MUSEUM

22 / Georgia - Cradle of Wine

10 / In search of Lucy
62 / Victims OF THE Soviet Regime
Georgian National Museum 18 / Scholar of Georgian Archaeology
N3 . 2017 48 / Museum in Virtual Space
 MUSEUM
CONTENTS
06 / Georgia: A History of Wine
16 / More than Thirty Years
of Friendship
18 / Boris Kuftin - Scholar of Georgian
Archaeology
When visiting the Svaneti Museum in Mestia (GNM), you can stop by the multimedia library –
22 / Georgia, the Cradle of Viticulture
a modern, interactive space where visitors can access Georgian and international scientific and educational
literature, as well as fiction, in the form of books, periodicals, CDs or DVDs. 28 / Avant-Garde Art: 1900-1937
34 / Prehistoric Technologies
 The multimedia library collection was  The Svaneti Museum multimedia libra-
Laboratory
filled with books donated by various ry is open every day except Monday,
organizations and individuals. from 10.00 am to 6:00 pm. 36 / Natural History Collections
40 / Mzia
 The Svaneti Museum multimedia  Membership in the multimedia library 48 / The Museum in Virtual Space
library offers free internet and a view is free. You can use the books and
of the landscapes of Mestia and its visual material on site. 50 / International Science and Innovation
famous towers. Festival in Georgia
62 / Red Terror and Georgian Artists
www.museum.ge
www.facebook.com/GNMuseum
www.instagram.com/georgiannationalmuseum
In Shida Kartli, Georgia’s geographic
center, there is a wide valley called
Dedoplis Mindori, or “Queen’s Hill”. In the
Middle Ages this territory was part of the
royal estate of the Queen.
14 / Friend of the Museum
The Georgian National Museum is a very
good example of how a cultural institution
can help develop a country.
46 / Region
The town of Sighnaghi is mentioned in
historical sources as early as the second half
of the 18th century. It was already known for
its four-kilometer-long brick-and-mortar
wall with 23 towers and five gates, built
over a surface of 40 hectares.
54 / Art
The artists of this generation, unlike the
previous one, had turned their backs
on Russia as they felt they had more in
common with European culture.
10 / Interview
I didn't know when we called her Lucy
after the Beatle’s song, Lucy in the Sky
with Diamonds, that she would become so
popular with people around the world.
City-state of Urkesh in southeastern Syria.
42 / Archaeology
In 1972 stationary excavations began at
Dedoplis Mindori. Curiously enough, a
Mazdean altar was found directly under the
stele at a depth of 2-2.5 m.
 04 The Georgian National Museum Friends Society
In December 1991 the annual Senckenberg Conference in Frankfurt, Germany was dedi-
cated to the 100th Anniversary of the discovery of Homo erectus. This symposium is consi- museum.ge/support
dered a landmark forum in paleoanthropology. The “Premiere” presentation of the newly facebook.com/MuseumFriends
discovered lower jaw of a hominin from Dmanisi, Georgia was also made at this event.

Become a Member
At that time I didn’t dream that 25 years later, in 2016, the same Senckenberg Conferen-
ce would be held in Tbilisi, for the first time ever outside of Germany, jointly organized by
the Georgian National Museum and Senckerberg Natural History Museum. Participants of
the forum included legendary scientists whose names are associated with significant dis-
coveries, and the Conference was covered by leading international media. In the current

Discover More
issue of our magazine you will find an interview with renowned paleoanthropologist, Don
Johanson, who discovered Lucy in Ethiopia, an event which greatly influenced the develo-
pment of paleoanthropology and played a key role in the popularization of that science. and
Johanson’s popular book that told of his scientific life and discovery, Lucy, helped define the
future profession of many young people, including myself.

In the History Section of this issue we offer the story of the legendary archaeologist, Boris Kuptin, written by another
icon, academician Otar Japaridze. You will read articles from National Geographic Georgia, where we tell the story of
our country through some of our museum’s most fascinating objects. We also offer you a captivating essay describing
8000 years of wine in Georgia, as related through early Neolithic fragments of wine vessels.

Yes, this year was indeed special for Georgia. With a scientific article published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences in the USA, the world’s scientific community realized that Georgia truly is the original homeland
of wine! The newly created Foundation for Wine Culture and Civilizations in Bordeaux, France offered us the honor of
being the first “Guest Wine Region” at the Cité du Vin, with the exhibition “Georgia, the Cradle of Viticulture”.

In the Art Section we offer insights about the avant-garde artists of Georgia, exemplifying the key contributions made
by Tbilisi as a center of art in Europe. For the younger generations, these artists have shown that significant art is not
created only in larger countries. Another moving article, exemplifying Georgia’s dedication to the development of art,
is illustrated by the stories of great artists who were victims of the terrible Soviet repressions.

And finally, in this issue you will meet some Friends of the Museum – The Director of the Goethe Institute, Dr. Stephan
Wackwitz and Professors Heidemarie and Guntram Koch. At the initiative of Dr. Wackwitz, many projects designed
to develop creative thinking and to raise the level of scientific knowledge were implemented jointly by the Goethe
Institute and the Georgian National Museum. Both Professor Guntram Koch and Professor Heidemarie Koch have
supported the National Museum for over 30 years. They have actively publicized Georgian culture to the global scien-
tific community for decades, and this year they presented another priceless treasure to the Library of the National 10 Museums
Museum, a unique collection of books on medieval art and Byzantine history.
The National Gallery
Two Scientific Research Centers
Four House Museums
Editor in Chief: David Lordkipanidze
Editorial Board: Ekaterina Gamkrelidze, Natia Khuluzauri, Mikheil Tsereteli, Merab Mikeladze
Publisher: Giorgi Bezarashvili
Photographer: Mirian Kiladze, Malkhaz Machavariani, Zaza Makharadze, Guram Bumbiashvili, Fred Ernst, Bryan Whitney, Fernando Javier Urquijo
English Language Editor: Mary Ellen Chatwin
Translator: Maia Nikolaishvili
Designer: Tornike Lordkipanidze
The Museum Friends Card – A perfect gift!
Front cover: Qvevri fragments decorated with vines, Base and neck (copies), Terracotta, Tsikhiagora, Georgia, 4th-3rd centuries BC.
Artistic installation: Lina Lopez, Production: Vakhtang Khoshtaria
Back cover: Pattern from Dzalisa Mosaic from the 3rd century AD adorned the floor of the triclinium, or banquet hall, Contact us:
in a large Roman villa complex discovered at Dzalisa, Georgia.
+995 322 995 895
Printing House: CEZANNE, N140 Tsereteli Avenue, Tbilisi, 0119, Georgia. Tel.: +995 322 357 002
www.museum.ge friends@museum.ge
We express our gratitude to JTI Company for their support in publishing this journal.
ISSN 2298-0318
www.facebook.com/GNMuseum
Georgian National Museum Friends Society
www.instagram.com/georgiannationalmuseum
3, Rustaveli Ave, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
 06

Georgia
A History
of Wine
Main Story
> David Lordkipanidze There are many vessel fragments at the Gadachrili
Gora archaeological site, where the chemical markers
This article has been prepared in of wine and grape dust that accompany winemaking
were discovered together, indicating that truly ancient
cooperation with National Geographic
winemaking was carried out at the site.
Georgia.

A
rchaeological data show that posi-
tive attitudes towards grapes and
wine in Georgia have been unam-
biguous from the earliest times. Large jars
known as kvevri, similar to the ancient Ne-
olithic vessels found here, are still widely
used to make wine in Georgia, which con-
firms how deep the roots of wine culture
continue to grow in this region. Indeed,
this continuity of viniculture is an essential
concept – instead of an episodic pheno-
menon, the picture is larger, as we began
making wine in ancient times and conti-
nue this key cultural activity today.
Research in Neolithic sites (6th millen-
nium BC) on what is Georgian territory
today began with expeditions by the S.
Janashia State Museum of the Georgian
Academy of Sciences in the 1960s. Among
those leading research during that time ar-
chaeologists Aleksandre Javakhishvili, Otar
Japaridze and Tamaz Kiguradze. These
sites, where the oldest wine vessels were
found, provided evidence that this area
was indeed the cradle of wine.
In 1999, a “wine city” called Vinopolis
opened in London where a corner entitled
“Georgia – Cradle of Wine” was created at
the initiative of the company Georgian
Wine and Spirits’ directors, Levan Gache-
chiladze and Tamaz Kandelaki, with sup-
port from the Embassy of Georgia in the
UK. The history of Georgian wine was pre-
sented in the exhibition hall of Vinopolis
with replicas from the Georgian State Mu-
seum. Subsequently Academician Levan
Chilashvili dedicated a book to the same
topic.
The notion that Georgia is the cradle of
wine appeared first in international litera-
ture when the well-known wine expert and
writer Hugh Johnson published a book in
1989, “The Story of Wine”. The same as-
sumption was echoed by another recogni-
zed researcher of wine history, Pennsylva-
nia University Professor Patrick McGovern,
who travelled to Georgia in 1998. In 2003
he published “Ancient Wine”, a book in whi-
ch the Caucasus is mentioned as the likely
homeland of wine. These theories were
largely based on results of the study of gra-
pe seeds that had been discovered during
the 1960s archaeological excavations; ho-
wever the international scientific commu-

GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 7

nity had not recognized the data since in
previous decades it was not yet possible to
carry out absolute dating.
I became involved with the topic of
wine in 2006 when the National Museum
was invited to renew the Vinopolis exhi-
bition in London. Since that year, one of
our main directions has become research
on wine-related issues and to inform the
international community on the results
of our studies. At this time also, excava-
tions of Neolithic archaeological sites
had resumed, and a Wine History Foun-
dation was created within the Chamber
of Trade and Industry under the presi-
dency of Jemal Inaishvili, to support re-
search on wine culture in Georgia. Cho-
sen as emblem of the Foundation was a
7 th-century BC sculpture of a toastmaster
(tamada) holding a cup, discovered at
the Vani archaeological site, now in the
Georgian National Museum.
8 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
In 2008 Professor McGovern visited Ge-
orgia again and gave a lecture on the ad-
vances in chemical research and ancient
wine. Symposiums dedicated to the topic
of wine, including kvevri technology, follo-
wed in ensuing years. Finally in 2014, at
the initiative of the Georgian Wine Associa-
tion and with support from the Georgian
Government, an international multidis-
ciplinary project, “Research of Georgian
Grape and Wine Culture” began under the
direction of Levan Davitashvili and the Na-
tional Wine Agency. The study involved
Georgian scientists and researchers from
universities of Pennsylvania, Montpellier,
Milan, Copenhagen and Toronto, as well as
the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel)
and the National Institute for Agricultural
Research Montpellier Centre (INRA).
Biomolecular research, supervised by
Professor McGovern, confirmed the exis-
tence of organic acids (tartaric, malic, suc-
cinic and citric) typical for wine on the walls
of clay vessels discovered during recent ex-
cavations of Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris
Gora archaeological sites of Neolithic pe-
riod in the Marneuli District of Kvemo Kartli.
These markers indicated the presence of
wine made from Vitis vinifera grape varie-
ties. Paleobotanical studies carried out by
Georgian National Museum scientists Eliso
Kvavadze and Nana Rusishvili showed that
viniculture was widely common in that re-
gion during the early Neolithic period. Re-
searchers from the University of Milan led
by Osvaldo Failla replicated the climate of
the 6th millennium BC and confirmed that
the conditions in Kvemo Kartli 8000 years
ago would have sustained grape cultiva-
tion. Laboratory studies at the Weizmann
Institute in Israel supervised by Elisabetta
Boaretto used carbon14 dating to determi-
ne that the samples found originated from
6000-5800 BC, and were 600 years older
than the earliest known wine traces from
the Zagros Mountains in Iran.
In November this year, the journal of
the US National Academy of Sciences,
PNAS (Proceedings of the National Aca-
demy of Sciences) published an article
entitled “Early Neolithic Wine of Georgia
in the South Caucasus” updating recent
studies and results. It confirmed that tri-
bes inhabiting this region made wine as
early as 6000-5800 BC.
The article followed on an earlier exhi-
bition in Bordeaux, France portraying the
8000-year history of Georgian wine. The
“Guest Wine Region” is part of a series of
exhibitions organized by the newly esta-
blished Centre for Wine Civilizations and
Culture, or La Cité du Vin, in Bordeaux. The
exhibition showcases artefacts related to
wine culture over a long chronological
period rather than showcasing a “great
past”, thus illustrating the continuity of
wine culture throughout millennia. Geor-
gia was the first “Guest Wine Region” at this
celebration; exhibitions included artefacts,
replicas and photographs from collections
of the Georgian National Museum. The ar-
chaeological discoveries of the Neolithic
period marking the initial stages of wine-
making in Kvemo Kartli were thus the star-
ting point of the exhibition.
The contemporary scientific community
is becoming increasingly convinced that
Georgia is the “cradle of wine”. This has been
confirmed both by archaeological materials
related to the culture of grapes and wine
and by archeobotanical data. Scientists glo-
bally recognize that the oldest indications of
winemaking have been discovered on the
territory of Georgia from where it was diffu-
Exhibition “Georgia – Cradle of
sed throughout the world, making an enor-
Wine”, Bordeaux, France, City of
mous impact on agriculture, human culture, Wine (above); wine vessel with relief
biology, medicine and the development of image of grapes. Khrami Didi Gora,
civilizations. 6th century BC (below).
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 9
 10

In Search of Lucy
Interview > Natia Khuluzauri
Donald Carl Johanson is the famous American paleoanthropologist known for his expedition to Hadar, Ethiopia
in1974 with archeologist Tom Gray. He discovered the remains of a human ancestor dated at 3.2 million years ago,
and classified as Australopithecus afarensis. The remains later became known as “Lucy”. In 1981 Johanson wrote a
popular scientific book by the same title, thus defining the future profession of many young readers.
Professor Johanson visited Georgia to participate in the international Senckenberg conference “100+25 Years of
Homo erectus: Dmanisi and Beyond” in September 2016, where he gave a public lecture. We were honored to
interview Professor Johanson at that time.

