Wood Sculpture Figures from the Artist Nairi Safaryan

NAIRI'S HANDCARVED FIGURES

Many of the figures featured on this page have a connection to Nairi's recall of his homeland of
Armenia and the family who raised him. Other's have a special significance for the person who
commissioned them. But either way, they all have a depth of feeling and detail that amazes.

Page 1 - Nairi's Home & Workshop
Page 2 - Nairi's Handcarved Wooden Boxes
Page 3 - Nairi's Handcarved Cups & Plates
Page 4 - Nairi's Handcarved Figures
Page 5 - Nairi's Handcarved Scenes
Page 6 - Nairi's Handcarved Eggs
Page 7 - Nairi At Work & Project Detail
Page 8 - Nairi's Family
Page 9 - Nairi's Recent Projects & Work

Click on the image to enlarge.

This biographical piece features a carving of Nairi's own Armenian Grandfather. Many traditional Armenian cultural elements are apparent in this piece. Recently Armenians have worn Western dress, but Grandfather is shown in the pants with fuller styling, tied boots with the curled toes of an earlier time and the Mediterranean cap. This attire is characteristic of the old world Armenian style of dress.
Grandfather holds a set of worry beads in his hands. Carrying these beads was common as Armenian men gathered for a chat in the evening. The human side of Grandfather is lovingly represented.
Beeswax finishes the unstained pear wood. The carving measures 9 3/4" tall, 5 1/2" wide and is 4 3/4" deep including the base.
To view the larger version of the image and a side view simply click on the image to the left.

Here Nairi presents a portrait of his own Grandmother engaged in old world tasks. In this carving Grandmother appears to be grinding grain. She is attired as a traditional Armenian woman would be dressed.
The wood sculpture is from a single block of pear wood which is a common wood used by Nairi. It is enhanced with just a light coating of beeswax to bring out the natural colors and grains of the wood.
You can see more detail of this wonderful figure by clicking on the image to the right.

Click image for larger version.

Click on the image to enlarge.

In this second carving of Nairi's Grandmother, she is found knitting a sock using the old style form for such a project. To her side a little lamb is very curious about her actions.
Grandmother is dressed in the traditional long dress with an over robe. Her head is covered in a headscarf wrapped in the uniquely traditional way.
This sculpture is of pear wood with a light beeswax finish. It measures 7 7/8" high by 8" wide and 6" deep.
The detail on this sculpture is exquisite and portrayed so lovingly by the sculptor. You can see it upclose by clicking on the image to the left.

This is Nairi's first attempt at the carving of a bust of a famous figure. Nairi worked from several 19th century paintings to bring this depiction of Joseph Smith (the first prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) to it's final form.
The structure of the face and jaw were a new challenge for Nairi and further defined his talent. But he achieved the masculine features with great skill and preserved the hairstyle and dress of the 19th century.
The sculpture is once again carved from pear wood and treated with a light beeswax finish. It measures 13 3/4" high, 12" wide and 8 1/4" deep including the base.
To see a larger portrayal of this bust, simply click on the image to the right.

To enlarge the view click on the image.

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