an attractive part of the collection, where one can find old publications, from Isahakian’s father’s collection, in Armenian as well as in foreign languages: Russian, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The books are not only the works of great writers of world literature, but some of them refer to various branches of science and art that give us idea of the poet’s preferences. The collection of ancient German books has a special important place in the collection.

Signatures, manuscripts

The collection of photographs is very interesting, as they approve the poet’s and his contemporaries’ lives of their time. Various household items, clothes, furniture, objects of applied art, gives us an idea about Isahakian’s life, preferences and contacts with the people of his environment. Multiple documents, consisting Isahakian’s archive, are vivid proofs of his public activities. Many interesting exhibits, belonging to the members of Isahakian’s family, are preserved here, as well. The autographs of the great poet, that is the most valuable part of the collection, are kept and preserved here with great reverence. They are letters, creative ideas, unpublished notes and separate thoughts. These manuscripts are the products of the poet’s thought and soul that give us a much more complete image about Isahakian as a poet, citizen; about his world perception as a thinker and about his creative work. The memorial museum realizes the most important mission of protecting all these relics and passing them to further generations. All the manuscripts of the poet, that are preserved in Matenadaran named after Mesrop Mashtots, are transcripted in the museum, digitized and kept in special non-acid papers. Everything, that can be subjected to the destructive test of time, here is a subject of great concern.

Many rare books today in Armenia can be found only in Isahakian’s library. Part of the books have on them the autographs of the Armenian great creators: Yeghishe Charents, Gurgen Mahari, Stepan Zoryan, Hrachya Atcharyan and Manuk Abeghyan. Most of the books in the private library bear the autograph of the poet. Multiple notes are made by the poet with pencil in the margins of the books. Publications of the poet’s works of different years are here, too.

PAINTINGS

	M. Sarian. The portrait of Av. Isahakian 1930

There is a rather big collection of paintings in the museum. The walls of the sitting room are decorated with the paintings of famous Armenian artists: Martiros Saryan, Panos Terlemezyan, Gevorg Bashinjaghyan, Hrachya Roukhkian, Mher Abeghian, Raphael Shishmanian, Harutyun Atchemian, Vaghinak Aslanian, who presented their own paintings to the poet.

Besides, there is a large number of paintings and graphic works of other famous artists as well, that are not only the portraits of the poet, but are performed with the themes of his works. The piled carpet “David of Sassoon”, which is one of the best samples of Armenian carpet-weaving art and is the main ornament in the sitting room, is the present of the Government of Armenia on 75th birthday of Av. Isahakian.

DOMESTIC STOCK

The visitors of the museum can see here many interesting and valuable exhibits such as: collection of works “Life, as it is” by Grigor Zohrap, which the author himself presented to the poet with the following inscription: “To the most sympathetic thinker and writer - Avetik Isahakian. Konstantinople, 1912”.

Charents’ present to Av. Isahakian

Rather valuable is the Chinese statuette (Show-Sin), presented by Yeghishe Charents. Under the pedestal Charents had carved with a nail: “To dear Avetik, from Charents. 24/VI 1937”.
In Paris Avetik Isahakian met Russian poetess Marina Tsvetaeva who presented an icon to the poet in the memory of their meetings.

Marina Tsvetaeva’s present to Avetik Isahakian

The visitors look at miniaturist Eduard Ghazarian’s work with great interest. It is a rice grain put in front of microscope, on which Abu-Lala is depicted with his caravan of camels.

It is well known that Avetik Isahakian had a very great interest towards the East and its culture. In a small side board in his study, some part of his collection of Indian and Chinese statuettes, brought from abroad, are demonstrated. These original statuettes had been the silent witnesses of the creative work of the Master.

 

It is impossible not to admire or be excited when one visits this museum and sees these precious relics belonging to Isahakian.