Prof. Johanson, what can you tell
us about your bestseller, “Lucy”, that
has impacted the choice of profession
of so many youngsters interested in
sciences since the 1980s? What inspi-
red you to become a paleoanthropo-
logist?
Of course I'm very happy and pleased
to be so rewarded that my book, Lucy,
published many years ago in 1981, has
been an inspiration to the younger ge-
nerations who are following in my foots-
teps, and have this fascination about
paleoanthropology, the study of human
origins. I was very fortunate as a young
boy growing up in America when a pro-
fessor who lived close to my house sho-
wed me a book written by Thomas Henry
Huxley, published in the late 1800s. Hu-
xley was a close friend of Darwin’s and
they talked a great deal. They talked very
often about the idea of evolution and if
humans also evolved. At that time they
saw the close similarity between African
apes and humans and decided the ear-
liest human, the most ancient human
would be found in Africa. And to me – I
was 13 years old – this idea just explo-
ded in my head! I decided I wanted to be
part of that search and to look for those
ancestors that would tell us something
about our origins. The idea that we sha-
red a common ancestor with the African
apes was fascinating to me.
In the beginning of your career did
you expect that you would find some-
thing of this importance?
There have been so many anthropo-
logists who have traveled to Africa or
to Asia hoping to make a discovery. It is
very rare to make a major discovery like
Lucy. I never dreamed that I would find
something so important. I wanted to be
a part of this search, and of course I wan-
ted to find something, but for the first
three years in Africa I found nothing. So,
it took a while to get used to that, and
when I found Lucy in 1974 it was an in-
credible moment for me! It was really
the defining moment of my career as
an anthropologist. That single moment
when I found the first bone changed my
life entirely!
Can you remember how you felt
when you realized that you were hol-
ding the bone of a human ancestor?
Well, of course the moment I recogni-
zed the bone as coming from a human
ancestor I had a big smile; I was emo-
tionally very excited, and I didn't realize
then, until I looked up the slope, on the
side of the hill, that there were other pie-
ces of the skeleton! And when I saw tho-
se pieces of a skeleton, I thought: This
is part of a skeleton, it’s part of one in-
dividual! And I did not know who it was
– she is now a species of human, called
Australopithecus afarensis – but I did not
know how important it would be for the
science of paleoanthropology. I didn't

Prof. Donald Johanson, who has discovered, in 1974, together with archaeologist Tom Gray, the remains of a
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
human ancestor classified as Australopithecus afarensis, dated at 3.2 million
11
years ago, in Hadar, Ethiopia.

Prof. Donald Johanson and Prof. David Lordkipanidze with the famous discoveries from
Dmanisi. Prod. Lordkipanidze holds Prof. Johanson's legendary book Lucy. This book
impacted the final decision of Prof. Lordkipanidze when choosing his profession.
know when we gave her the name that
evening, when we called her Lucy after
the Beatle’s song, Lucy in the Sky with
Diamonds, that she would become so
popular with people around the world
– not just to scientists, but to the avera-
ge person who reads the newspaper for
example.
You mentioned that for three years
you found nothing. Why didn’t you
stop? Do you think that along with
luck, that scientific curiosity and pa-
tience are also important? What are
the most important assets that the
scientist should have, and what would
you say to the next generation?
I think that it is terribly important for
all humans to have curiosity about the
world around them. How we got here,
how the world works – particularly the
12 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
natural world. I was fortunate to develop
a passion as a young boy, something I
wanted to do above everything else. I ne-
ver thought about making money; I ne-
ver thought about being a businessman
and successful. I wanted to do something
that really excited me – that made me
feel like it was going to change what we
know about the world. But the passion I
had as a young boy I have carried throu-
ghout my life. And I think for people who
have come after me, to be successful you
have to be curious; you have to have a
passion for something; you have to have
dedication; and most importantly you
have to have knowledge. Education is
extraordinarily important.
Sometimes people say that I just stum-
bled or fell on this – I did not. I studied
many years at the university; I had this
passion, this curiosity and patience. The-
re were so many others who came before
and after, who had the education I had,
the passion and curiosity – but they did
not have, I think, the patience to stay and
work and look, every single day – and
most days never find anything. So, it is
not really luck – it is a combination of
these different elements that brings suc-
cess – and in my case I was wonderfully
rewarded with the discovery of Lucy in
1974.
Why did you decide to write a book
that was not only for scientific cir-
cles?
When I made the discovery, Lucy was
in the newspaper, and people were res-
ponding by asking questions: “How old
was she when she died?”; “How many
years ago did she live?”; “Was she an
adult?”; “Did she have babies?” There is a
tremendous thirst; people want to know
about where they come from, their ori-
gins. The first question we ask as a child
is “Where did I come from?” and I think
that paleoanthropology as a scientific
inquiry is the scientific way of trying to
understand our origins. It was really the
stimulus from the public that made me
realize – sure, I could write scientific arti-
cles that only my colleagues would read,
filled with terminology and tactical des-
criptions and so forth – but the public
has a real interest in this. I felt it was very
important to translate the science so that
everyone can understand it. Just as I’m
not an astrophysicist or a cosmologist;
yet I’m very interested in how the univer-
se came to be. I am not a specialist, and I
am always happy when a scientist writes
a book in a language I can comprehend,
that helps me understand the details of
cosmology, for example.
What was your reaction when you
first heard about the Dmanisi disco-
very?
Well, the first reaction I had was in early
1990s when the first lower jaw or man-
dible was found I knew immediately this
was important; I knew secondly, it was a
big surprise. Who would’ve expected it?
It was so exciting for me because it was
“out of Africa”. My focus had been on Afri-
ca, but we knew humans left Africa. We
thought it was very recent, but when I
learned it was almost 2 million years ago
– 1.8 million years ago – it greatly chan-
ged our ideas about the sequence in ter-
ms of the time when our ancestors left.
They didn’t control fire; they did not have
big brains… they were the first pioneers;
they were exploring a world beyond Afri-
ca. And then as the team here, from this
museum, began to find more complete
specimens, we were all terribly excited.
It is an amazing collection. The preser-
vation of the specimens is absolutely
perfect and work is still going on; they
are still looking at these specimens and
learning much more about them, but it
really is an important discovery helping
us understand when the first “out of Afri-
ca” experience happened.
Where would you situate the disco-
veries and the Dmanisi archeological
site in the context of paleoanthropo-
logy – how important are the Dmanisi
discoveries?
I think the Dmanisi fossils are extraor-
dinarily important because they tell us
about what the earliest humans out of
Africa look like, and the fact that they
left Africa long before we thought they
would leave. This has been a very impor-
tant international conference here in Tbi-
lisi and has brought together scientists
from all over the world to share informa-
tion about the importance of this. All of
us are terribly excited to be here to be
able to see the original specimens and
talk to the discoverers and the scientists
personally.
To be in the desert were I worked in Ethiopia for
2-3 months a year, living in place of the size of
a tent and being part of the natural world,
brought me some of the greatest satisfactions I
have ever felt.
It seems Dmanisi is among the most
important sites?
Oh absolutely, it is, in terms of “out of
Africa «one of the most important sites;
there is an important site in Spain where
they are finding many specimens, but of
this age – this is the single most impor-
tant site in all of Eurasia.
According to your opinion, what is
the future of paleoanthropology?
Well, I am often asked by my students:
- “Is there anymore place to look? You
seem to have found so many places al-
ready!” I say, “You must keep your mind
open and your energy high to go out
and look for new places.” Who would’ve
expected these discoveries in Dmanisi, in
Georgia? – no one! There may be more
important discoveries in this country or
the Caucasus region or elsewhere, but
we cannot find them unless we leave our
offices and our laboratories and get out
into the field and explore. Exploration is
really the answer, and I try to encoura-
ge my students to spend some of their
time and effort participating in these ex-
peditions, and to think about, perhaps,
forming their own exploration in some
place.
Do you miss fieldwork?
Yes, I do, very much. Those were glo-
rious years, wonderful years, when you
are away from what we call “civilization”.
I thought doing fieldwork is much more
civilized, but to be in the desert were I
worked in Ethiopia for 2-3 months a year,
living in place of the size of a tent and
being part of the natural world, brought
me some of the greatest satisfactions I
have ever felt. And the sense of disco-
very – never knowing when you get up if
something important will be found that
day; and working as a team is a wonder-
ful experience!
What is your main activity now?
I am still teaching, mostly online, a
course at www.edx.org, which is a human
origins course that goes out to about ten
thousand people a year. Also, I am still
working at the Arizona State University
Institute of Human Origins and conti-
nuing to write scientific articles. And I’ve
begun to write a book about myself – an
autobiography.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 13
 14
A Wandering Writer
Friend of the Museum > Natia Khuluzauri
Dr. Stephan Wackwitz was born in Stuttgart in 1952. He studied German and history in Munich and Stuttgart, and began working at the
Goethe Institute in 1986. He led the Goethe Institute in Tbilisi between 2012 and 2017 and became actively involved in the scientific and
cultural life of Georgia, implementing many interesting projects in collaboration with the Georgian National Museum.
Dr. Wackwitz, please tell us briefly
about yourself, your profession and ge-
neral interests.
I studied comparative literature and
history in the 70s and was a school te-
acher in Germany for a short time, then
worked two years at King’s College Lon-
don. In 1986 I joined the Goethe Institu-
te and was posted in various cities such
as Frankfurt, Tokyo, Munich, New Delhi,
Tokyo, Krakow, Bratislava and New York
before coming to Tbilisi. Georgia was my
last regular post but I will go to Minsk af-
ter my retirement as temporary director.
In my functions for the Goethe Institute
I had administrative responsibilities, but
personally I am also a published writer
for newspapers and other periodicals in
Germany, on literature and various other
subjects.
Please introduce the Goethe Institute,
and its role in a broad context as well as
the role of GI in Georgia?
The Goethe Institute is the official cultu-
ral center of Germany abroad. We run 160
Institutes in 95 countries and have about
one thousand cooperating partners worl-
dwide. From Tbilisi, for instance, we coo-
perate with language teaching centers in
Baku and Yerevan as well as with the Ger-
man Cultural Society in Tbilisi. The Institute
in Georgia is quite large, with three bran-
ches of activities: language, culture and the
library.
Since 1986 you have worked in many
cities all over the world. What does it
mean for you to meet with various peo-
ple and cultures?
I love it. I always wanted to live abroad.
Maybe it even runs a bit in the family, as
my father was with the Goethe Institute
too and my grandfather was a protestant
pastor living in Poland and in Namibia for
20 years. There are more Wackwitzes living
in the United States than in Germany! We
are a “wandering tribe”.
The last five years of your work was
connected with the Goethe Institute in
Tbilisi. How did it happen that you came
to Georgia – was it your special interest
in this country or the decision of the Ins-
titute?
I loved working in New York, but I missed
the warmer and more personal contacts
with people, which I had been accustomed
to during my long years in Poland and Slo-
vakia. New York is very interesting and so-
metimes you have the feeling you live in a
huge museum of modern culture, but after
a couple of years I felt I wanted to leave. It’s
not exactly a very warm, personal, caring
environment. I felt cold inside after a while.
As the Director and Chief of the Cul-
tural Programs of the Goethe Institute
you were actively involved in the cultu-
ral life of Georgia. Could you talk about
the main programs implemented here?
Who are your strategic partners?
For us, a strategic partner can be prac-
tically anybody in the field of cultural civil
society or in the government, or in creative
businesses who has a progressive, demo-
cratic agenda, good ideas and a determi-
nation to work with us for a certain period
of time on the basis of mutual respect and
reliability. So we worked, and still work,
with the Tbilisi International Film Festival ,
the Gift Festival, the Marjianishvili theatre,
CineDoc, the National Book Center and the
Book Art Center, the Conservatory, Ben-
dukidze University and others, with the
Ministry of Education, Expo Georgia, and
the Center of Contemporary Art. These
are only a few that come to mind – and of
course with the National Museum. We de-
velop project ideas in discussions with our
partners and listen very carefully to their
ideas and advice.
The Goethe Institute and the Geor-
gian National Museum are long-term
partners and we have implemented
a number of projects together (exhi-
bitions, publications, conferences,
workshops, film screenings, etc.). How
can cultural institutions contribute to
the development of a country?
The Georgian National Museum is a
very good example of how a cultural ins-
titution can help develop a country. Our
programs showed that the GNM under
David Lordkipanidze has not only mo-
dernized a former Soviet institution from
the bottom up according to international
standards, but has also put the museum
on the international map. GNM is seen by
its peers as an absolute benchmark insti-
tution in the post-Soviet region. A good
museum is a very important factor in the
transformation of society, because mu-
seums are storehouses of national know-
ledge – witnesses of past experience that
are needed urgently in order for societies
to develop. That is one of many reasons
that David Lordkipanidze received the
Goethe-Medaille in 2016, an official de-
coration from Germany awarded by the
Goethe Institute.
What are the qualities that are highly
important for cultural institutions in the
21st century?
Flexibility, an international outlook, in-
dependence from political influences, and
the courage to be entertaining, interesting
or controversial.
What is your advice to the leaders of
cultural policy in Georgia?
To understand that envy and adversity
from any source is a compliment in disgui-
se.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 15
 16
More than Thirty Years of Friendship
FRIENDS of the Museum > Natia Likokeli
In November, 2017 Professors of the Philipps University of Marburg - Mrs. Heidemarie Koch, Iranologist and Mr. Guntram Koch, Classical and
Christian Archaeologist - donated priceless gifts to the Museum’s Library: unique books of Medieval Art and Byzantine History. The friendship
between the couple and the Georgian National Museum started in the 1990s. We took the opportunity to interview them, to introduce these
renowned German scientists to our readers, as their work to present Georgian culture to the international scientific community has been
significant for more than 30 years.
You have been friends with Georgia
and the Georgian National Museum for
many years. Can you tell us how this star-
ted?
Mr. Koch: I am a Professor of Christian Ar-
chaeology and Byzantine Art History, and
although Georgia did not belong to the
Byzantine Empire there are many influen-
ces here from Byzantium. Therefore, with
my students, I gave a seminar on Georgia
in the 1980s, and we planned our first ex-
cursion here in 1988, although we could
not carry it out. About 30 years ago we
met Prof. Otar Lordkipanidze in Rome at
the German Archaeological Institute there.
We enjoyed each other’s company, talked
and had dinner together; we became close
even though we had just met, and had the
impression that we had known each other
for many years. Since that time we have had
closer connections with Georgia. We made
a wonderful excursion with a large group
of students and colleagues in 2000, and
decided to help the Museum a bit, as much
as we could, as private persons. That year
every student brought at least two or three
books, and we had the first 60 to 80 books
to support the Archaeological Institute. La-
ter we saw a need for books on icons and
wall paintings, to have comparable material
from Byzantium. Therefore we searched for
books in Greece and Germany that would
be useful for our colleagues here in Georgia
for conducting good scientific work.
You have presented wonderful collec-
tions of books to the Museum Library.
And this is not all. Few years ago you
have donated amazing publications to
the newly opened mediatheque at the
Museum of Mestia. This was especially
important for us as the Svaneti Museum
aims to become a cultural-educational
centre. The mediatheque with speciali-
sed books encourages scientific research
and the education of future generations.
Mr. Koch: Yes, I agree, today you can have
books everywhere – on the internet, and
so on, but you have to have real books to
look at them, to read them and to compare
with other materials. First of all, they contain
materials that you don’t always find on the
internet. If there is a book with 100 photo-
graphs, perhaps you can find two online. If a
book was published in only 300 copies, and
if it was not digitized, you must have such
books to study and compare. It is impossi-
ble to compare photos on the internet. You
need a large table where you can have ten
books with the photos, so you can compare
the church in Manglisi with that of Martvi-
li, with that in Constantionopolis and with
that in Greece. This is impossible with the
internet, where you have one photo and
nothing else, and often no details.
Could you talk about Georgian medi-
val art and where you would place it in
the big picture?
Mr. Koch: For me it is so interesting be-
cause one of my hobbies and interests has
always been the connections between
Byzantium and other regions. I began my
studies with art history and was interested
in the influence of Byzantium on Germany,
and later about the influence of Byzantium
on Georgia. Here we can say that the archi-
tecture, the types, are Byzantine, but all the
decoration, the kinds of stone, the kind of
domes, the shape of the domes and so on,
are typically Georgian. However, the style
of the plans and so on are Byzantine, and
therefore it would be highly interesting to
study each province. For example, we have
excellent work in enamel imported from
Byzantium here, but obviously in Georgia
there were very well-trained artists who
were not copying, but producing Byzantine
enamel with their own colors, their own re-
presentations, and so on. It is very interes-
ting and difficult to know, and I think many
scholars have different opinions. I have my
opinion, too. I have created a one-year
seminar specifically about enamel from
Byzantium, from Georgia, from Crimea and
so on, to learn and distinguish their origins.
And what is your opinion about it?
Mr. Koch: We have everything here; we
have imports and we obviously have artists
who came from Byzantium for the ena-
mel; and we have works of Georgians who
learned this excellent technique from the
Byzantine masters. It‘s the same with the
wall-paintings. We have Greek inscriptions
by painters from Byzantium.
How much influence do you see from
Byzantine art on locally produced ob-
jects?
Mr. Koch: The influence is important, in
the same way as the representations of the
Life of Christ, for example, or Mary, but there
are many details. Georgian churches have
often been painted by Georgian artists who
knew the Byzantine iconography, but who
made Georgian artwork. For example, in
the Treasury of the Art Museum there are
three small plates that are typically Geor-
gian works of art, not copies, but made in
the tradition of Byzantine art. One knows at
first sight that they are local.
Mrs. Koch, I know that first you studied
mathematics. Can you tell us, how you
became interested in Iran?
Mrs.Koch: I studied classical archeology
and ancient languages. Some of them, such
as Ancient Greek and Latin, I started even
from secondary school, and when I started
the university I decided to learn some new
languages. My favorite teacher and famous
orientalist, the Iranist Prof. Walther Hintz,
was teaching in the University at the time.
He taught us ancient languages and scripts,
and it was then that a larger horizon ope-
ned for me. I decided to learn rare ancient
languages, such as Elamite, Middle Persian
and then Sasanian. The Sasanian influence
and connections are obvious here in Geor-
gia too.
I fell in love with Iranian culture before I
visited Georgia, but when we came here we
saw how much the two cultures are inter-
connected. Then I became interested in stu-
dying Georgian art to see what there is that
is truly Persian and what is purely Georgian.
Those two cultures – Byzantine and Sa-
sanian had a huge influence on Georgian
culture. How interesting is it to observe
the development of this so-called cultu-
ral “crossroads”? How do you see Geor-
gia – a country located on the crossroads
of the Eastern and Western worlds?
Mr. Koch: It’s a very difficult question, as it re-
quires generalization. In Georgia we can easily
define from where and whose influences were
taken in. For example, as I already mentioned,
the main planning of the churches can be
influenced by Byzantine culture but you can
see that it is Georgia. It is interesting that in the
later period you can see the Persian influence,
and even more interesting that in the period
of the Seljuks i.e. in the Early Islamic period. So
the buildings have some Islamic elements Is-
lamic and at the same time Georgian. But it is
difficult to say what exactly is Georgian, what
is Byzantine and what is Islamic.
Mr. and Mrs. Koch, you are the long-time
friends of our museum and witnessed the
unification of what is now the Georgian
National Museum. What would you say
about the development of the institution
and how it has changed over the years?
We can’t cover all the aspects at once, but
most important is that despite all difficul-
ties, the renovation of the Archaeological
and Medieval Treasury exhibitions, perma-
nent show of the Georgian Archeology and
especially the Museum of Mestia were very
successfully completed. We only wish that
you had more financial resources to conti-
nue the process as we have seen what tre-
asures are kept in the Museum’s collections.
We are looking forward to the reopening of
the renovated Museum in Vani.
And finally, why it is important in your
opinion for children and youth to go to
museums; what is the role of the mu-
seum today?
This a tough question. The main aim of a
Museum is to keep the objects of our ances-
tors for future generations. The Ancient Egyp-
tians already had an expression, that “If you
know the past, you know the future too”.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 17
18

Boris Kuftin
Scholar of Georgian Archaeology
History > Otar Japaridze
Academician Boris Kuftin made unique and invaluable contributions to the study of the ancient past of Georgia, the Caucasus and the
Near East. After he moved to Georgia permanently in the 1930s, his enormous potential as an unrivalled scientific scholar of the ancient
world became evident. He had already been known widely as an ethnographer, then when he began focusing on the archaeology of
Georgia and the wider Caucasus his scientific interests changed radically. Many of his fundamental works created a new foundation for
studies of this region and improved the bases of research on Georgia’s ancient cultures.

B
oris Kuftin was born in the town gave him the responsibility for devising decision. The archaeological study of
of Samara in 1892 and graduated the exhibition plan. Trialeti exposed the historical roots
from a secondary school in the After Kuftin moved to Georgia he fo- of Georgia and the whole Caucasus
town of Orenburg in 1909. He continued cused fully on Georgian archaeology as much older than had been known.
his studies at the Faculty of Physics and and in 1934 he participated in the ar- In 1941, five years after the excava-
Mathematics at Moscow University, and chaeological expedition to Abkhazia, tions had begun, Kuftin published his
because of his participation in the stu- studying Bronze Age sites. He concen- brilliant study, “Archaeological Excava-
dents’ revolutionary movement in 1910- trated for many years on the Trialeti re- tions in Trialeti”, dedicated to the cheri-
1912 he was expelled. He emigrated to gion. As a result of a government pro- shed memory of Ivane Javakhishvili. He
Europe, and lived in France, Switzerland ject to build the Khrami Hydroelectric was awarded Stalin’s Prize for the book,
and Italy. After his return he continued Power Plant, a significant part of Tsalka the first Soviet archaeologist to receive
to study at Moscow University and gra- Plateau was to be flooded. This is why, this honour. In 1946, he was elected a
duated in 1914. He was invited by his in 1936, the project for an archaeolo- full member of the Academy of Scien-
university “to prepare for professorship” gical examination of the plateau was ces of Georgia.
under Prof. G. Anuchin in the fields of prioritized and Javakhishvili entrus- In Trialeti, Kuftin studied the sites
archaeology, anthropology and geo- ted Kuftin with the supervision of the of different periods, and based on the
graphy. During this period the Georgian expedition. This proved to be a wise analyses of the materials he attemp-
scholar Giorgi Nioradze was also on
the faculty and their acquaintance de-
termined his future, leading to Kuftin’s
decision to move to Georgia. In 1928,
he was elected to the position of Profes-
sor of Ethnography, yet the repressions
against Moscow-based professors in
1929-1930 did not pass him by and he
left Moscow. These were the hardest
years in Kuftin’s life, and Prof. Nioradze
supported him. In 1933 Kuftin became
a Scientific Consultant to the Georgian
State Museum at a time when prepara-
tory works for an archaeological exhibi-
tion were underway, supervised by the
founder of the Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili. Kuftin became acti-
vely involved in these activities and was
Excavations of a Trialeti burial mound, 1938
highly esteemed by Javakhishvili, who
Famous archaeologist Boris Kuftin (1892-1953)
Photo from Irakli Vartagava’s personal archives kept in the National Parliamentary GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 19
Library of Georgia photo archives

Excavations of a Trialeti burial mound, 1937
ted to establish the periodic timeline
from the Stone Age until the beginning
of the Middle Ages. The chronological
system he developed proved so rele-
vant that it is still used today. Based
on the discoveries in the Trialeti, the
previously unknown Kura-Araxes and
Trialeti cultures were identified that
predate the Late Bronze Age.
Thus, a new stage in research on the
ancient history of Georgia and the wi-
der Caucasus began at that time; until
then the prevailing belief was that the
Caucasus had been populated relati-
vely late, towards the end of the Bron-
ze Age. Kuftin attributed the Trialeti
mound burials with their rich contents
to the Middle Bronze Age and deter-
mined their date as the first half of the
2nd millennium BC. He discovered that
a more ancient culture had been there
even before this period, dating to the
3rd millennium BC. Based on the area
covered by this culture in the South
Caucasus, he called it the “Kura-Araxes
20 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
Fragments of ornamented ceramic dishware, Trialeti, 1937
culture”. Tribes of this culture spread
out widely within the Caucasus and to
the south beyond. No other Caucasian
culture before or afterwards was as ex-
tensive as the Kura-Araxes culture. To
the south it reached the Mediterrane-
an Sea, Syria and Israel. Apparently the
Kura-Araxes culture played an impor-
tant role in the ancient history of the
Caucasus and had a certain influence
on the past of Western Asia. It appears
to be one of the widest spread cultures
of that period in the Near East. This is
why the issue of the original location
and the ethnic identity of the tribes
of this culture created a keen interest.
This culture is likely to have originated
in the eastern part of the South Cau-
casus, between the Kura and Araxes
Rivers. Through his exceptional dedi-
cation, Kuftin was thus the first to dis-
cover and study this vast and unique
culture.
Boris Kuftin studied archaeological
collections of extensive materials from
all over the Caucasus at the Museum of
Georgia and as a result he published
an exceptionally notable work “On the
Problem of Ancient Roots of the Ge-
orgian Culture Based on Archaeologi-
cal Data” dedicated specifically to the
study of the Bronze Age culture of the
Caucasus. Based on the archaeologi-
cal data he shows where to search for
the oldest roots of Georgian culture.
Prevalent types of metal items were
identified for each stage of Bronze Age
culture. Working in comparison with
Western Asia materials, the stages of
development of the Bronze Age cultu-
re in Georgia and the wider Caucasus
were identified. He concluded that
“the beautiful homeland of the Geor-
gian nation should at the same time be
considered the ancient homeland of its
culture”. In his opinion, the origins of
the Georgian people’s ancient history Boris Kuftin with his wife, Valentina Stashenko
had to be looked for locally.
Kuftin’s great contribution to the ar-
chaeological study of Western Georgia remains of a multi-layered Bronze Age work. In 1953, while on holiday in the
included a remarkable two-volume settlement, Namazga Tepe for three Baltics, Boris Kuftin died in a tragic ac-
study on the antiquities of Colchis, years and during that short period he cident. His last request was to be bu-
“Materials for the Archaeology of Col- dedicated several notable works to the ried in his second homeland, Georgia.
chis”. He studied dolmens in Abkhazia settlement, and dated the Namazga His wife did not wish to live after losing
and attempted to date them correc- Tepe culture. This dating continues to the man she loved, and she also left
tly, and was the first to research the be pertinent. instructions to be buried in Georgia.
remains of settlements on the Colchis Academician Kuftin’s wife, Valenti- The tragic end of this family was truly a
Plain, making significant advances in na Steshenko-Kuftina, was a Professor shock to many; they had contributed to
our understanding of Colchic culture. at the Tbilisi Conservatory of Music, Georgia with an unequalled scientific
In the late 1940s, Kuftin was invited composer and famous pianist. Howe- and musical legacy. Their graves are in
to participate in an archaeological ex- ver, she also participated in almost all Tbilisi’s Vake Cemetery, and a street in
pedition in the south of Turkmenistan of his expeditions and remained invol- Old Tbilisi is named after Academician
in Central Asia. There he studied the ved in active and productive scientific Boris Kuftin.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 21
22

Exhibition

GEORGIA
the

CRADLE
of

VITICULTURE

GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 23

T
he newly created Foundation for
Wine Culture and Civilisations in
Bordeaux, France offers an op-
portunity to present a cultural exhibi-
tion to a “Guest Wine Region”. The first
Guest Wine Region exhibition at Cité du
Vin was “Georgia, the Cradle of Viticultu-
re”, which took place from 31 July to 5
November 2017.
Wine, a ubiquitous part of Georgia’s
history, has accompanied the develop-
ment of culture in this region from the
Neolithic era to present day Georgia.
This history has long been linked to the
rich variety of the region’s soils and cli-
mates: more than 500 of the grape va-
rieties grown in Georgia are indigenous.
The country’s contribution to the de-
velopment of the global wine industry,
in particular to the unique qvevri wine-
making method in large buried jars, has
been recognized by UNESCO.
In Bordeaux, a world center of wine-making,
Neolithic pottery fragments discovered in
southeastern Georgia were exhibited for
the first time, studied during interdisci-
Clockwise: Levan Davitashvili, the Minister
of Agriculture; Ekaterine Siradze-Delaunay,
Ambassador of Georgia to France; Giorgi
Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia;
Sylvie Cazes, President of the Foundation for
Culture and Wine Civilizations; Alain Juppé,
Mayor of Bordeaux and Former Prime Minis-
ter of France at the official exhibition opening
of the “Georgia, the Cradle of Viticulture”.
24 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
plinary research in the Caucasus, repre-
senting the oldest biomolecular archae-
ological findings for grape-based wine.
The archaeological and ethnographic
objects, and works of art from the Geor-
gian National Museum collections, as well
as contemporary installations and video
screenings were presented at the exhibi-
tion to testify that viticulture has always
been an inseparable part of the region’s
culture from the 6th millennium BC to mo-
dern day.
The exhibition was organized by the
Georgian National Museum in collabo-
ration with the Foundation for Wine Cul-
ture and Civilizations and funded by the
Georgian Government.
Exhibitions and programs were co-orga-
nized by the Georgian Ministry of Agricul-
ture and the Embassy of Georgia in France.
The project was supported by the National
Wine Agency, the Georgian Wine Associa-
tion, and the National Intellectual Property
Center of Georgia.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 25
26 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 27
 28
Avant-Garde Art
1900-1937
Exhibition > Nana Shervashidze
In 1920, at the initiative of Dimitri Shevardnadze (1885-1937), the Founding Board of the Georgian
Artists’ Society established the Georgian National Gallery in Tbilisi. Later, this gallery became the
Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts.
D
imitri Shevardnadze was a pu-
blic figure and erudite who
dedicated his entire life to ex-
panding and enriching the museum’s
collections. He dreamed of creating
a museum in Georgia on par with the
Hermitage and the Louvre. Indeed, he
defined the concept of the gallery as a
broad-spectrum museum that would
include old and new Western and Eas-
tern art. During its first years as the
gallery and later as a museum, the ins-
titution purchased Persian, Chinese,
European and Russian masterpieces,
unique Georgian medieval artifacts as
well as works by Pirosmani and other
Georgian artists of the time.
In addition to promoting older ar-
tworks, Shevardnadze and the Board of
the Artists’ Society believed that new
art should be a part of the gallery’s
collections. Purchasing works repre-
senting various schools of contempo-
rary art was an early focus in the late
1910s. In his youth Shevardnadze was
fascinated by German and French art,
understood the most radical schools of
contemporary art, and was interested
in works created by local artists and
those who visited Tbilisi whose art was
characterized by new artistic forms and
methods of visual expression. Such
28 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM Vladimir (Voldemar) Boberman (1897-1977)
Landscape, oil on canvas, 1910s, Georgian National Museum
works were purchased for the National
Gallery mostly from the autumn and
spring exhibitions held in 1919 with
support from the government of the
Republic of Georgia.
The 1919 report of the Georgian Ar-
tists’ Society reads: “The Society orga-
nized three exhibitions: The first, sho-
wing old church mural painting was
held at the beginning of 1917, and two
more were organized in 1919 – one
exhibition of contemporary Georgian
artists, in May; and the other showing
the work of artists of various nationa-
lities who live in Georgia, in December.
The Society opened its exhibition on
4 May with the first collective exhibi-
tion of contemporary Georgian artists.
Artists of various schools presented
their paintings. Sculptures were also Dimitri Shevardnadze (1885-1937). Artist
Founder of the National Gallery in 1920
exhibited. Thanks to this exhibition,
more about the artistic potential of our
country has been discovered. The third
exhibition, opened on 12 December,
1919, was held in the Temple of Glory
to exhibit paintings and sculptures by
artists of various nationalities living in
Georgia.” 1
In its 1928 report submitted to the
government, the Board of the Artists’
Society underscored the need to esta-
blish a contemporary art gallery. “…A
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 29

