arts&life

exhibit

Celebration
Of Culture

Armenian and Jewish artifacts are displayed side-by-side in a new

exhibit — a testament to one collector’s love of history.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

R

eal-estate developer
James Melikian, who
majored in history years
ago at Arizona State University,
maintains a strong commitment
to the subject central to his aca-
demic pursuits.
A big fascination is artifacts,
many reaching back to ancient
times. He believes they give an
authentic and beautiful sense of
cultural roots, a belief he shares
with his wife, Ana.
In 2004, Melikian decided

he wanted to become a collec-
tor and contacted antiquities
dealers. He came across some
early printings of Armenian
books and bought them to have
artifacts relevant to his own
Christian heritage. So satisfied
with that acquisition, he sought
more through many dealers
and web-auction outlets, always
consulting experts before mak-
ing a purchase.
As his search expanded,
Melikian came across artifacts
from other religions, found
them fascinating as well and
made additions to his holdings,
now reaching 4,000 items. As a
real-estate developer, he is never
satisfied with a limited number
of places and so began showing
his artifacts in many places near
and far.
For the first time, Melikian is
giving almost equal attention
to items representing the faith-
ful of the Armenian Apostolic
Church and Judaism through
an exhibit, “The Melikian
Collection: Celebrating &
Preserving Our Cultures.”
Showcasing 31 individual
items or groupings, the display
can be seen Nov.1-Jan. 15 at
the Alex and Marie Manoogian
Museum, located on the cam-
pus of the Armenian Cultural

Complex in Southfield, where
there will be an invitational
preview Oct. 26 attended by the
Melikians.
The exhibit originally was
going to have 30 items or
groupings — 15 Jewish and 15
Christian — but that changed
just before Rosh Hashanah,
when Melikian offered a win-
ning bid for medals won by
Gerda Gottlieb, a pentathlon
and swimming champion in
1930s Austria.
“Gerda was victorious in
the Maccabi Games of 1935,”
explains Melikian, 62, who also
will be showing a silver-mount-
ed Torah case (likely from 1923
Jerusalem) once held by the late
multimillionaire jeweler Shlomo
Moussaieff, a handmade brass
Chanukah lamp (made in Syria
or nearby during the early part
of the 20th century) and a first
edition of the Hebrew Bible in
Braille.
“The medals are very impres-
sive and include five consecutive
gold medals issued to Gerda in
Vienna as winner of the 1933-37
National Pentathlon,” Melikian
says. “Because of the rising
influence of Nazism, Gerda’s
achievements are particularly
important.”
Armenian artifacts include a

details

An invitational preview of “The Melikian Collection: Celebrating & Preserving Our Cultures” is on Oct. 26. The public
can view the exhibit Nov.1-Jan. 15 at the Alex and Marie Manoogian Museum located on the campus of the Armenian
Cultural Complex in Southfield. All visits are by appointment with special events and evening tours available. $5.
(248) 557-5977; manoogianmuseum.org. Visit Melikian’s website at melikiancollection.com.

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October 12 • 2017

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