Over 55,000 people visit History Museum of Armenia to see goddess Anahit statue

55,837 people visited the History Museum of Armenia for the unique international exhibition “Mother Deity: from Anahit to Mariam” over the past six months. The highlight of the exhibition is the first-ever display in Armenia of the iconic bronze head and hand of the Armenian goddess Anahit, on loan from the British Museum.

“This may be considered the most visited exhibition of the post-independence era. Remarkably, it was held during the off-tourist season, autumn and winter months, when museum attendance is typically lower. This influx of visitors brought new life to the museum,” David Poghosyan, Director of the History Museum of Armenia, told a press conference on Friday.

He highlighted the excitement over the visits of schoolchildren, noting that the exhibition featured educational programs, public lectures and the release of an illustrated English-language exhibition catalog. An Armenian-language version is currently in preparation.

“The exhibition was organized to meet the high standards of the British Museum and international exhibitions overall. This marks the first time Armenia has hosted a loan of such caliber and we aim to keep this momentum,” Poghosyan noted.

He also highlighted the exhibition’s financial success, stating that it fully covered its expenses through generated revenues, marking a significant achievement for the museum’s operations.

“The exhibition laid the groundwork for future projects. We are now planning a new exhibition in collaboration with the Louvre later this year. We believe our cooperation with other major museums will continue to grow,” the museum head added.

The "Mother Deity: from Anahit to Mariam" exhibition launched at the History Museum of Armenia on 21 September 2024. In addition to the bronze statue of Anahit, over sixty artifacts from the museum’s rich collection were on display, tracing the concept of the mother deity from paganism to Christianity.

The exhibition was a joint effort between the History Museum of Armenia and the British Museum, with the support of the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports. Its main sponsor was the Keron Development Foundation.