Taron Handmade Mug | Armenian Artisanal Gifts | QAMI JAN

Handmade and meticulously painted by hand, this ceramic mug provides a delightful boost to your mood, as it transforms your daily coffee and tea routines. We designed this mug to mix up what we normally see in tableware—we wanted something that looks misleadingly simple and relaxing to the eye, but with groovy colors and off-beat stripes that give your mind something to nibble on. To realize our vision, we found the most talented group of women, at Niana Art Studio in Yerevan, Armenia, to breathe life into our designs and bring this ceramic mug into your very own hands. Each mug looks simultaneously vintage and modern, as a nod to our past and a tribute to our collective future. We're neither one or the other; we're all things. Yet another collaboration between the diaspora and mother Armenia, brought to you by QAMI JAN.

THE DETAILS

• 3.5 in. base (5 in with handle) x 3.5 in. tall

• 340 grams (about 12 ounces!) - perfect for a latte or cup of urtz

• Our natural stoneware ceramics are conveniently dishwasher safe

• Made using food-grade pigments and lead-free glaze

• Handmade and hand-painted: Each mug will reflect variations of its individual maker and her personality, and while no two are the same, they come together beautifully in sets to complement and enhance each other

• Designed by QAMI JAN

• Made in Armenia by Niana Art Studio, founded by Anahit Nikoghosyan

THE BACKSTORY

In search of the holy oil that Jesus had used to anoint his apostles, it is believed that in the 4th century, Saint Gregory the Illuminator had a vision, in which he witnessed Apostle Thaddeus bury the precious mixture under an evergreen tree in Taron, before his eventual martyrdom in the land that was once Armenia. We imagine the disciple hastily digging a hole to hide the bottle of this holy anointing oil, containing over forty herbs and spices. Earlier, he had used it to baptize King Agbar, who converted to Christianity after he was cured of leprosy, thanks to Apostle Thaddeus’s delivery of a handkerchief that Jesus had used to dry his face along with a message (“Blessed are you who hast believed in me without having seen me…”). The oil was indeed found where Saint Gregory saw it in his vision. This mug is an ode to all Armenians and Assyrians, violently uprooted, who, in another world, are enjoying the shade of the evergreen trees of Taron.