Peculiarities of Tao-Klarjeti Artistic School of the Miniatures from Tsaishi Gospels

The Tsaishi Gospels, preserved at Dadiani Palaces History and Architectural Museum in Zugdidi, gained its name according to its resent place of survival. Before moving to Zugdidi Museum, it was kept at Tsaishi Dormition Cathedral. The only one catalogued data of the manuscript, along with colophons was done by E. Takaishvili in summer 1913 while travelling under the aegis of Historic- