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The apse decoration of the Akhiza cathedral: documents and materials in the museums of Georgia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2012

Zaza Skhirtladze
Zaza Skhirtladze
Affiliation:
Tbilisi State University
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Abstract

The meagre evidence, based on reports in sources and the material gleaned in the course of surveys by several researchers, of the fortress of Akhiza (northeast Turkey), which was renovated in the reign of King Vakhtang Gorgasali (446–522), and on the Episcopal See set up there, may be supplemented by archival material preserved at the Sh. Amiranashvili Museum of Art, as well as by recourse to the artefacts deposited at the S. Janashia Museum of Georgia, both in Tbilisi. In particular, a letter of A. Florenski, a collaborator with the Caucasian Museum in Tbilisi, written early in the 20th century to D. Gordeev (1889–1964) makes it clear that, at that time, a mosaic image of the Virgin Orans existed in the chancel of the ruined cathedral. According to Florenski, the mosaic was destroyed by a resident of Ardanuch, Usta-Gevork, at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the material collected by Florenski from Akhiza (including a finger-ring with a cameo bearing the image of the Archangel Michael and distinguished for its high artistic features) found its way to St Petersburg, while two antefixes with representations of leaved crosses and deer, as well as up to three dozen mosaic tesserae are kept in the S. Janashia Museum of Georgia. At the time of the creation of the mosaic, it is worth noting that, after the Arab conquests (in the 730s), Akhiza, with its cathedral, must have ceased to exist as an Episcopal See. In this connection, the antefixes supply additional dating evidence, the artistic peculiarities of the images adorning them clearly pointing to the fifth to sixth century.

Özet

Kral Vakhtang Gorgasali (446–522) döneminde yenilenmiş ve piskoposlar tarafından idare olunan Akhiza Kalesi (kuzeydoğu Türkiye) hakkında hem yazılı kaynaklarda çok kısıtlı bilgi vardır, hem de yüzey araştırmaları sırasında sabırla toplanmış olan buluntular az sayıdadır. Bu kısıtlı bilgilerin her ikisin de Tiblis'de bulunan Sh. Amiranashvili Museum of Art daki arşiv belgeleri ve S. Janashia Museum of Georgia da bulunan fiziksel malzeme ile desteklenebileceğini düşünmekteyim. Tiblis'de bulunan Caucasian Museum üyesi, A. Florenski tarafından 20. yüzyılın başlarında D. Gordeev'e (1889–1964) yazılan bir mektup, mektubun yazıldığı dönemde yıkık durumdaki katedralin mihrap yerinde Virgin Orans a ait bir mozaiğin bulunduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Florenski'ye göre mozaik Usta-Gevork isimli bir Ardanuch'lu tarafından 20. yüzyılın başında tahrip edilmiştir. Florenski tarafından Akhiza'dan toplanmış olan malzeme (kabartmasına Archangel Michael'ın bir resmi hakedilmiş olan kıymetli bir yüzük dahil olmak üzere) bir şekilde St Petersburg'a gitmiştir. Üzerinde yapraklarla sarılı haçlar ve geyikler bulunan iki antefix ile üç düzine mozaik ise S. Janashia Museum of Georgia tarafından sahiplenilmiştir. Mozaiğin yapıldığı tarihlerdeki şu durumun göz önüne alınması gereklidir. 730'lu yıllardaki Arap istilasının ardından Akhiza'nın piskoposlar tarafından idare ediliyor olması mümkün değildir. Bu bağlamda, antefixler bize daha doğru tarihleme yapabileceğimiz bilgiler sunmaktadır. Bu süslemeler çok net bir şekilde 5. ve 6. yüzyılları işaret eder.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 59 , December 2009 , pp. 139 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2009

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