Abstracts - International Initiative for Georgian Cultural Studies

MEDIEVAL GEORGIA
the different Polyapsidal churches of Georgia, as well as on the rendering these types.
According the preliminary research the appearance of this type of architecture in Georgia is connected
to contemporary stylistical movements. The aesthetics of the so called “classical” period contributed to
the popularity of tetraconches. By contrast, the period of building hexaconces and eight armed churches
corresponds a period known as the “transitional period”, time when architects are in search to achieve new
scale and new style. The Building time of triconches corresponds to the new needs of 0-11 th centuries and
becomes a major type of cathedral architecture.Order to classify Polyapsidal churches it is important to take
into consideration the liturgical needs that contributed to the development of the forms and sizes of these
types. In this regard it is important to discuss the structure of Bana Cathedral and compare this example
with the other buildings of the same type.- the tetraconch in rotunda.
Georgian Polyapsidal church architecture must be discussed in relationship to similar buildings found in
neighboring regions of the Christian East and in roman and pre-Christian architecture. Medieval Georgian
church architecture represents a typological diversity which is similar to that of church architecture in the
Eastern Christian world.
Ketevan Abashidze
G. Chubinashvili National Center of Georgian Art History and Monuments Protection. Georgia
Stone Facing in Georgian Ecclesiastic Architecture
Georgia’s land resembles that of other small European counties. Its relief is marked by diversity, as on
this relatively small territory one will come across almost every type of natural landscape.
The nature, climate and flora in Georgia are varied as well. So too are its stones: one can find multicolored
and differently drawn solid marble; mirror-like teshenites; gold tuffs; green albitophire; dark gray basalt;
gray and lilac-colored andesite; different colored limestone and sandstones; travertine and shale.
Diversity in stone types points to the geological ancientness of Georgia. Likewise, the roots of building
traditions in Georgia date back to the hoary past. The paper focuses on the façade stone cladding of Georgian
ecclesiastic architecture. It explores the characteristics of the façade stone facing of both ecclesiastic and
secular buildings, from ancient times through the period of Christian church building and beyond. The
paper analyses the peculiar feature of Georgian churches, artistically executed masonry such as on “the
robe” (in Georgian) of the building. Such craftsmanship bears the traces of a special creative impulse. A
church “robe” that was made of stones draws upon the ancient local building traditions.
The stone’s color and placement plays an important role in creating the entire image of the church.
Furthermore, together with carved ornamentation, it is one of the most important elements of church facade
embellishment, because it simultaneously bears the constructive-seismic, artistic-aesthetic and symbolic
meaning.
David Khoshtaria
G. Chubinashvili National Center of Georgian Art History and Monuments Protection. Georgia
Architecture of Tao-Klarjeti: History and Perspectives of Study
Archaeological interest in the antiquities of Tao-Klarjeti started in the nineteenth century (K. Koch, D.
Bakradze, G. Kazbegi, Pr. Uvarova). From the architectural point of view, they were explored by A. Pavlinov,
N. Marr, and E. Taqaishvili who visited many churches, monasteries, and fortresses in the region and
published valuable materials including descriptions, photographs, and drawings.
After the First World War, the study of the architecture of Tao-Klarjeti was interrupted and was resumed
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