Among the many treasures on display at the Red House is the splendid Armenian amphora. It dates from the Urartu era, a civilization which, from the 9^th century BCE, developed in the Bronze and Iron Age of ancient Armenia.

The amphora was a gift to both Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in August 1965 when they were on holiday and staying at the Armenian Composers’ Union House in town of Dilijan. They had been invited to a lunch in their honour, given by the Mayor on the town’s annual Flowerday. In his Travel Diaries, Peter Pears describes how the amphora was presented to them:

“After various more or less formal toasts, the mayor announced that he wished to give us a souvenir of this our visit which was of such importance to them… and forthwith from under the table, the Museum Curator produced what must have been their museum’s chief treasure – a superb, large, almost perfect amphora – which had been dug up in excavations at Dilijan. This, of course, left us quite speechless; it was the most touching moment.”

In another entry, Pears describes their concern at getting the amphora back to Aldeburgh without it being damaged. The composer friends came to the rescue.

“Two composers, two workmen and our floor-lady vied in knots and glue and flaps and handles for two hours. It now looks absurd but safe, I trust.”

The amphora did make the journey to Aldeburgh safely and is on display in the cabinet opposite the fireplace in The Red House Library, fulfilling the promise that Britten and Pears made to their Armenian hosts that they would make sure that people would be able to see it and know where it came from. The names of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears can be seen engraved in Russian on the amphora’s tag, with the date, 1965. Underneath the display cabinet is a photograph of Benjamin Britten with other members of the Armenian Composers’ Union, with Edward Mirzoyan holding the amphora.

Why did Britten and Pears choose to holiday in Armenia? Britten and Pears had set out to holiday in Russia with the cellist, Mtislav Rostropovich and his wife, the soprano, Galina Vishnevskaya. Their hosts, however, were worried about how they would feed their English guests, and it was on the advice of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich that they contacted the Armenian Composers’ Union.

Alec Hone (Collection Volunteer)