Arthur T. Gregorian
Encyclopedia
Arthur T. Gregorian, was a Greater Boston
oriental rug
dealer and author of books on oriental rugs, and considered to be the world's leading collector of rare, inscribed Armenian
rugs.
, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
, of Armenian
parents, and died on January 14, 2003, in Concord, Massachusetts
.
In 1919, Gregorian and his family fled the Armenian Genocide
by oxcart
on a thousand mile journey with hundreds of thousands of Armenian
refugees from his ancient Armenian
homeland near Lake Urmia
, over the Zagros Mountains
in southwestern Iran
, down to Basra
, Iraq
. There, they stayed at a British
refugee
camp. Gregorian almost died of cholera
and worked as a sidekick to a hakim
or herbal doctor to earn food for his family. After traveling by steerage
to India
, Italy
and France
, he finally reached Boston and settled in New Britain, Connecticut
. In high school, Arthur met Phebe Ballou, his future wife. He spent his final year of high school at the Northfield Mount Hermon School, where in later life he became the director of the board of alumni. After high school he worked in a rug shop to get money to go to night school at Boston University
, so he could become a doctor.
, partly to open his own oriental rug
store there and partly to see Phebe who was attending Wellesley College. The store was tiny and below street level, so he visited his potential buyers in their homes or businesses. He and Phebe were married in 1936. The business flourished and in 1940, Arthur was able to move east across the Charles River
to larger quarters on Washington Street in Newton Lower Falls
.
(42°19′34.75"N 71°15′17.10"W), Gregorian finally had the space for his customers to come to him to see his rugs. Business continued to be good until World War II
disrupted his importation of rugs as well as reduced the demand for luxury goods. After the war was over, however, the economy of Greater Boston boomed and Arthur's business boomed along with it. He had a store in Newton Lower Falls and another in Chatham, Massachusetts
. In 1948 he bought the old Crane Paper Company
paper mill next door and expanded his showrooms into it. In 1965 and again in 1989, additions were made to the two buildings, which resulted in 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) of space divided into 10 galleries and over 6,000 rugs on display.
and founding Director of the United Nation's Asian Women's Institute.
in the mid 1970s, but around 1979, Arthur tired of retirement and opened an oriental rug store in downtown St. Pete and later exhibited rugs from his collection at local art museums. The Gregorians returned to Massachusetts in 1999. He was a founding member of The Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College.
, collecting and lectures on oriental rugs. Fluent in Armenian
, Turkish
and Persian
, he spent months at a time in the bazaar
s of Afghanistan
, Iran, Armenia and Persia buying rugs and filming his bargaining
and travels with a 16 mm Bell and Howell movie camera
.
In the study and erudition of oriental rugs, he will be best remembered for his books, Oriental Rugs and the Stories They Tell, and Armenian Rugs of the Gregorian Collection, done in collaboration with his daughter, Joyce Ballou Gregorian Hampshire
and his grandson, Douglas Christian. In Oriental Rugs and the Stories They Tell, he divided rugs into three major categories: tribal, village
, and city rugs. He observed that it is often difficult for a novice to distinguish between a Sarouk
, Isfahan
or a Tabriz
, but it is not difficult for the novice to distinguish between the innate characteristics of a village woven Bidjar
and an intricate and highly stylized city woven Qum. Oriental Rugs and the Stories They Tell was a breakthrough in the study of rugs, because it made the study of rugs clear and accessible.
His book on Armenian oriental rugs came out of realization that many rugs labeled as Turkish or Kazakh or something else were in fact Armenian
in origin. He was extremely proud of his Armenian heritage and spent the last decades of his life collecting and documenting the particular aspects of Armenian oriental rug weaving. His collection of Armenian oriental rugs was shown throughout the world and the majority of it was donated to the Armenian Library and Museum of America
, of which he was a founding member and director. He was also president of the Armenian Rugs Society.
He also wrote a book with his wife, Phebe, entitled Armenag's Story, about his own travels by ox-cart from his Armenian home to a British refugee camp in Basra
in present day Iraq
.
, Afghanistan
Rotary Club. He was the founding chairman of the board of directors for Damavand College, a women's college located north of Tehran
.
In 1953, as President of Morgan Memorial and President of Goodwill Industries
, he called his friend and fellow Armenian, Stephen P. Mugar
, and asked if he could place a new collection receptacle he had designed in the parking lot of the Star Market
in Wellesley
Hills. The container was a dumpster painted blue with a rectangular hole cut in the side for shoppers to deposit their extra clothing for the needy. This first Goodwill collection box became such an attraction for grocery shoppers that soon competitors of Star Market were requesting containers of their own.
