Dvin was one of the earliest settlements of the Armenian Highland as far back as the 3rd millennium BC. In the 5th century, Dvin was the royal domain of the Armenian Arsacid kings and the Holy See of the Armenian Church. From the beginning of the 8th century, during the Arab rule, Dvin was the centre of the administrative unit “Arminia”, a city of flourishing crafts, full of goods and brisk trading. Armenian and foreign written sources call Dvin, with a multi-national population of about 100,000 people, the “Great Capital” and “Shahastan”.

Six trade routes started from Dvin, which connected the city with Iran, Iraq, Assyria, the Byzantine Empire and countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Goods, manufactured in the renowned workshops of these countries, were imported into Dvin. Armenian goods (precious stones, vegetal dyes and other natural riches), also pottery and textiles, produced by the craftsmen of Dvin, were exported far beyond the borders of the country.

The Exhibition presents:

• specimens of Armenian pottery of the 9th-13th centuries, glazed vessels of faïence, storage vessels (karas) with ornamental bands, plates and trays with

the images of animals, birds, trees of life, geometrical motifs, rosettes, stellar and heraldic compositions

• exceptional specimens of glasswork of the 8th-13th centuries, among which is a unique phial with the image of a violonist
• choice imported pottery of the 9th-13th centuries and coins circulating in Dvin