რელიეფური სცენები მონადირე-მხედრებითა და ზოომორფული გამოსახულებებით შუა საუკუნეების ქართულ ხელოვნებაში

The present work is devoted to research on the topic of hunter-horsemen images common in medieval Georgian sculpture. Figures of a hunter-horseman are mainly preserved in compositions dedicated to Eustace Placida, though there are also others, the exact content of which are unclear and require further research. The above compositions are found in art samples of stone carving and metalworking. Our dissertation covers both spheres. The study revealed 18 compositions in Georgian relief sculpture from the early Christian period to the Late Middle Ages. Apart from these, as a parallel material, compositions spread in different branches of the fine arts of foreign Christian countries have been found. The aforementioned relief scenes are divided in this dissertation into chapters and subchapters in accordance with chronology. Each composition was studied in terms of iconography; semantically - through the analysis of symbolism, as well as artistically and stylistically. The work consists of an introduction, a review of literary sources, 6 main chapters, 22 subchapters and conclusion References, a list of illustrations and illustrative material are attached to the text.
The relevance of the topic is substantiated in the introduction; the scientific novelty of the dissertation is in its comprehensive study of images of hunter-horsemen as well as zoomorphic images existing in Georgian relief sculpture and metalworking from a single point of view. The aim of the study is to research, systematize and study from a single perspective the samples found in Georgian and foreign art.
Following on from this, a review of historical literature on this topic was undertaken, which combines, on the one hand, analysis of literary sources and, on the other hand, the scientific works studied; opinions of researchers were considered, creating the empirical basis of the work.
The importance and symbolism of the hunting theme in pre-Christian and Christian Georgian art, as well as the myths, folklore and literary sources connected with it are considered in the first chapter of the dissertation. We will also concern ourselves here with the meaning and symbolism of the cult of the deer as a sacred animal, which is of particular interest to us. In the same chapter the pre-Christian ideology, the psychological aspect of the Georgian people, is clearly seen, which subsequently determined the formation of Christian art. A separate subchapter is devoted to the life of St. Eustace Placida and its connection with the biography of St. Hubert widespread in Western European art. The study, from the hagiographic point of view, is presented here; the life and work of the saints, which are reflected in most of the relief scenes discussed in the work, give us significant information about the compositions reproduced in relief sculptures based on comparative analysis, helping us to identify the content and analyze the symbolism.
In the next chapters, relief scenes with hunter-horsemen and zoomorphic images in medieval Georgian art are chronologically grouped and divided into subchapters: the stele of John the Baptist of the early Christian period (VI-VIII cc.), the scene of Ateni Sioni (VII c.), the hunting scene of the Martvili Cathedral (VII c.), the plate of the Tsebelda iconostasis (VII-VIII cc.), the relief of the Tabatskuri window (X c.), the hunting scene on the top of the Oshki window (X c.), the relief of Tkoba-Ierdi in Ingusheti (X c.), the archer of Bagrati (XI c.), two compositions of the High Middle Ages of Ertatsminda (XIII c.), window reliefs of the Late Middle Ages of the Sadgeri St. George Church (XV c.), the Kheoti bell tower (XV-XVI cc.), the Nikozi Ascension (Ghvtaeba) Church (XV c?) and the Lechkhumi Tskheta St. George Church (I half of XVIII c.).
The hunting theme is one of the most important in the diverse iconographic repertoire of medieval Georgian relief sculpture. Relief scenes depicting hunter-horsemen in various forms and interpretations are found in almost all centuries from V to XVIII cc. Such compositions have different plots: there is a “typical hunting” - a hunter and his victim, which is mainly given in the scenes of Placida, and there are also compositions where a hunter is in an atypical context (for example: Oshki, Bagrati, Tkoba-Lerdi, Atskuri). In this case, the definition of the content and meaning of such compositions is the subject of research.
A different image of the figure of the “hunter” was discovered during the study of the above compositions in the High Middle Ages. According to our assumption, this reveals a connection to the zodiac Archer, which is one of the novelties of the dissertation. The study of Georgian relief sculpture from this angle is an important aspect of this work. A separate subchapter is devoted to it in the third chapter, where the zodiac signs in Georgian and Western European Christian art are discussed in detail. A study of the evolution of the iconographic scheme of hunting compositions in relief sculpture, mural painting and book miniatures is presented.
Hunting scenes in neighboring and other Christian countries are compiled in the sixth chapter. However, it should be noted that French art has been studied extensively, as the majority of hunting scenes have been found in France and are distinguished by numerous variations of their iconographic schemes. In parallel with the hunting compositions of St. Eustace, in French art we also find those of St. Hubert, the plots of which are almost identical to the plot of Placida. From the materials found it can be seen that the scene of the vision of the mentioned saints was more popular in France than in Georgia. There are numerous examples of plots related to St. Eustace, episodes of his life and the vision of St. Hubert, originating from it, in relief sculpture, as well as in book miniatures. The episodes of the life of St. Eustace are actively used in stained-glass windows. We have a small number of samples of monumental mural painting. The semantic and stylistic peculiarities of the compositions are revealed by the analysis of scenes considered in interrelation.
The results of the study are summarized in the final part of the dissertation. Hunting compositions spread in different times in Georgian art are bearers of ideas and expressions of an artistic image of a corresponding era that is based on pre-Christian art and created through a synthesis due to the relations with various countries that, in turn, give an individual character to Georgian relief sculpture.
Visual materials of the samples found and a list of illustration are attached to the main text.