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
oriental rug
Oriental rug
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient...
dealer and author of books on oriental rugs, and considered to be the world's leading collector of rare, inscribed Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
rugs.
Early life
Gregorian did not know his birthdate. However, he marked it as November 15, 1909. He was born in Rahvah, on the western shore of Lake UrmiaLake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
parents, and died on January 14, 2003, in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
.
In 1919, Gregorian and his family fled the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
by oxcart
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen . It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them.Used especially for carrying goods,...
on a thousand mile journey with hundreds of thousands of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
refugees from his ancient Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
homeland near Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
, over the Zagros Mountains
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...
in southwestern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, down to Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. There, they stayed at a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
camp. Gregorian almost died of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and worked as a sidekick to a hakim
Hakim (title)
' and ' are two Arabic titles derived from the same triliteral ḤKM "appoint, choose, judge". Compare the Hebrew title hakham.-Hakīm :...
or herbal doctor to earn food for his family. After traveling by steerage
Steerage
Steerage is the act of steering a ship. "Steerage" also refers to the lowest decks of a ship.-Steerage and steerage way:The rudder of a vessel can only steer the ship when water is passing over it...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he finally reached Boston and settled in New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
. In high school, Arthur met Phebe Ballou, his future wife. He spent his final year of high school at the Northfield Mount Hermon School, where in later life he became the director of the board of alumni. After high school he worked in a rug shop to get money to go to night school at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, so he could become a doctor.
Wellesley
In 1934, Gregorian took his savings of $700.00 and moved to Wellesley, MassachusettsWellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
, partly to open his own oriental rug
Oriental rug
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient...
store there and partly to see Phebe who was attending Wellesley College. The store was tiny and below street level, so he visited his potential buyers in their homes or businesses. He and Phebe were married in 1936. The business flourished and in 1940, Arthur was able to move east across the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
to larger quarters on Washington Street in Newton Lower Falls
Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts
Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts is a village of Newton, Massachusetts, on the Charles River. The commercial area extends across the river into Wellesley, Massachusetts, where it is known as Wellesley Lower Falls, where a majority of the retail businesses are.The Charles River drops 18 feet over...
.
Newton Lower Falls
In his new store in Newton Lower Falls, MassachusettsNewton Lower Falls, Massachusetts
Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts is a village of Newton, Massachusetts, on the Charles River. The commercial area extends across the river into Wellesley, Massachusetts, where it is known as Wellesley Lower Falls, where a majority of the retail businesses are.The Charles River drops 18 feet over...
(42°19′34.75"N 71°15′17.10"W), Gregorian finally had the space for his customers to come to him to see his rugs. Business continued to be good until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
disrupted his importation of rugs as well as reduced the demand for luxury goods. After the war was over, however, the economy of Greater Boston boomed and Arthur's business boomed along with it. He had a store in Newton Lower Falls and another in Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census...
. In 1948 he bought the old Crane Paper Company
Crane Paper Company
Crane & Co., based in Dalton, Massachusetts, is a manufacturer of cotton-based paper products used in the printing of national currencies, passports and banknotes as well as in social, business, industrial and technical applications. Crane remains the predominant supplier of paper for use in U.S...
paper mill next door and expanded his showrooms into it. In 1965 and again in 1989, additions were made to the two buildings, which resulted in 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) of space divided into 10 galleries and over 6,000 rugs on display.
Personal life
In 1936, Arthur T. Gregorian married Phebe Ballou (April 14, 1912 – November 19, 1999). They had three children, Lynda, John and Joyce (1946–1991). Phebe was regional president of the Girl ScoutsWorld Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...
and founding Director of the United Nation's Asian Women's Institute.
St. Petersburg, Florida, interlude
Arthur and Phebe Gregorian retired to St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
in the mid 1970s, but around 1979, Arthur tired of retirement and opened an oriental rug store in downtown St. Pete and later exhibited rugs from his collection at local art museums. The Gregorians returned to Massachusetts in 1999. He was a founding member of The Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College.