Wassily Kandinsky (1861-1944). "Black Line",
Oil on canvas, 1920, Georgian National
Museum (above); David Kakabadze (1889-
1952), Abstraction, Oil on cardboard,
1926, Georgian National Museum (below);
Mikheil Bilanishvili (1901-1934), Portrait of
Giorgi Ghambarashvili. Oil on canvas, 1926,
Georgian National Museum (next page).
30 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
gallery is both a print outlet and a stage
for an artist, a place where all new and
valuable given by contemporary pain-
ting to Georgian art should be gathe-
red. We do not have such a gallery… It
(gallery – N. S.) will be a very important
cultural institution where the Georgian
public will soon be able to see that Ge-
orgian painting is not quite as poor as
many may think, and that it has a gre-
at – and quite secure – future. In addi-
tion, exemplary art objects from con-
temporary Russia and other countries
will be collected in this gallery so that
the Georgian masses can learn what is
happening in this field outside Georgia
as well.” 2 From the exhibition of David
Kakabadze who had returned from Pa-
ris in 1928, abstract compositions were
purchased for the gallery collection. By
the end of the 1920s, the museum col-
lection had a substantial number of the
newest works of art.
Over decades, the museum changed
its name and location. In the 1930s, the
Museum of Visual Arts “Metekhi” was lo-
cated on a cliff, in the building of an old
prison next to Metekhi Church, looking
at Tbilisi from above. It was precisely in
the 1930s, years full of unrest and fear,
that the museum purchased the who-
le collection of Voldemar Boberman's
paintings and graphic artworks, thus
becoming a rare owner of the painter's
avant-garde creations. During the same
period, remarkable editions of books on
futurism were added to the museum
collections. In 1937, the founder of Ge-
orgian museology and highly eminent
public figure, Dimitri Shevardnadze,
paid with his life for his activities against
the demolition of Metekhi Church.
In 1939, after the museum of con-
temporary Western European art was
closed in Moscow, some of the master-
pieces of avant-garde art from its col-
lections were destroyed as being “for-
malist” and unacceptable for Socialist
society. Others were transferred into
the permanent ownership of museums
in the provincial towns of Russia and
in the Union Republics. In Tbilisi, the
Metekhi Museum collections received
two avant-garde masterpieces by one
of the founders of abstract art, Wassily
Kandinsky: "Picture with a Circle (Bild
mit Kreis)" and "Black Line". The mu-
seum also received the abstract com-
position "Strange Bird" by the Italian
painter, Osvaldo Licini.
In 1954, a Russian Art Department
was opened at the museum, headed by
art historian and archaeologist, Dmitry
Gordeev (1889-1968). He had actively
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 31
Opening of "Avant-Garde 1900-1937" Exhibition
participated in the "Tbilisi avant-gar-
de" movement in the 1910s and was a
member of the futurist-zaumnik group
"41°". Naturally, avant-garde art was hi-
ghly regarded by Gordeev. He enriched
the museum collections by acquiring
graphic art works by Mikhail Larionov,
N. Goncharova, K. Malevich, O. Rozano-
va and A. Volkov. As a result of an in-
ventory of the graphic arts collection
of the museum's Russian Art Depart-
ment in 2013, a folder was found in
Dmitry Gordeev's archives containing
cubo-futuristic watercolors and an ad-
vertising poster for "ARS" Magazine.
In 1978, collections of the newly cre-
ated Department of the Art of Soviet
Republics were gradually filled with
Russian avant-garde paintings and gra-
phic artworks. Department Head, Lia
Dolaberidze (1928-2005), made a great
contribution to this collection by ac-
quiring objects from almost the entire
Soviet Union. Direct connections with
32
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
artists and their heirs made it possible
for her to purchase entire collections
rather than single items.
Paintings and drawings by Robert
Falk and Aleksander Shevchenko in the
Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine
Arts allow visitors to follow the deve-
lopment of these remarkable artists'
works. The collection of Robert Falk's
works, purchased in Moscow from his
widow A. Schekina-Krotova, is espe-
cially diverse. The jewel of the collec-
tion is the painting "Paper Flowers"
(1918), which clearly shows a fusion of
Cezanne's artistic style and elements of
Russian primitivism and cubo-futurism,
making this still life particularly stri-
king. The synthesis of elements from
radically different artistic schools fused
into a whole was a typical trait of the
Russian avant-garde.
Avant-garde is always contempo-
rary – a revolutionary aspiration to-
wards renewal and radical change
Landscape. Oil on canvas, 1910s, Georgian National Museum
in life are forever a focus for human
kind. This is why avant-garde in art is
always topical, always attractive. The
"Avant-Garde" exhibition at the Shal-
va Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts
on International Museum Day on 18
May, 2017 was a first attempt to pre-
sent the public with a comprehensi-
ve view of avant-garde art from the
museum’s collections. It was also a
means to express respect and admi-
ration for those whose enthusiasm,
tireless efforts and sacrifices resulted
in the creation of the Shalva Amira-
nashvili Museum of Fine Arts avant-
-garde collection.
1 Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts.
Memoir manuscripts collection of information
collections. Collection 1 (Georgian Artists' Society).
Entry 1. Case 8. Page 1.
2 Abesadze I., Bagratishvili K., "Dimitri Shevardna-
dze", Tbilisi, 1998, p.108.
Vladimir (Voldemar) Boberman (1897-1977) 33
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
 34
Prehistoric Technologies
Laboratory
Education > David Zhvania
T
he Prehistoric Technologies
Laboratory was created at the
Georgian National Museum five
years ago. Strange as it may seem, and
despite the rich tradition of Paleolithic
research and extremely important col-
lections of stone industry in Georgia,
there was no laboratory to replicate
technological processes, make artifacts
required for technological research or
conduct functional analyses. A com-
prehensive study of Paleolithic indus-
tries, however, is usually impossible on
the basis of typological analysis alone
without technological and functional
analyses. Establishing the laboratory
became particularly topical after the
Dmanisi discoveries, as the need to carry
out technological studies became cle-
ar. At present research on the Dmanisi
industry is under way in the laboratory
through support from the Rustaveli Na-
tional Science Foundation. This Founda-
tion has also helped the Museum equip
the laboratory through a program enti-
tled “The Organization of Dmanisi Indus-
try Collections and Their Technological-
Experimental Study”.
The laboratory’s experimental base
is located at the Giorgi Chitaia Open
Air Museum of Ethnography within
the education center. This was done
to permit the National Museum to
keep science and public education
E X H I B I T I O N
STONE AGE GEORGIA
closely interconnected, and to provi-
de a wide dissemination of informa-
tion on the latest scientific discoveries
in Georgia. In addition to conducting
scientific research, the laboratory
is involved in the Museum’s educa-
tion program. Interactive lessons are
offered to students from schools and
universities. Within the framework of
various events, the demonstration of
technologies and workshops are also
held at the laboratory.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
In the future, closer study of the tech- ADDRESS: N3 SHOTA RUSTAVELI AV.
nologies of historic times is planned in
the laboratory to enrich education pro-
grams and to strengthen scientific rese-
arch.
36

