WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS DISPLAY OF RUG LINKED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
01:04, 16 Oct 2014
A istoric rug tied to the Armenian genocide will go on display at the
White House Visitor Center in November after several failed attempts
to display the piece, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Ghazir rug was created by orphans of the genocide and presented
to President Calvin Coolidge in 1925. It will be featured alongside
other artifacts in an exhibition highlighting gifts to the United
States from groups that have benefited from American humanitarian aid.
“The rug … is a reminder of the close relationship between the
people of Armenia and the United States,” National Security Council
spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement announcing the
exhibition.
The tapestry, also called the Armenian Orphan Rug, has been in
storage for decades with only limited public appearances. In 2013,
the White House blocked a plan to display the rug at the Smithsonian
Institution, saying the planned exhibition, which would have featured
the release of a book about the piece, was a private event and thus
“not viewed as commensurate with the rug’s historical significance.”