Impact on the study of oriental rugs
Perhaps Greogrian's most important legacy has been in his study, writing, filmmakingFilmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
, collecting and lectures on oriental rugs. Fluent in Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, he spent months at a time in the bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
s of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Iran, Armenia and Persia buying rugs and filming his bargaining
Bargaining
Bargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service dispute the price which will be paid and the exact nature of the transaction that will take place, and eventually come to an agreement. Bargaining is an alternative pricing strategy to fixed prices...
and travels with a 16 mm Bell and Howell movie camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
.
In the study and erudition of oriental rugs, he will be best remembered for his books, Oriental Rugs and the Stories They Tell, and Armenian Rugs of the Gregorian Collection, done in collaboration with his daughter, Joyce Ballou Gregorian Hampshire
Joyce Ballou Gregorian
Joyce Ballou Gregorian Hampshire was an American author, expert on Oriental rugs, and lover of Arabian horses.-Life:...
and his grandson, Douglas Christian. In Oriental Rugs and the Stories They Tell, he divided rugs into three major categories: tribal, village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, and city rugs. He observed that it is often difficult for a novice to distinguish between a Sarouk
Sarouk Rug
A Sarouk Rug is a type of Persian rug from the province of Arak in Iran.Sarouk rugs are those woven in the village of Saruk and also the city of Arak, Iran and the surrounding countryside. Sarouk rugs have been produced for much of the last century. The early successes of the Sarouk rug are...
, Isfahan
Isfahan rug
The Iranian city of Isfahan has long been one of the centres for production of the famous Persian Rug.Weaving in Isfahan flourished in the Safavid era. But when the Afghans invaded Iran, ending the Safavid dynasty, the craft also became stagnant.Not until 1920s, between two world wars, was weaving...
or a Tabriz
Tabriz rug
A Tabriz rug/carpet is a type in the general category of Persian carpets from the city of Tabriz, the capital city of East Azarbaijan Province in north west of Iran. It is one of the oldest rug weaving centers and makes a huge diversity of types of carpets...
, but it is not difficult for the novice to distinguish between the innate characteristics of a village woven Bidjar
Bidjar rug
Bijar Kurdish rugs are often called the Iron Rugs of Iran. The Bijar was a heavy durable rug that has been very popular in the United States. Now the Bijar rug tends to be a finer thinner more Sarouk like rug...
and an intricate and highly stylized city woven Qum. Oriental Rugs and the Stories They Tell was a breakthrough in the study of rugs, because it made the study of rugs clear and accessible.
His book on Armenian oriental rugs came out of realization that many rugs labeled as Turkish or Kazakh or something else were in fact Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in origin. He was extremely proud of his Armenian heritage and spent the last decades of his life collecting and documenting the particular aspects of Armenian oriental rug weaving. His collection of Armenian oriental rugs was shown throughout the world and the majority of it was donated to the Armenian Library and Museum of America
Armenian Library and Museum of America
Armenian Library and Museum of America , located in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States, is an institution that has the largest collection of Armenian artifacts in North America.-History:...
, of which he was a founding member and director. He was also president of the Armenian Rugs Society.
He also wrote a book with his wife, Phebe, entitled Armenag's Story, about his own travels by ox-cart from his Armenian home to a British refugee camp in Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
in present day Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Other notable achievements
Gregorian was actively involved in social causes throughout most of his life. He was president of the Newton Rotary Club, as well as a long time active member of the KabulKabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
Rotary Club. He was the founding chairman of the board of directors for Damavand College, a women's college located north of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
In 1953, as President of Morgan Memorial and President of Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...
, he called his friend and fellow Armenian, Stephen P. Mugar
Stephen P. Mugar
Stephen P. Mugar, 1901-1982, founder of the Star Market chain of supermarkets in New England, philanthropist and most prominent member of the Mugar family of Greater Boston, was born March 5, 1901, in Kharpert in the former Ottoman Empire now Turkey, of Armenian parents and died October 16, 1982,...
, and asked if he could place a new collection receptacle he had designed in the parking lot of the Star Market
Star Market
Star Market was a New England chain of supermarkets owned by the Mugar family and based in Greater Boston. The company was sold to The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1964, and was later sold to Investcorp, which sold the chain to Shaw's Supermarkets...
in Wellesley
Wellesley
- People :* Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , Irish soldier, statesman, and Prime Minister of the UK* Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington , British politician* Arthur Wellesley, 4th Duke of Wellington , British soldier...
Hills. The container was a dumpster painted blue with a rectangular hole cut in the side for shoppers to deposit their extra clothing for the needy. This first Goodwill collection box became such an attraction for grocery shoppers that soon competitors of Star Market were requesting containers of their own.