Sargis Atspanyan charges Aram Ateshyan in an attempt of  Ajvazovsky picture misappropriation

ArmInfo. Karabakh War vet, Armenian Diaspora representative Sargis Atspanyan charges Aram Ateshyan, the Assignee of Constantinople  See of Armenian Catholic Chruch, in an attempt to misappropriate  Ivan Ajvazovsky's picture  of his brother, Gabriel Ajvazovsky.

He said, that the picture mentioned from   1971  is found in Armenia and is a legal property of an RA citizen, and never left the country since that time.

According to him, this picture is included in Karo Kurkman's book under the heading of " Armenian painters  in the Ottoman Empire", but the author of the picture stated in this book is some unknown painter."

"We were informed, that Atashyan met legal owner of the picture and offered him to sell it with. The owner agreed to sell the picture with a price at USD 1 mln, but Ateshyan cancelled the deal due to the lack of money. After a while Ateshyan called the owner and offered to bring the picture to Saint.Etchmiadzin, for exhibition.  The owner agreed, but   immediately upon arrival to St. Etchmiadzin he was surrounded by the officers of State Committee on Investigations. Ateshyan presented the situation like that man has stolen the picture from the Constantinople See. The investigation on this case lasts already over 2 years, but the legal owner of the picture has all the proofs that in 1971 the picture has been obtained legally," Atspanyan mentioned.

He expressed his perplexity   with the fact that   it is already  two years  that  RA Committee on Investigations cannot solve this simple  problem. Atspanyan mentioned also that according to official information, there are six pictures of Ajvazovsky kept at Constantinople See, but it is quite long that no one has any information about those   picture, which are of a pretty high value.

"Hence, a conclusion could be made that one of the pictures disappeared, and Ateshyan tried to cover that loss in this manner. I think that   the answer to this question should be given while Ateshyan is still in Armenia," Atspanyan concluded.