Dzveli Shuamta, Murals of the Church of Ressurection. First Layer
| Building: | Dzveli Shuamta, Church of Resurrection |
| Layer of the Murals: | First Layer |
| Date/Period: | First half of the 11th century |
| Donor(s): | Unknown |
| Painter(s): | Unknown |
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Inscription(s)
of the Donor(s)
of the Painter(s)
Description
The first layer of the painting, presumably, covered the whole interior of the tetraconch. Presently it can be observed only in the chancel and the western faces of its two adjacent projections.
Chancel
In the chancel painting was distributed in two registres: the chancel conch featured Christ in Majesty. The Savior is seated on the throne with a pedestal and set with gems, holding a book (single graphemes can be discerned from the inscription, but they are illegible). The figure of Chriust must have been flanked by archangels (the figure on the northern edge of the conch is better observable). A seraph was depicted between these three figures; two archangels were represented in the bema of which presently only the figure depicted on the northern panel of the vault of the bema has survived. The second registre of the bema featured a frontal figure on each side; now only the trace of their halos and their silhouettes can be observed.
The second registre of the chancel is separated from the conch composition by an ornamental frieze. The second registre of the apse was probably occupied by a row of apostles which was made up of six frontal figures (one was depicted on each wall of the bema). Nowadays, three figures can be seen south of the chancel window (the first of them bears traces of an explanatory inscription (Ⴜ(ႫႨႣႠ)Ⴢ – Saint) and a figure can be observed on the north. Lintels of the only chancel window were covered with ornamental motifs.
Rosettes engraved in the plastering are represented on the lower parts of the western faces of the projections near the chancel. They had once been colored. A frontal figure must have been represented above each of the rosette. Big-size Calvary Cross can be observed below the figure represented on the southern projection. Its relation to the layers of paintings is the subject of further research.
Dating
The painting has not been studied monographically. In her work looking at the murals of Krikhi church of the Archangels, Tinatin Virsaladze repeatedly mentions this painting and dates it by the 10th-11th centuries; furthermore, she points out that, in terms of iconographic composition, it also repeated the later layer of the paintings (Tinatin Virsaladze, “Freskovaja rospis’ v tcerkvi arkhangelov sela Zemo Krikhi” [“Murals of the Church of Archangels in the Village Zemo Krikhi”], Ars Georgica 6-A (1963): 164 (note 213); reprinted in id., Izbrannye Trudy [Selected Works] (Tbilisi, 2007), 93, no. 1). Fler Devdariani shares this opinion about the painting being multi-layered; however, she dates the frescos of the dome and the drum by the beginning of the 11th century (Fleur Devdariani, “Dzveli shuamt’is samonastro komplek’si” [“Monastic Complex of Old Shuamta”], Sak’art’velos istoriisa da kulturis dzeglt’a aghts’eriloba [The Survey of the Historical and Cultural Monuments of Georgia] 1II (Tbilisi, 2015), 219.
In the chancel these fragments of the murals are covered by another layer of painting which is presumed to have been executed in the first quarter of the 12th century. It should not be excluded that the first layer was made several decades earlier – following strengthening of the kingdom of Kakheti and Telavi becoming the capital. Study of this fragmentary layer is the subject of future research.
Bibliography
Tinatin Virsaladze, “Freskovaja rospis’ v tcerkvi arkhangelov sela Zemo Krikhi” [“Murals of the Church of Archangels in the Village Zemo Krikhi”], Ars Georgica 6-A (1963): 164 (note 213); reprinted in id., Izbrannye Trudy [Selected Works] (Tbilisi, 2007), 93 (note 1).
Fleur Devdariani, “Dzveli shuamt’is samonastro komplek’si” [“Monastic Complex of Old Shuamta”], Sak’art’velos istoriisa da kulturis dzeglt’a aghts’eriloba [The Survey of the Historical and Cultural Monuments of Georgia] 1II (Tbilisi, 2015), 215–24.