Kurashi, Murals of the Church of St. George. First Layer

Building:	Kurashi, Church of St. George
Layer of the Murals:	First Layer
Date/Period:	The second half of 10th century
Donor(s):	Unknown
Painter(s):	Unknown

Inscription(s)

of the Donor(s)

of the Painter(s)

Description

The interior of K’urashi Church was probably fully decorated with paintings at the end of the 10th century. Presently, fragments of the original murals have been preserved only in the chancel and the vault of the hall.

Chancel

The conch features a three-figure composition of the Deesis. Figures of the Virgin and St. John the Baptist in supplication facing a monumental half-figure of the Savior are depicted in full length due to which the scene goes beyond the conch and occupies the upper areas of the chancel walls too. Fragments of wings that can be discerned between the figures of the Savior and John the Baptist show that images of seraphim were also included in the scene.

Aisle

It is impossible to discuss the once existing images in the vault of the hall based on the fragments of plaster and paint survived from the first layer of the painting in the vault of the hall. In addition, the extant fragments demonstrate that initially the interior of the church was fully decorated with murals.

Bibliography

Nino Kitovani, “Zemo svanet’is sop’el k’urashis ts’m. giorgis eklesiis kedlis mkhatvrobis shesakheb” [“On the Church of St. George in the Village Kurashi in Upper Svaneti”], Sak’art’velos sidzveleni [Georgian Antiquities] 21 (2018): 86–107.