Natural
History
Collections
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 37
Geological
Collection
Collections > Rusudan Chagelishvili
The geological-paleontological collection of Simon Janashia
National Museum of Georgia is a successor to the Natural
Science Room of the Caucasus Museum and the oldest in the
Caucasus. It has existed since 1852, or over 150 years. The first
Head of the Natural Science Room was German geologist Her-
mann von Abich, the founding father of geological research
in the Caucasus. Initially the geological collection consisted of
only 44 items including rocks, minerals and fossilized fauna.
The Georgian National Museum’s geological-paleontologi-
cal reserves bring together exceptionally rich collections of the
natural history of the Caucasus. They contain extensive mine-
ralogical, lithological and paleontological (invertebrates) ma-
terial from all over the Caucasus, Crimea, Central Asia, Western
Europe and elsewhere. These objects include building and de-
corative rocks, mineral ores, fossilized flora, as well as ichthyo-
logical and fossilized vertebrates of the Caucasus region. Many
distinguished scientists who worked on these collections over
time found new taxa that were described according to typical
specimens. Noteworthy is the manuscript of the geological
catalogue compiled by academician H. Abich in February 1861
concerning the Tertiary Period fauna of Akhaltsikhe.
Exhibition hall of the Caucasus Museum’s Geological
Exhibition, 1860s. Dimitri Ermakov collection.
38 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
Paleontological
Vertebrate Collection
Collections > Maia Bukhsianidze
The Fossil vertebrate collection of the S. Janashia Mu-
seum of Georgia, GNM represents the most complete chro-
nicle of the natural history of the Southern Caucasus. Since
2005 several projects aimed to create a unified vertebrate
paleontology room.
The Fossil vertebrate collections of the Museum of Ge-
orgia and of the Tbilisi Institute of Paleobiology were inte-
grated and modernized. A digital database, which is still
growing, so far counts over 25,000 fossils and includes re-
mains of fossil fish, marine mammals, and terrestrial verte-
brates. The earliest specimens in the collection date back
to the 1850s. The collection is growing, and every year
hundreds of specimens and new findings from research
expeditions are added.
The English language catalogue of the holotypes of fos-
sil land mammals in the GNM is available on the Museum’s
web-site. The infrastructure created as a result of these ac-
tivities will facilitate paleontological research in Georgia
and will generate a greater interest to this field in Georgia.
Dmanisi Lithic Industry Collection
at the National Museum
Collections > Tea Shelia
The Georgian National Museum is home to objects illustrating the
country’s exceptional cultural history. Today Georgia’s extraordinary
natural history is also on display. For example, seventy collections of
excavated Stone Age archaeological sites include the anthropologi-
cal, paleontological and lithic collections from the Stone Age site in
Dmanisi. Expert museum staff organizes and manages these collec-
tions, prepares exhibitions and conducts scientific research.
The paleoanthropological and archaeological site of Dmanisi has
been a central focus of attention by international specialists for the
last 25 years. This 1.8 million-year-old site remains a pivotal location
for the study of human evolution. The Dmanisi human is the most
primitive early Homo in Eurasia, and with the smallest brain. Lithic
work illustrates one of the most primitive archaeological cultures,
that of the Olduvai culture. The lithic artifacts from Dmanisi share si-
milarities with artifacts found in oldest archaeological sites in Africa
and Eurasia with Oldowan - simple core-flake technologies.
Collections are the most important part of the museum's in-
frastructure and provide the main basis for scientific work. In-
ternational and Georgian scientific specialists work with these
collections, and after several years of reforms and renovations at
the National Museum, the Dmanisi collections have been reor-
ganized and modernized.
Two years ago, the Dmanisi “lithic industry” collection was not fre-
ely or fully accessible for the staff or foreign scientists working on
the international interdisciplinary study of the Early Paleolithic site At present, the Dmanisi lithic collection includes almost 16,000
of Dmanisi. However, in 2014, the Shota Rustaveli National Science items. It is a growing collection since only a small part of the site
Foundation funded a three-year scientific project to revitalize and has been excavated. However, in the future technological advances
re-organize this important collection through a grant entitled "The will permit more detailed archaeological records as the artifacts are
organization of the Dmanisi Lithic Collection and support for its te- found, even when the archaeological layer no longer exists. This
chnical and experimental study". The systematic organization of means that the process of excavations, the archaeological context
the artifacts and materials in line with international museum stan- as a whole and all details can be meticulously recorded. Thus, a col-
dards, as well as the creation of a comprehensive unified electronic lection is not only a space for keeping objects, but a place that pre-
database, mean that locating artifacts is easier today. Objects are serves the history of site excavations and complete documentation
arranged according to details (e.g. parameter) yet preserve their ini- created during fieldwork.
tial archaeological contexts as well. Each item is boxed individually Organizing and modernizing the Dmanisi Lithic Industry Collec-
and organized on a shelf with a specific museum label. The objects tion has been a precondition for skilled management. Raising the
are classified according to the type of artifact, for example flake to- profile of this unique collection is very topical with regard to the
ols, Core, manuports and stones that appeared on the site naturally. education of the general public as well as educational institutions.
Each lithic artifact is assigned a place based on its location in the Exhibitions will be a key resource for learning at all levels. This mo-
area of excavation, grid unit and archaeological layer. dernization and reorganization will also create new possibilities for
In parallel, artifacts are entered into a new electronic database (xlx) international interdisciplinary scientific research in archaeology and
where the field information (coordinates, location in the layer, etc.) is anthropology and allow us to share our significant archaeological
accompanied by the indication of size and – according to each case heritage and the acquired data with the world's scientists. This will
– weight, typological description, certain technological attributes also generate greater scientific and financial possibilities. Adminis-
and the type of raw material. The final database will be uploaded to trative expertise will contribute to planning new international scien-
the Georgian National Museum website www.museum.ge. tific projects and finding new sources of funding.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 39
 40
Archaeology > David Lordkipanidze
Although international research only began 25 years ago on the Dmanisi archaeological site, copies
of fossils discovered at the site are exhibited in the world's leading museums and included in all
anthropology textbooks today.
This article has been prepared in cooperation with National Geographic Georgia.
I
n 1991, the first international archae-
ological expedition began working in
Dmanisi. The discovery of stone tools
and the bones of prehistoric animals had
revealed that a prehistoric site existed
beneath the remains of a medieval town
that was being excavated at the time.
The approximate age of the site – one
million years – had also been determined
based on the paleontologist Abesalom
Vekua's data. However, the research was
not large-scale or interdisciplinary, and
Dmanisi hominins Zezva and Mzia. Scientific reconstruction by French
in order to address these lacunae we de-
cided to involve German colleagues in
our Dmanisi project. My German mentor,
Professor Gerhard Bosinski, represented
the German team, and during a one-se-
mester internship with him in Germany,
I learned how contemporary research of
prehistoric sites should be conducted.
Mr. Vakhtang Japaridze and Mr. Jumber
Kopaliani led the research team for the
medieval times, and a group of prehis-
toric period researchers was led by Ms.
Mzia
paleo-artist Elisabeth Daynès
Medea Nioradze, Ms. Nino Kopotovskaya,
Mr. Abesalom Vekua, Mr. Davit Tushabra-
mishvili, Mr. Merab Tvalchrelidze and Mr.
Givi Maisuradze led the excavations du-
ring different periods of times.
During the first season, we had plan-
ned only small-scale exploratory exca-
vations, mainly where excavations had
already taken place. We planned to
define more precisely the stratigraphy
(rock layering) and to take samples for
laboratory analysis.
The year of political turmoil, 1991, was
marked by permanent rallies on Rusta-
veli Avenue, a coup in Moscow, the na-
tionalist movement and finally the De-
claration of Independence in Georgia
… Against this background, we carried
out work in the peaceful environment
of Dmanisi as planned. As the end of
September neared, our excavations
were about to end, when suddenly the
President of the Georgian Academy of
Sciences, Albert Tavkhelidze paid us a
visit: "Where are the human remains?"
he asked. "We have not found humans
yet," I muttered.
However, on Saturday, 24 September,
the last day of our excavations, archa-
eology students from Tbilisi State Uni-
versity who had accompanied us on
the expedition – Dato Zhvania, Teona
Shelia, Giorgi Nioradze, Gocha Kiladze
and others – were working on-site. Su-
ddenly we heard a shout! Dato Zhvania
came running towards us. The team
leaders realized that something im-
portant had happened, and we quickly
followed him to the excavation. When
we arrived we saw a grid unit that con-
tained many bones! The work had been
very hard. Three Georgians had worked
to exhaustion, then a German student,
Antje Justus, stepped in and found a
jaw-bone. This is when Bosinski and I
arrived at the site, nervous and highly
stressed. We examined the mandible
and realized that indeed it was the
lower jaw of a female hominin (later
given an old Georgian name Mzia).
Suddenly, I knew we had fulfilled the
task given by the Academy President.
I could feel something truly important
was happening, but I did not yet imagi-
ne the magnitude of the discovery.
We decided to present this lower jaw
bone at the Senckenberg International
Conference in Frankfurt in 1991. It was
the 100th anniversary of the discovery of
Homo erectus and the conference was
dedicated to recognizing that date. Befo-
re the Conference, we also received won-
derful news – the analyses of our samples
sent to Germany confirmed that the age
of the Dmanisi site was 1.8 million years!
Lower jaw discovered in Dmanisi in 1991, known to the scientific world as D211
Imagine, at the Conference I was
suddenly meeting and talking to pe-
ople who, until that time, I had kno-
wn only from books – experts whose
authority had influenced my choice
of profession. The main conclusion of
the report presented at the conferen-
ce by Academician Leo Gabunia was
that the lower jaw from Dmanisi was
related to the African group of Homo
erectus (Homo ergaster). After a detai-
led study of the jaw, this opinion still
remains valid for the most part, as well
as that regarding the age of the Dma-
nisi site, an opinion which many spe-
cialists at the time did not share. Our
opponents' main argument was "It is
impossible!"
Indeed it could be argued that bones
such as a jaw and teeth are less signifi-
cant for identification than a skull. There
is even a saying among paleoanthropolo-
gists: "God created the skull but the jaw
is the Devil's doing". However skulls later
discovered in Dmanisi have completely
dispelled the scientists' skepticism.
The hominin lower jaw is relatively well
preserved as it only lacks the rami (per-
pendicular bones that join the mandible
to the skull) and the base is damaged,
though all 16 teeth are present and show
only mild wear. It has clearly archaic fe-
atures: the lower jaw is very narrow and
massive, the beginning of the rami is
placed forwardly. The morphology of the
teeth appear very archaic, similar to con-
temporary African forms. The Dmanisi
hominin is also characterized by seemin-
gly progressive signs such as the reduc-
tion of the size of its molars from M1 to
M3 (towards the wisdom teeth).
Twenty-six years have passed since
that discovery. The acquired data have
been strongly reinforced by those from
the best laboratories of the world. To-
day, scientists agree that the hominin
remains discovered in Dmanisi have
significantly changed the theories that
existed before. Research conducted by
Georgian scientists has confirmed that
the remains discovered here are the
earliest and the most primitive in Eura-
sia. This and other discoveries were wi-
dely recognized when the world's most
reputable scientific magazine Science
attributed it the third place among the
10 most important events of the year
2000, while a fifth skull, discovered in
2013, was named the “fossil of the year”.
Last year, in 2016, the Senckenberg In-
ternational Conference of Frankfurt was
actually held in Georgia, simultaneously
celebrating the 100th anniversary of the
discovery of the first Homo erectus and
the 25th anniversary of discovering Mzia.
The luminaries of the field, whom I had
known only from books and met in Frank-
furt for the first time 26 years ago, visited
Tbilisi and Dmanisi. Today international
scientific research continues in Dmanisi
and significant new discoveries are still
being made.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 41
 42
by the natural disasters and over time
earth and grass covered the site. Fi-
nally, 200 years later a new dwelling
was built on the remains of the Dedo-
plis Gora palace but the ruins of the
temples remained untouched until
the 20th century. About 80 hectares of
land around the temple complex were
considered taboo – a forbidden place
where it was prohibited to even make
hay, sow or plough, much less esta-
blish dwellings.
In 1873 a Ruisi nobleman, Aleksandre
Paniashvili, built an aedicule to St. Ge-
orge of Sarke on a small hill in the mi-
ddle of the forbidden territory – a stele
with a relief of St. George slaying a dra-
gon. I discovered this hill in 1971, over
100 meters in diameter, which was un-
touched. There were offerings of coins,
and a carved fragment of yellowish li-
mestone around St. George’s stele. The
limestone fragment, with its shape and
ornament, in the form of a section view
of a lotus flower, resembled the bell-
-shaped base of the Achaemenid (First
Persion Empire) period, and the disco-
very suddenly became an archaeologi-
cal sensation.
In 1972 stationary excavations be-
doplis Mindori, near the junction of
the left bank of the Ptsiula River. On
the southern slope of the hill, over
which the river flows, a layer of cultu-
ral significance has been exposed at
a depth of 14 meters. The settlement
remains in the lower layers of Dedo-
plis Gora date back to the Chalcolithic,
Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages,
the Early Iron Age, and the Achaeme-
nid and Early Hellenistic periods. The
subsequent higher layer includes the
ruins of an ancient palace and, in turn,
these ruins are covered by four hori-
zons of Late Roman – Early Medieval
cultural layers, the last of which dates
to the 6th-7th centuries. No habitations
were found on this hill after the 7th
century AD.
There are two more hills with settle-
ment remains to the east and north of
Dedoplis Gora. They are not as high as
the latter, but have much larger, flat
hilltops. The eastern hill has revealed
only Late Bronze and Early Iron cultural
layers, and the northern hill we excava-
ted houses of Early Iron and Late Bron-
ze periods in 1979-1981, as well as pits
filled with materials of the early Bronze
period (Kura-Araxes and Bedeni cultu-

A Roman Pantheon
gan at Dedoplis Mindori. Curiously
enough, a Mazdean altar was found
directly under the stele at a depth of
2-2.5 m. As a result of five fieldwork
res). North and east from the hill on
the other terrace of the Mtkvari River
(on Dedoplis Mindori), 13 burial sites
of the first part of the 3rd millennium BC

on a Zoroastrian Altar
expeditions, the archaeological re-
search expedition of Simon Janashia
State Museum of Georgia uncovered
a monumental temple complex. They
discovered a main and minor temples,
Archaeology > Iulon Gagoshidze six identical temples, eastern and wes-
tern gates and other structures. This
In Shida Kartli, Georgia’s geographic center between the left tributaries of the Mtkvari River– East Prone and temple complex, built as a single pro-
West Prone, there is a wide valley called Dedoplis Mindori, or “Queen’s Hill”. In the Middle Ages this territory ject during the same period, covers
was part of the royal estate of the Queen. territory of almost five hectares. In
1976, we stopped excavations in the
hope that one day it would be possi-
were found, as well as 41 burial moun-
ds dating to the turn of the 2nd and 1st
millennia BC, and one mound with a
chariot from the Late Bronze period
(14th-13th centuries BC). There is a lar-
ge burial site spread across this part of
Dedoplis Mindori, called the “Doghlauri
Burial Mound”. In 2012, 2013 and 2015,
we excavated 410 graves of the Early
and Late Bronze Age at this burial site.
The Bronze Age settlement spread to
the west from the hills, on a terrace, up

A
rchaeological excavations have
established that during Anti-
quity this territory was owned
by the kings of Kartli (“Iberia”), then by
the end of the 2nd century BC, at the
Kartli King Parnajom’s orders a family
chapel for Kartli’s Pharnavazid kings
was built in Dedoplis Mindori, while
one of their palaces was built south of
the temples on a high hill on the banks
of the Mtkvari River. The palace would
become a royal residence where the
Kartli kings would go to pray.
Around 80 AD, a powerful earth-
quake destroyed both temples and the
three-story palace on Dedoplis Gora
(“Queen’s Hill”). This was followed by
a great fire. King of Kartli, Mithridates,
son of Pharsmanes, never restored the
temples or the palace. The population
also avoided the buildings destroyed
ble to conserve the ruins of this mas-
terpiece of ancient Georgian architec-
ture. Research continued, however,
on Dedoplis Gora, where we hoped to
find the Royal Palace.
Dedoplis Gora is a lofty hill 34 me-
ters high, at the southern end of De-
to where the East Prone River, with the
West Prone, flows into Mtkvari River.
At the mouth of East Prone River, on
its left bank, on Berikldeebi, there is
a vast field of 50 mounds. We excava-
ted seven of them in 1979-1985. Two
dated to the Early Bronze Age (the

GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 43


Bedeni culture) and four to the Mi-
ddle Bronze Age. One of them, Num-
ber 4, turned out to be from the early
Late Bronze Age (15 th century BC). In
1979-1990, at the junction of Mtkvari
and Prone, excavations supervised by
Acadamician Alexander Javakhishvili
revealed a cultic settlement where the
remains of Chalcolithic, Early Bronze
(Kura-Araxes and Bedeni cultures) and
Late Bronze – Early Iron periods – buil-
dings were discovered along with se-
veral burial mounds from the Chalcoli-
thic and Middle Bronze Ages.
Since I am not aware of any other set-
tlement of such a large scale anywhe-
re else on the territory of Shida Kartli,
I believe that it was likely a central
settlement within a large region, at
least during the Bronze Age. The ruins
of a three-story palace and its tiled
roof, which were turned into a unified,
pumice-like mass by heat, securely
conserved the rooms on the first floor,
and everything that survived the fire
that resulted from the earthquake is
there for us to find. Many things sur-
vived the fire because the temperatu-
re at the first-floor level near the flo-
44 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
or was not very high: not only metal,
stone, clay and glass artifacts but also
organic materials have survived, such
as wood and bone items, fruit stones,
nuts, grains and – consider this – even
baked bread and textiles. This is why
the artifacts found as a result of the De-
doplis Gora palace excavations are so
numerous, diverse and, at times, unex-
pected. There is furniture, tableware,
weapons, tools and equipment, food
and other items. Such a diverse archa-
eological discovery provides a unique
opportunity to glimpse the everyday
life of a 1st-century Kartli nobleman, to
talk about the nature of his estate, his
income and expenditure records, the
entertainment and level of education,
faith, domestic and external relations,
clothes and weapons as well as nu-
merous details of daily life that even
written sources would hardly be able
to portray. In short, this site permits us
to conduct ethnographic research on
1 st century Iberia.
The excavated site was a vivid illus-
tration of the anxiety and chaos that
preceded the moment of the final des-
truction of the palace: items are mis-
placed, an unopened sack of wheat is
dropped on the doorstep of one of the
rooms (No 1), a bronze amphora is in
one corner of the room while its hand-
le was found on the sofa. Things were
even dropped in the courtyard, inclu-
ding gold jewelry and a Lysimachus
stater.
After the fire the palace was never res-
tored, as with the temples of Dedoplis
Mindori. It seems that some significant
changes occurred in Kartli Kingdom
in the late 1st century that apparently
affected the royal religion and the ter-
ritorial organization of the country. It is
also possible that this catastrophic ear-
thquake, which destroyed not only the
palace but also the temples, was percei-
ved as God’s wrath and the ruins were
abandoned as a result.
One way or another, life on Dedo-
plis Gora was extinguished with the
fire and no one lived there for almost
200 years. Only towards the end of the
3rd or the beginning of the 4th century
new dwellers began to settle on the
hill. The floors of the first houses often
imitated the mudbrick daubed palace
walls, while the remaining walls of the
palace were sometimes even used as
walls for mud huts.
The settlement on Dedoplis Gora
existed until the 6 th-7th centuries. Over
three centuries an extensive cultural
layer was created at a depth varying
from 50 cm to 4 m. In the 4th-6th cen-
turies on a relatively lower place in the
middle of the hilltop, there was a ritual
site. Excavations here revealed altars
in small rooms, with identical structu-
res to those found in the northern hill
and Berikldeebi settlement remains
that date to the Bronze and Early Iron
Age.
The discovery of pre-Christian altars
in the layers of the Early Medieval pe-
riod point to the continuity of religious
traditions from the Bronze Age until
the Middle Ages. This is proof that no
ethnic changes occurred here during
this period and also indicates that an-
cient Georgian folk astral cults of ferti-
lity were preserved intact in Kartli des-
pite the fact that the religion of Iberia’s
royal dynasty and, probably, of the ru-
ling aristocracy since the Achaemenid
period must have been some type of
Mazdeism (Zoroastrianism). These in-
cluded fire temples on Dedoplis Min-
dori and a family Zoroastrian place of
worship inside the palace on Dedoplis
Gora as well as the Iranian-Zoroastrian
theophoric names of Kartli kings and
aristocracy.
Finally, the Early Medieval altars dis-
covered on Dedoplis Gora prove how
difficult and slow the spread of Chris-
tianity was in Kartli despite the fact
that it had already been declared a sta-
te religion as early as the first third of
the 3rd century. Among the numerous
Early Medieval artifacts discovered
on Dedoplis Gora, there is no sign of
Christianity at all except for a single
seal from the 5th or 6th century that
seems to have a cross and Georgian
Asomtavruli alphabet letters engraved
on it.
In the course of excavations in 1985-
2014, about one third of the palace
territory was cleared. These are: the
western part of the courtyard sur-
rounded by pylons (peristyle), western
(small) and northern gates and also 20
rooms 18 of which have doors leading
to the gallery along the perimeter of
the courtyard, separated from the
courtyard by pylons.
Such a construction technique was
typical of Kartli in the Hellenistic pe-
riod. The load-carrying structure is
wooden, while the lower part of the
walls and pylons is formed by a cage of
crisscrossed wooden beams filled up to
a height of 1.5-2 m with large pebble
stones placed on mud-and-clay mor-
tar. A mud brick wall was then built on
the base prepared in such a manner.
On the outside and sometimes on the
inside as well, walls are plastered with
blocks of sandstone ashlar attached to
each other, and with reinforcing beams
of the wall supported with wooden do-
wels shaped like arrowheads.
In the eastern part of the palace, a
fire altar with sacrificed items on it was
discovered in the storeroom No 20. We
found small bronze and silver sculptures
representing the Greek and Roman pan-
theon: Apollo-Phoebus, his twin sister
Arthemis-Diana with a silver spear and
silver anklets, their mother, Leto-Latona
(silver), Tyche-Fortuna, Silenus sitting
under a vine, as well as the figurines of
a bronze eagle, a dolphin and a large
silver raven. The sculptures were placed
on bases. There was also a gold laurel
wreath, a silver thymiaterion (vessel for
burning incense) and 15 coins in a glass
dish: 13 Augustus denarii and two local
(Georgian) gold copies of Alexander the
Great staters. Two pheasant eggs were
placed on the altar. This kind of almost
unbelievable coexistence of Mazdeism
and Greco-Roman culture could only be
possible in Georgia (Kartli Kingdom).
Archaeological excavations at the
Dedoplis Gora palace shed light on
many aspects of our country’s past
that had yet been unknown. Each new
season of excavations has been full of
surprises and the study of the Dedo-
plis Gora palace continues. Hopefully
this site will amaze us many times
more.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 45
 46
Sighnaghi Museum
Region > Mariam Inanashvili
Sighnaghi, with its unusual scenery and 19th century architecture, its views of the splendid Alazani Valley and majestic Caucasus
Mountains, is one of Georgia’s most unique and colorful towns. History, culture and the customs of Sighnaghi and surrounding
areas are presented in the Sighnaghi Museum of History and Ethnography.
I
n 1947, the Sighnaghi Museum of
Local History was founded, directed
by Ilia Zurabashvili. The grand ope-
ning of the exhibitions on 31 December
1950 occupied 14 halls, with exhibits
showing local nature, history and socia-
list construction. In the 1970s and 1980s
the museum acquired archaeological
collections of exceptional significance
from Kakheti’s Archaeological Base and
its permanent expeditions in the region.
The museum has changed its mission
and goals several times, yet numerous
interesting exhibitions have been held
there over the years. In 2007, the Sigh-
naghi Museum of History and Ethnogra-
phy became part of Georgian National
Museum system. General Director David
Lordkipanidze of the National Museum
acted as academic supervisor of an
important rehabilitation project. Staff
from the National Museum participated
in developing a new concept and exhi-
bitions, supported by the French com-
pany, Studio Milou Architecture, whose
specialists also participated in the new
conception.
As a result of merging with the Natio-
nal Museum and completing the ambi-
tious rehabilitation project, the Sighna-
ghi Museum is now in compliance with
European museum standards. This pro-
ject was the first step towards introdu-
cing contemporary museum standards
to local museums in Georgia. The exhi-
bition halls are attractive and equipped
with contemporary security and climate control
systems; the museum café and terrace have a re-
markable view of the Alazani Valley.
Artifacts from the Kura-Araxes and Alazani-Be-
deni cultures are exhibited in chronological order.
A bronze awl from the Chalcolithic Period found
in Kakheti confirms that the foundations of me-
tallurgy appeared in the region 7000 years ago.
There are exhibits of the black-glazed ceramics of
Bedeni. A golden sculpture of a lion dating back
to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC was
discovered in the Tsnori mound, only a few kilo-
meters away from Sighnaghi. Items from this bu-
rial mound are on display in the exhibition. Cer-
tain items that had been donated to the chapels
of Meli-Ghele, Melaani and Shilda in the region,
date to the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, in-
cluding a remarkable necklace, a bronze model of
a chariot of war and medieval archaeological dis-
coveries of the Pevrebi collection (from Melaani).
The town of Sighnaghi is mentioned in his-
torical sources as early as the second half of
the 18 th century. It was already known for
its four kilometer-long brick-and-mortar wall
with 23 towers and five gates, built over a sur-
face of 40 hectares. Beginning in 1802 after
the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti disappeared,
Sighnaghi became the district center. From
the second half of the 19th century salon-style
evenings became common in the town, as in
other urban areas at the time. Popular festivi-
ties and events began to be organized and the
first official theatrical performance was held in
1872. By 1912, Sighnaghi was the fifth largest
town in Georgia; a Georgian-language news-
paper, Kakhetis Khma (Voice of Kakheti) was
being published.
Today the ethnographic exhibits bring all of
this to life, and the second floor of the museum
houses a visual arts gallery with Gudiashvili and
Pirosmani halls. Many exhibitions, events and
educational projects have been organized in the
Sighnaghi Museum since 2007. Notably, in 2009,
the museum hosted an international exhibition
of linocuts by Pablo Picasso from the museum
of the town of Vézelay, France, where Pirosmani’s
works were exhibited in 2008. The Sighnaghi
Museum of History and Ethnography is actively
involved in the cultural life of the city and the
whole Kakheti region, making an important con-
tribution to the development of tourism while
introducing Georgian culture to an international
public.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 47
 48
THE MUSEUM IN VIRTUAL SPACE
Remember us starting from zero?
Communication > Ana Verulashvili, Liza Meparishvili
T
he everyday approach to visi-
tors in virtual space, each “Like”
or comment – all these reactions
are a major source of inspiration and
commitment for the Georgian National
Museum Public Relations Team. We try
to speak simply yet informatively and to
conscientiously consider each visitor’s
viewpoint. This bilateral communication
has a real impact on our activities throu-
gh readers’ regular tips, comments or wi-
shes and we feel we are an inseparable
part of something crucial and significant.
The flow of activity by users in virtual
space continues to assure us that the
museum’s activities – exhibitions, lec-
tures, educational programs, scientific
research, international projects and
many others are indeed relevant to the
public. The story of this friendship star-
ted from zero and continues – now we
are more than 100,000!
The Facebook page of the Georgian
National Museum does not lose its per-
tinence – it’s still a leading platform for
receiving and diffusing public informa-
tion. This is obvious from shared posts
– including events, photos, gifs, videos
and articles that all give us considera-
ble clues about the audiences interes-
ted in these events.
In the technological era of today social
media is the most effective way to com-
municate. For example, on the night of
November 13 to 14, information on the
latest research spread throughout the
world like a virus and, in only a few mi-
nutes, millions of social media users lear-
ned about the recognition by the world’s
scientific community that Georgia is the
oldest winemaking country in the world!
Leading global publications such
as The Guardian, The New York Times,
National Geographic, the BBC, Science,
Spiegel Online, Deutsche Welle, BBC
Vietnam, РИА Новости, News Italy,
France Info and many more, published
information through their social ne-
tworks about the 8000-year continuity
of winemaking in Georgia.
Our most comprehensive PR cam-
paign in 2017 featured international
exhibitions, including “Venus” by San-
dro Botticelli and the multimedia pro-
ject-exhibition of Caravaggio’s artwork,
which drew great public interest and
became a virtual and actual “block-
buster”. We received 10 comments per
minute and so many messages that
we had to answer questions 24/7 for
a whole month! The interest of virtu-
al friends became tangible and, in only
two months the exhibition was visited
by more than 55,000 guests from Ge-
orgia and abroad. Audiences also follo-
wed the public lectures series and edu-
Now we are more than
cational programs accompanying the
exhibition with the same interest. The
Botticelli-Caravaggio exhibition coin-
cided with a rapid growth of Facebook
followers. In October 2017, Facebook
notified us that the number of friends
had reached 100,000. In other words,
today, facebook.com/GNMuseum is
the most popular online portal among
the cultural organizations of Georgia.
Moreover, from now on, our page is ve-
rified and confirmed with a blue badge.
That lucky 100,000th friend turned
out to be Ani Chachanidze – a student
from Georgia. We notified Ani, and
after a few hours of waiting that see-
med endless, she contacted us and was
overjoyed to learn she was invited to
celebrate the 10th Anniversary of GNM
Sighnaghi Museum. In company with
Georgian National Museum’s Director,
David Lordkipanidze, Ani visited the re-
100,000!
newed exhibitions of artworks by Niko
Pirosmanashvili and Elene Akhvlediani
and joined the official opening cere-
mony. Today she is much more than
just virtual friend!
We strongly believe that each “follo-
wer” is important. That is our main
mission at the GNM Public Relations
Department – to stimulate the interest
of the public and directly engage them
into the processes taking place in the
museum. All of our social network com-
munications are meant to serve the pu-
blic, and especially target the younger
generations. We work to stay updated
about the latest tendencies and soon
our Facebook page will have a new fe-
ature added, a video series where cura-
tors, restorers and researchers will nar-
rate the #HistoryofOneObject!
Along with our Facebook page,
strengthening the museum’s positions
on other social media remains a main
priority for our communications strate-
gy. Follow us, stay updated about the
events in the field of culture, #Disco-
verMore interesting and yet unknown
facts, get involved in promotional qui-
zzes and competitions, use opportuni-
ties to become involved in the museum
and, of course, #VisitUs! Our friendship
continues!
If you still aren’t with us, take a chance
and follow:
MUSEUM.GE
FACEBOOK.COM / GNMUSEUM
INSTAGRAM.COM / GEORGIANNATIONALMUSEUM
PINTEREST.COM / GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
SCRIBD.COM / GEORGIANNATIONALMUSEUM
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 49
 50

1 2

International Science and 3

Innovation Festival in Georgia

Events > Natia Khuluzauri
Edinburgh became a “city of science” in April 1989 when it hosted the first International
Science Festival. Initially the idea had many opponents who doubted science would fit into
a format similar to an art festival. However the experience was a great success, and since
then similar events have been held in many countries, where they are often among the most
prestigious events of the year.
4 5

T
he year 2015 was significant for Georgia’s cultural
and scientific life. The Ministry of Education and
Science initiated an important event that involved
most of the state and private scientific institutions for the
first time. Although the event with its spirit and activities
resembled a festival, it was called International Science
and Innovation Week.
It opened on World Science Day, November 10, and clo-
sed on November 17, International Students Day.
Due to the success of this event another Festival was or-
ce and Innovation Festival. The Georgian National Museum 1, 6 Presentation of hominin restored
was actively involved in organizing this week-long event according to a complete skull disco-
vered during Dmanisi archaeological
and assumed a key role in planning and implementing ac- excavations, 15 November 2015
tivities during the festival. 3, 4 Closing ceremony of Science and Inno-
In 2015, the complete skull of a hominin was discovered vation Week, opening of the exhibition
“Alexander Kartveli – Georgian Genius
at the Dmanisi archaeological site. From these artefacts, a of American Aviation”, 17 November
2015
bust was created by the famous paleo-artist John Anthony
Gurchea, and exhibited in the National Museum with finan- 2, 5 Public lecture held at Simon Janashia
Museum of Georgia Science Cafe
cial support from the Silknet Company. In the museum’s during the International Science and
science café, world-renowned Georgian specialists Zaal Innovation Week

ganized the following year – Georgia’s International Scien- Kokaia, David Lordkipanidze, Darejan Kacharava, Ermile 7  Public lecture held at Ioseb Grishashvili
Tbilisi History Museum Science Cafe
within the framework of International
Science and Innovation Week
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 51
6 7
Maghradze, Zurab Makharadze and Nino Kalandadze
gave public talks, and Mr. Gurche made a presentation
on the process he uses to recreate and model the appe-
arance of ancient humans on the basis of their archaeo-
logical remains.
The last presentation of the 2016 Science and Inno-
vation Festival week was marked at the Georgian Na-
tional Museum by a new exhibition dedicated to a pio-
neer of US aviation, Aleksandre Kartvelishvili Kartveli
(1896-1974). In the early 20th century, between 1918
and 1921, he was sent by the democratic government
of Tbilisi to study aviation in France. However, he was
unable to return to his homeland because of the Bol-
shevik revolution. He continued his work in aviation in
the USA, where he became known as the “Georgian Ge-
nius of American Aviation”, a pioneer in aerospace engi-
neering, and an example of perseverance and sacrifice
for future generations in Georgia.
In 2016, the Georgian National Museum participated
in the Science Festival with educational projects, exhi-
bitions and lectures. Events dedicated to the 25th an- Participants of the conference “100+25 Years of
niversary of the first great discovery made in Dmanisi Homo erectus: Dmanisi and Beyond” visiting Dmanisi
and the 125th anniversary of the first discovery of Homo archaeological site, 24 September 2016
erectus in the world were the pinnacles of the festival.
An international conference was attended by 80 fa-
mous foreign scientists. A public lecture by Donald (Don)
Johanson introduced the event. Dr. Johanson and Dr.
Tom Gray discovered a nearly complete 3.2-million-ye-
ar-old skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis, in Hadar,
Ethiopia in 1974. This earliest female ancestor of modern
humans known today was named “Lucy” because “Lucy
in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles was playing in
the field when she was discovered.
Dr. Johanson gained broad recognition and populari-
ty for his popular science book “Lucy: The Beginnings of
Humankind”. The book inspired many young scientists
and helped others define their future profession. The
General Director of the Georgian National Museum who
headed the Dmanisi archaeological project, Professor
David Lordkipanidze, is among them. Thus, it was truly
symbolic that this milestone conference could be intro-
duced by Dr. Johanson’s lecture.
The tradition has continued. The Georgian National
Museum presented another important exhibition, “Sto-
ne Age Georgia”, during the 2016 Science Festival. Visi-
tors can see Stone Age artifacts from various Georgian
sites and follow the process of human evolution over
time, illustrated by a rich collection of anthropological
artifacts discovered in various parts of the world.
What will the International Science and Innovation
Festival be like in 2018? Will Tbilisi become a “City of
Science”? And will Georgia be a “Country of Science”?
We shall see!

