The mountainous region of Svaneti (north-western Georgia, Caucasus) is a treasure trove, particularly of Christian and pre-Christian religious artefacts: many ancient churches dating from the 11th century and earlier, along with their associated icons and ritual objects. Some of the objects originating from these ancient churches have found their way from the churches to the Historical and Ethnographic Museum in Mestia, the ‘capital’ of Upper Svaneti, such as this piece of silverwork, which was the upper part of a banner and depicts St George, the Prophet Jonah and the archangel on the front and back, together with an inscription by an abbot who had donated this piece (13th century, Mestia).
(May 2026)
(Foto: © Rüdiger Benninghaus)
#Silberarbeiten, #silverwork, #Upper-Svanetia, #Ober_Swanetien, #Georgien, #Georgia, #Caucasia, #Kaukasus