Khakhuli triptych
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The Khakhuli triptych ( ka, ხახულის ხატი, ''khakhulis khati'') is a partially preserved large repoussé
triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
of the
Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...
(
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
) created in medieval
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. It incorporates over 100 specimens of Georgian and
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
cloisonné enamel Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones ...
dated from the 8th to the 12th century. The icon is now on display at
Art Museum of Georgia The Art Museum of Georgia (AMG) ( ka, საქართველოს ხელოვნების მუზეუმი, ''sak'art'velos khelovnebis muzeumi''), alternatively known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, is one of the l ...
in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
.Speel, Erika (ed., 1998), ''Dictionary of enamelling'', p. 67. Ashgate, ,


History

The Khakhuli triptych derives its name from the medieval Georgian
Khakhuli monastery Khakhuli Monastery ( ka, ხახულის მონასტერი, tr, Haho/Bağbaşi) was a Georgian Orthodox monastery in historical Medieval Georgian Kingdom of Tao (modern-day Turkey), in one of the gorges of the Tortum river. The m ...
(now Haho,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
), where it was originally kept. Early in the 12th century, the Georgian king
David the Builder David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. Popularly considered to be ...
donated several precious stones to the icon while his successor Demetrius I had the icon, already revered as miraculous, transferred to the
Gelati monastery Gelati ( ka, გელათის მონასტერი) is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a ...
near
Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...
, western Georgia, where it was further refurbished and set in a gold frame with gilded silver wings under
Queen Tamar Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
. According to the medieval Georgian chronicles, Tamar particularly honored the icon and donated to it a
Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
’s standard seized in the
battle of Shamkor Battle of Shamkor was fought on June 1, 1195 near the city of Shamkor, Arran. The battle was a major victory won by the Georgian army, commanded by David Soslan, over the army of the Eldiguzid ruler of Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr. The battle was ...
in 1195. The icon was stolen from Gelati in 1859, allegedly at the instigation of the
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
governor of Kutaisi, Count Levashov. Much of the gold and jewels were torn out and sold in Russia. Later, Levashov commissioned a metal reproduction from a
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
goldsmith which was presented to the Gelati monastery in 1865. The original icon, as well as many of its medallions, subsequently entered the private collection of the Russian painter
Mikhail Botkin Mikhail Petrovich Botkin (russian: Михаил Петрович Боткин; 26 June 1839 – 22 January 1914) was a Russian painter, engraver, art collector, archaeologist and philanthropist. Vasily Botkin, the writer, and Sergey Botkin, the p ...
and then the
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
. The icon was only returned to
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
in 1923 in a badly fragmented state.


Description

The Khakhuli triptych is one of the largest enamel artworks in the world,Mgaloblishvili, Tamila (ed., 1998), ''Ancient Christianity in the Caucasus'', p. 13.
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
, , 9780700706334
with its height of 1.47 m and width (with unfolded panels) of 2.02 m. The centerpiece of the triptych, a large (116 × 95 cm) icon of the Theotokos
Hodegetria A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of s ...
, was originally of precious metal. The repoussé background is now lost and only the enameled face and hands of the Virgin survive. The triptych is adorned with 115 cloisonné enamels deriving from the workshops of Georgia and
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
from the 8th century to the 12th. The enamels are in the form of round medallions, rectangular and cruciform plaques, chiefly with depictions of saints, and some are ornamented with patterning. The cover of the reliquary is adorned with a 10th-century cloisonné plaque with a
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
scene. Of particular note is the apical enamel of a royal pair whom a Greek inscription identifies as the
Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...
and his Georgian consort
Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
, daughter of
Bagrat IV of Georgia Bagrat IV ( ka, ბაგრატ IV; 101824 November 1072), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereign ...
, both of whom is represented as crowning. This medallion, possibly brought in Georgia by Maria in 1072, was the only visible figural image when the triptych was closed.Antony Eastmond (1998), ''Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia'', p. 91.
Penn State Press The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, was established in 1956 and is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. It is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State Uni ...
, .


References


Further reading

* Amiranashvili, Sh. (1972), ''The Khakhuli Triptych''. Tbilisi: Khelovneba
Online version
from the
National Parliamentary Library of Georgia The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტის ეროვნული ბიბლიოთეკა, ''sakartvelos p'arlament'is erovnuli bibliotek'a'') is a governmenta ...


External links


Khakhuli triptych
University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...
Digital Collections {{Authority control Triptychs Eastern Orthodox icons of the Virgin Mary Art of Georgia (country) Works in vitreous enamel