52 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 53

Opening of Stone Age Georgia Exhibition,
21 September 2016
54
Shaliko
Art > Eka Kiknadze
It is sad when a person's birth and death are only 27 years apart, especially when these are the short lifetime
of one of modern Georgia’s most significant artists that brought new life to modern Georgian painting, Shalva
Kikodze. The young artist's all-encompassing interest in everyday life expressed itself in many areas: law,
painting, drawing, caricature, cartoons, theatre and stage decoration, book illustration and critique.
I
n 1914, Shalva Kikodze was admit-
ted to the Faculty of Law of Moscow
University. From 1916 he spent two
years studying painting in the classes
of the Moscow Higher School of Pain-
ting, Sculpture and Architecture. When
he came home to Tbilisi for holidays in
1916, he began working at the Georgian
Artists' Society and later became the
organization's Secretary. He participated
in the efforts led by Dimitri Shevardna-
dze to hand over to the public the buil-
ding of the Temple of Glory, where the
art gallery was established. In 1917-1918
he cooperated with the Russian maga-
zine „Рампа и жизнь“ (Footlights and
Life) where he published his sketches
and caricatures under the pseudonym of
Shaliko. In 1918 he also joined the first
artistic-scientific expedition organized
by the Georgian Artists' Society and the
Georgian Historical and Ethnographic
Society to make copies of the Nabakhte-
vi Church paintings. This artist had such
a variety of interests that developed in so
many directions in such a short time that
one cannot help being amazed. All of his
work took place during a tragically short
period, a mere nine years.
Shalva Kikodze was born in the villa-
ge of Bakhvi, Guria (west Georgia) on
27 May, 1894. He had a strong emotio-
nal connection to his birthplace and his
country in general. The artist once went
to Europe on a scholarship from the Ge-
orgian Artists’ Society, and wrote from
Shalva Kikodze, Self-Portrait, 1920
Georgian National Museum
France: "You cannot imagine, my dear
Granny, how precious every corner of
Bakhvi is for me. Life here does not allow
me to think about it often, but when I do,
I am ready to exchange all of Europe with
its machines and my studies, for my little
Bakhvi – the yard, the gate, the barn…"
He went to France with other Georgian
artists after participating in the 1920
Exhibition in the Temple of Glory (curren-
tly the National Gallery is located in this
building). The artists of this generation,
unlike the previous one, had turned their
backs on Russia as they felt they had
more in common with European culture.
For the Georgian artistic and academic
society of the 1910s, their national iden-
tity was associated with being European
and the development of new art forms
were being expressed in Georgia as they
became global.
In his works created in Paris, Georgian
themes that had prevailed before (such
as ‘Gurian Woman with a Jug, "Ajarian
Women in Chadors" and Gurian lands-
capes) were replaced by Parisian places,
the Luxembourg Garden, the appeal of
women dressed in fashionable hats and
clothes of the 1920s and visitors in Bohe-
mian cafés. His skills and style improved,
as did the colors and forms, which beca-
me richer, more expressive and dynamic.
Symbolism made its way into his art and
the expressionism that had been pre-
sent before gained strength. However,
at the same time a certain feeling of es-
trangement and sadness appeared, and
a premonition of something tragic beca-
me apparent in his work, and his artistic
explorations seemed to join the explora-
tions of the emotionally lost.
In 1921, the works of Kikodze and
other Georgian artists were presented in
Paris at the Salon des Indépendents and
Galerie La Licorne. On 4 September 1921,
the artist wrote his last letter to his sister
Aneta Kikodze: "I, my dear sister, got tired
of Paris and came to Germany to have a
little rest and to see Germany". However,
the trip to Germany was not caused sole-
ly by a desire to rest. By that time, Shalva
Kikodze discovered he had an incurable
disease, tuberculosis, and needed ur-
gent treatment. "I do not wish anyone to
know of my current state. So, you have
to keep this a complete secret and never
mention what I wrote you anywhere or
to anyone. What would be the point? I
left with two lungs and will be back with
one, what concern is it of anyone's how
many lungs I have under my vest?" he
wrote to David Kakabadze. However,
Shalva Kikodze never returned. He died
in Freiburg, Germany, in November 1921.
His legacy in painting and graphic art
remains a treasure of modern Georgian
art. It clearly demonstrates an exceptio-
nally interesting process of integration
of the Georgian visual arts of the 1910s
and 1920s into European modernism, a
movement in which Shalva Kikodze was
an inseparable part.
 Shalva Kikodze, "City". Oil on cardboard, 1919. Private collection

56 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM Shalva Kikodze, Portrait of Aneta and Gerasime Kikodze. Oil on
cardboard, 1919. Private collection
Shalva Kikodze, "Istanbul". Oil on
canvas, 1920. Private collection
 Shalva Kikodze, Portrait of K. Makharadze. Oil on canvas, 1919. GNM - Museum of Fine Arts

Shalva Kikodze, Portrait of artist's sister Aneta Kikodze.

60 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM Oil on canvas, 1919. Private collection
 62
Red Terror
and Georgian Artists
Art > Eka Kiknadze
“S
hoot them like mad dogs!”
This slogan was clamo-
red as an outcry – and
order – of the working class. It was
thoroughly fulfilled for decades in
Georgian courts, and obedience cau-
sed by fear was the main instrument
for ruling society. The first wave of re-
pressions spread over all of Russia and
countries they conquered, from the
beginning of the 1920s, and reached
its peak in the 1930s after millions of
innocent Russians and those in neigh-
boring countries died. Millions lived
in exile for years, and those who sur-
vived death and exile were destroyed
psychologically. They became part of
a “submissive mass” that not only lost
the notion of freedom, but were forbi-
dden to nurture it.
The “Red Terror”, or mass repressions,
was a powerful instrument created to
demoralize the population. Its total
control affected all layers of society
and age categories beginning with the
founding of the USSR until its end. It re-
mained a key part of the government’s
relationship with the populations.
At the dawn of the regime, less than
a year after the October 1917 Commu-
nist Revolution, the Council of People’s
Commissars adopted a Resolution on
September 5, 1918 in the Kremlin,
which clearly formulated the concept
of “Red Terror”: “Ensure the safety of
the Soviet Republic from class ene-
mies by isolating them in concentra-
tion camps. All persons related to Whi-
te Guard organizations, conspirators
and rioters should be shot. Publicize
their names and the basis for the mea-
sures taken against them.”
Composition with 5 figures, watercolor on paper,
Richard Sommer, Georgian National Museum
For the first time in the world, the
Soviet Union used terms like “class
enemies”, “disrupters”, “terrorists”, and
“counter revolutionaries” to isolate their
own citizens. The term “concentration
camp” was used by Lenin in an official
document sent to Penza Gubernia re-
questing him to “isolate suspicious per-
sons in concentration camps and carry
out merciless mass terror”. Those early
years, and especially the years after the
First World War are all too familiar to the
world.
The “Great Purge” carried out in
1937-1938 was personally initiated
by Joseph Stalin and Nikolai Yezhov
(The order was entitled "On the re-
pression of former kulaks, criminals,
and other anti-Soviet elements"). All
regions of the Soviet Union received
a quota of people to be executed and
arrested. The initial recommendation
was to shoot 72,950 people, and ar-
rest 259,450 throughout Soviet Union.
From the point of view of Stalin and
the Party, these numbers were mini-
mal and did not reflect the real num-
ber of enemies who mingled among
citizens and were to be eliminated
immediately. A punitive system was
created throughout the Soviet Union
that readily expedited orders, which
were carried out immediately. Some
regions were requested to increase
the number of “offenders”. As a result,
386,798 Soviet citizens were summari-
ly executed.
These “dry” statistics and numbers
cannot convey the extent of the tra-
gedy to individual people. Many were
great painters, poets, writers, musicians,
scientists and film or theatre directors.
When we speak of repression, we must
recall these people who were at the fo-
refront of the intellectual, aesthetic and
moral life of Georgia, which had beco-
me a Soviet Republic.
Like all segments of society the “Gre-
at Purge” endangered Georgian artis-
tic society. Most Georgian artists and
those of other nationalities working in
Georgia, whose lives were taken by the
repressions, had decades of experience
in artistic and social activity; they were
in the avant garde of art movements in
Georgia by 1937-1938. Henryk Hrynie-
vski, Dimitri Shevardnadze, Vakhtang
Kotetishvili, Richard Sommer, Petre
Otskheli were all convicted and execu-
ted for being counter-revolutionist or
spies. Kirils Zdanevich, Ivane Pataridze
and Vasili Shukhaev spent many years
in exile. The sculptor Raisa Mikadze and
the artist Nino Zaalishvili served their
sentences, accused as being “family
members of the People’s enemies.” Re-
pressions took away years of their lives,
if not their life itself. Those who escaped
death and exile continued to live in a
country where freedom was restricted
every day. They had to carry on with
creative work fighting (or conforming)
first with Tsarist and then with Commu-
nist Russian dominance.
According to Soviet cultural policy the
main criteria for evaluating art were not
related to artistic value but to ideolo-
gical “expediency”. These criteria were
used during by the “Red Terror” to evalu-
ate citizens. On the contrary it became
necessary to create “authentic peoples’
art” that depicted the proletarian, he-
roic workers’ lives to immortalize happy
Soviet citizens, leaders and their great
63
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

Market Scene, oil on Cardboard, Richard Sommer, Georgian National Museum (above); Ox-cart Driver,
watercolor on paper, Richard Sommer, Georgian National Museum (below)
buildings. To uproot past aesthetic ide-
als in the 1920s, Soviet censorship had
allowed some existence for new van-
guard art, since at the initial stages of
revenge and demonization of the past,
vanguard poets, painters and writers
oriented towards innovation and the fu-
ture would still be needed. This is why,
despite the fact that ideological art and
the “Plan for Monument Propaganda”
began as soon as Soviet power was es-
tablished in Georgia, Georgian moder-
nist painting was still allowed until the
second half of the 1930s.
By the second half of the 1920s pain-
ters from Soviet Georgia who were living
64 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
in Paris returned to Georgia. In May, 1928
David Kakabadze exhibited his work
created in France at the Hotel Orient in
Tbilisi. This was to be his last personal
exhibition during his lifetime. The reac-
tion of his critics showed that his crea-
tive work would not last long in Soviet
Georgia. Similarly Lado Gudiashvili, who
arrived from Paris in 1925, had to alter
his painting style, as it was intolerable
for Socialist Georgian reality. His artis-
tically rendered “deformation” of reality,
his expressive techniques and faces pre-
sented in sharp dynamics and “decadent
aesthetics” were unacceptable, with their
interwoven wavy and broken forms.
Thus the borders closed behind pain-
ters who arrived from Paris. The Soviet
block and its citizens found themselves
in a complete physical and information
vacuum behind the Iron Curtain. Isola-
tion has an extremely negative impact
on the development of culture, and yet
the total ideological system and strict
control were proved very useful for the
regime. Yet David Kakabadze’s craving
to regain his lost freedom and his desire
to revive Georgian culture for “maste-
ring the contemporary soul” remained
unrealized for his generation.
Lenin’s epoch ended and Stalin’s be-
gan. His “social engineering” concept
implied a fundamental reform of all
individuals’ spiritual and conscious ac-
tivities in every sphere: the creation of
“Homo sovieticus”, a new Soviet person
without national features, religion, iden-
tity or personality, who had to become
a member of a grey mass. Individua-
lism was replaced by the notion of class
membership; freedom was replaced by
obedience; and personal thinking was
exchanged for a “mass consciousness”
built on a romantic interpretation of fal-
se and utopian ideas. Stalin’s right hand
man – a general in the bloody regime –
Nikolai Yezhov, stated: “We are starting
a fundamental attack on our enemies;
don’t be offended if anyone gets jol-
ted by our elbows. It is better that ten
innocent people suffer than to let one
spy escape. When someone cuts wood,
chips fall all around.”
This is how those who created cultu-
ral life, new Georgian art and the rising
artistic consciousness were turned into
“chips”, along with thousands of others
all over the country. They were wiped
out by the regime in 1937-1938 without
any trace or any grave. Their names
were erased; their faces on photos were
scraped off, and for decades it was even
forbidden to mention their cases.
On April 23, 1932 at the order of the
Communist Party on the “Reform of litera-
ry and art organizations” small artists’ or-
ganizations were abolished and a United
Professional Union was established. Art
specialists were centralized in the Geor-
gian Artists Union and over the next deca-
des this Union guided ideology.
Beginning with the 1930s, the doctri-
ne of “socialist realism” became establi-
shed in art. “The main goal of Soviet art
is to talk and give directions to people,
or in the first instance, it should be un-
derstandable for people and serve them
... therefore, it is obvious that Soviet art
can be only realistic”. In order to create
“understandable” art, instead of increa-
sing the educational level of population,
the Soviet government chose to use the
local spoken language and extremely
simplified techniques, reducing it to a
narrative-illustrative form. Though the
process began in the 1930s, these fea-
tures were reflected in especially stark
relief from the 1940s.
In the 1930s, when the art modernism
movement was already coming to an end
in other parts of the world, it was naturally
illogical and regressive to legalize artis-
tic realism. Also, an extreme profanation
of the notion of realism occurred in the
Soviet Union. Under the dictatorship of
the workers and peasants (according to
the official ideology), there was no “op-
pressed class” and “no censorship was Samarkand, oil on canvas, Richard Sommer, Georgian National Museum
allowed”. Posters and superficial pictures
and slogans offered myths about a “So-
viet paradise” and the people living there. any deviations from official requirements. Accusations about formalism mainly
Heroically idealized faces of the Leaders By the end of the 1930s this doctrine had came from functionaries, for whom the
were presented in naturalistic styles and become a life-threatening accusation. The essence of art was absolutely unfami-
terrible aesthetics with falsely modeled heavy atmosphere of that decade led to liar. Nevertheless, the authority to con-
pictures and scenes. These later laid the a significant rise in self-censorship. This trol art was their prerogative, although
foundations for the extreme vulgarization became a principle feature of Soviet citi- their artistic evaluation criteria had
of art and its perception. Art censorship zens’ behavior and thinking for decades nothing to do with creativity. Only the
was in fact extremely strict, forbidding to come. production of propaganda was signi-
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 65
 ficant for them. Along with the evalu-
ation of ideological work, Party orga-
nizations concentrated on “Bolshevik
vigilance, focusing Bolshevik atten-
tion, studying professors and teachers
and those who work in the system but
are not in line with the Government’s
goals”. David Kakabadze, Shalva Ami-
ranashvili, Nikoloz Kandelaki were na-
med and considered among such peo-
ple. Controlling and revealing people’s
enemies, counter-revolutionaries or
spies who mingled in with Soviet citi-
zens, was to be done by everyone. The
Party had to be aware of everything –
how each Soviet painter lived, how he
breathed, and what he was talking and
even thinking about.
Reckless speech often caused the
Party elite to become enraged and
could lead to significant problems for
an artist’s career. At a meeting organi-
zed by a Party organization held at the
Academy of Arts on September 11, 1936 Battle Scene, watercolor on paper, Henryk Hryniewski, Georgian National Museum
Alexander Bazhbeuk Melikov’s “incon-
sistent speech and behavior” were exa- gs for newspapers. In addition he never reading these accusations arouses ryk Hryniewski’s involvement. His legacy
mined. “Bazhbeuk-Melikov was asked attended lessons in Marxism-Leninism surprise, anger and heartache all at comprises easel and monumental pain-
why he did not use good colors while that were given for the pedagogical once. The regime repeated that “if you ting, book illustrations, sketches of the
working on comrade Stalin’s historical staff of the Academy of Arts. When they do not search for an enemy, you are an most significant Georgian architectural
theme (high quality oil paint is implied demanded an explanation, he made ex- enemy yourself”, which made people monuments, architectural details and
here. E.K.), his reply was: ‘I cannot use cuses saying that he attended classes at act in self-preservation for themsel- ethnographic items. Even a building in
good colors for this theme’. As it became “Sakhelgami” (the State publishing hou- ves and their families. Thus to survive, the center of Tbilisi was designed and
clear that Bazhbuk Melikov used good se), but failed to submit a certificate of they sometimes chose denunciation painted by him. As one of the founders
artistic materials for pictures of the attendance. Gabashvili died in Tsikhis- and betrayal. of the Georgian Academy of Arts, Hen-
petit-bourgeois, Bohemians and ero- dziri in 1936, when he was to carry out ryk Hryniewski educated a generation
tic nude women rather than historical an order in Ajara to paint the working Henryk Hryniewski of painters and architects from 1922
revolutionary themes ... such a person community there. He traveled to Ajara An official NKVD Order dated August until his arrest. “I knew him very well;
should be expelled from the Georgian but passed away, alone, and although he 11, 1937 “On the liquidation of Polish sa- he was my teacher,” wrote Academician
Soviet Arts Union and suspended from was elderly the circumstances were un- botage and espionage groups” laid the Vakhtang Beridze in 1989. “He lived in
the management of a Department in clear. His family was notified about his foundation for ethnically motivated re- one of the buildings of the Academy of
the Academy of Arts”. death a week later, and soon after that pressions, while declaring socialism and Arts, this building... It was round, with a
There is another very interesting re- his wife, Olympia Milbaum, was arrested friendship among nations. After WWII, hall covered by a dome – it was his stu-
cord in the minutes of a meeting held on and exiled. It was made to appear that Germans living in the USSR met this dio, where we were asked to come and
April 5, 1935. Due to “Bolshevik vigilance” Gabashvili was not a victim of repres- fate, however the first target of Stalin’s he would teach us. It is easy to imagine
it had come to the attention of the admi- sion. While it is true he was seriously in- ethnically motivated persecutions were what atmosphere there was in the stu-
nistration that the founder of Georgian volved in establishing and popularizing the Poles. One hundred and forty-five dio, where walls were covered with his
realistic fine art, Gigo Gabashvili, who easel painting, he spent the last years of Polish citizens were arrested in Georgia works and shelves were full of books...
was 72 years old, behaved “inappropria- his life under heavy pressure and had to during the 1930s, and 88 were senten- Hryniewski sincerely loved Georgia and
tely”. He created Beria’s portrait “inap- keep justifying himself before Party bu- ced to the firing squad. One of these Georgian culture, which he selflessly
propriately” and was not trying to get reaucrats. Today it is difficult to say what was the painter Henryk Hryniewski. served until the end of his life.” By this
permission to draw Stalin’s portrait. It circumstances brought on his death. In Georgia, during the 1900s and until time more than a half-century had pas-
was said that he used to draw anti-Party, Even Party bureaucrats, colleagues, 1938, no significant cultural events in sed after his execution. For decades, ho-
Trotskist counter-revolutionary paintin- sometimes accused each other. Today Georgia were carried out without Hen- wever, Soviet citizens had been told to
Soldiers, watercolor on paper, Henryk Hryniewski, Georgian National Museum
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 67
commemorate those lost to repression
soundlessly, and without mentioning
their names.
Hryniewski was born in Kutaisi in 1869.
He studied painting and architecture
Europe, including the Academy of Arts
in Florence and the Karlsruhe Polytech-
nic Institute in Germany. He returned to
Georgia at 29 and settled in Tbilisi, at Gri-
boedov Street #22. From 1902 he partici-
pated in exhibitions arranged by the Fine
Arts Society of the Caucasus, and from
1907 he became a permanent member
of the Society. During those years he
taught painting in the Arts School of the
Society, and in 1918 he was nominated
as Director of the School. After transfor-
ming the school into the Academy of
Arts, he became a Professor in the Aca-
demy and at the same time taught at the
Technical School for Construction. Hry-
niewski travelled extensively throughout
Georgia and his sketches of medieval
monuments, paintings and decors are
distinguished by their priceless artistic
and documentary value. The Iconostatsis
paintings of the Kashveti Church (1904-
1910) were done by him, and from 1908
to 1913 he was a member of a Commis-
sion working on the monument of Lilia
Chavchavadze’s grave, established by
the Society for Spreading Literacy (with
Anatoli Kalgin, Simon Kldiashvili, Ivane
Javakhishvili). Work on the sculpture and
Monk and Sleeping Woman, Illustration for ilia Chavchavadze's poem Hermit, watercolor on paper, 1912-13,
Henryk Hryniewski, Ilia Chavchavade Saguramo State Museum
architecture was carried out under his
direct supervision. At the same time he
participated in the establishment of the
Georgian Historic and Ethnographic Mu-
seum. In the 1910s he carried out his two
most important projects – The Bank of
the Nobility and Illustrations for the first
volume of Ilia Chavchavadze’s novels.
After Ilia Chavchavadze’s murder, the
publication of a book of his literary le-
gacy was discussed within the Society,
initiated by physician and public figure,
Mikhail Gedevanishvili. Gedevanishvili
owned the first X-ray and physiothe-
rapy offices in Tbilisi and had a long
friendship with the Chavchavadze fami-
ly. After Ilia’s death he took care of his
widow, Olga Guramishvili. He began by
publishing the first volume of the aca-
demic collection of Ilia Chavchavadze’s
novels. “Publishing this book – the
first volume of the full collection of Ilia
Chavchavadze’s works – is a desire that
has turned into the engagement of ide-
as and thoughts that I’ve had for many
years,” he wrote in the introduction of
the book. The first volume was publi-
shed in 1914 and was the first Georgian
book with color illustrations after the
edition of “The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin”
published by the philanthropist and pu-
blisher Giorgi Kartvelishvili in 1888.
Gedevanishvili invited Hryniewski to
decorate the volume. He worked on
the decorations in 1912-1913. The only
décor on the simple cover was Ilia’s
signature. Hryniewski displayed his ge-
nuine knowledge of Georgian architec-
ture and ethnography when drawing
illustrations for the book. The distincti-
ve arrangement of ornaments and the
expressive inclusion of architectural
details in some scenes is very effecti-
ve. The illustrations of these novels re-
main a priceless source of information
about the clothing, weapons, and hou-
sehold environment of the epoch. The
choice of illustration themes revealed
Hryniewski’s rational, objective nature.
Art critic Meri Karbelashvili wrote:
“The most important subjects are se-
lected from each novel for the deve-
lopment of its plot... The artist follows
almost precisely, with documentary
accuracy, the narrative of the writer, the
look of each character, and the descrip-
tion of their environment. Hryniewski
is very restrained in expressing his
own attitudes which shows the natu-
Lighthouse, watercolor on paper, Henryk Hryniewski, Georgian National Museum
re of the painter and his personality”.
Gedevanishvili’s edition is a most sig-
nificant rarity. In addition to its cultural ber of the special commission created mentioned in the edition. In 1937 Hry- intelligence network. He was senten-
importance, Hryniewski’s design and to study issues of treasures that were niewski was arrested and on the same ced to death with the confiscation of his
artwork are significant contributions to taken from Georgia to France, along day a short note was entered into the property. After his arrest, Academy staff
the uniqueness of the book. with Dimitri Shevardnadze, Giorgi Chu- records of the Academy of Arts: “Remo- observed individuals who were thou-
The Project to design the Bank of the binashvili, Ioseb Sharleman and Sergi ved from occupied position – Head of ght to be snitches inside Hryniewski’s
Nobility, presented by Architect Anatoli Giorgadze. This confirms his solid re- the Department of painting, teacher of mercilessly destroyed studio. Later, the
Kalgin and Henryk Hryniewski, won the putation as a respected authority in art perspective, from 15th December of the reasons that he was betrayed were clari-
bid and was selected among six compe- and culture. current year”. fied – he had first toasted his homeland,
titive projects. It best met the terms of From 1922 until his death, Hryniewski Two days later, on December 17, 1937 Poland, during a banquet at his friends’
the competition as being of “Georgian continued to lecture at the Academy of a meeting of the Party committee lis- home. On May 7, 1938 a letter was sent
style”. Hryniewski’s part of the Project Arts. From 1923 he was the Dean of the tened to “information about currently from the Academy to the Chairman of
was the decor of the building. While Faculty of Architecture and one of those revealed enemies Hryniewski and De- the Tbilisi Council, Comrade M. Gvishia-
creating the decoration of the façade who loudly argued against its planned vdariani (a second repressed individual ni: “In the yard of the Academy of Arts,
and especially the interior, Hryniewski abolishment. “Architecture, as art, is so E.K.) and stated that the Bolshevik so- on Griboedov street 22 lived Professor
successfully combined medieval Geor- closely linked to sculpture and visual briety of the Party organization is weak, Hryniewski, who has been arrested sin-
gian architectural motifs and modern art, that it is physically impossible to and that professors and teachers of the ce February… an order was issued that
styles. Completed in 1916, it represents split them without disintegrating the Academy have not been scrutinized. For the above room with the inventory be
a brilliant example of Georgian National harmony of visual art.” During 1927- example this is obvious as our organiza- handed over to the Academy.”
Architecture. The building today houses 1929 Hryniewski was Vice-Rector of the tion failed to identify people’s enemies Henryk Hryniewski’s wife, the Italian
the National Library. Academy of Arts and authored a book who we just currently detected.” dancer Maria Perini, who founded the
In addition to the Bank of the Nobili- entitled A Practical Manual in Linear Pers- According to the minutes of the first ballet studio in Tbilisi, was banished
ty, Hryniewski worked on the Project for pective. He didn’t manage to publish his “Troika’s memo” dated February 3, 1938, from her flat. Her son from a first marria-
the Tbilisi Stadium with architect Archil second book, Analysis of Georgian Or- Hryniewski was accused of gathering ge was arrested and executed. In 1938
Kurdiani. He also designed the building naments, however his staff later publi- intelligence and spying in favor of three Maria Perini, as a citizen of a foreign
of the Transcaucasian Railway Depart- shed the book based on Hryniewski’s countries over 20 years, collecting in- country was urged to leave the coun-
ment in Tbilisi. In 1927 he was a mem- materials although his name is not telligence materials and creation of an try, and one year later she died in Nice.
GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM 69
Last Disclose of a Secret, Illustration for Ilia Chavchavadze story Otar's Widow, watercolor on paper, 1912-13,
Henryk Hryniewski, Ilia Chavchavade Saguramo State Museum
Henryk Hryniewski was rehabilitated
on 16th January 1989. It is all the more
poignant that some of the greatest Ge-
orgian ballet dancers that Perini taught
and supported during her years in Tbi-
lisi included Vakhtang Chabukiani, Vera
Tsignadze, Maria Bauer, Iliko Sukhishvili
and Nino Ramishvili.
Karl Sommer
in December 1937 the German pain-
ter Richard Karl Sommer (1869-1938)
was arrested. He had come to Geor-
gia the first time in 1894. In the 1890s
he travelled several times to Central
Asia, including Samarkand, Bukhara
and Tashkent. During his travels he
has painted landscapes, ethnographic
and natural scenes where habitat and
environment were depicted with preci-
sion. After settling in Georgia Sommer
70 GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
participated in the establishment of
the Society of Caucasian Painters and
simultaneously lectured at the Scho-
ol of Pictorial Art and Sculpture, and
gave private lessons. He was one of the
first to notice the artistic talent of the
very young Lado Gudiashvili. Later,
Gudiashvili recalled Richard Sommer
as, “Blond, with a slightly swollen face,
dressed in a shabby suit with a black ri-
bbon bowtie round his neck, he looked
like a real aristocrat. I was especially
impressed by his wide-brimmed hat.
With his appearance he looked like a
character straight out of Rembrandt’s
paintings”. In the 1920s Sommer, like
many of his fellow-countrymen were
significantly involved and very positi-
vely influenced by artistic movements
in Georgia. His works preserved in Ge-
orgian National collections that were
created in Central Asia and the Cau-
casus, or paintings depicting Tbilisi,
convey highly interesting information
for specialists in many fields. His lands-
capes are distinguished by their atten-
tion to space in a poetic style.
According to “Troika records” of De-
cember 31, Erich Karl Sommer was ac-
cused of being an agent of German
intelligence, of transferring espionage
information and having links with several
foreign consulates. He was executed on
January 2, 1938. Sommer was sacrificed
to the terror earlier than other Germans
living in Georgia. They, like the Polish,
became victims of repression on ethnic
grounds. Between September 15 and 30,
1941, during mass deportations, 23,580
Germans were extradited to Siberia and
Central Asia. Richard Karl Sommer was
rehabilitated on January 16, 1989.
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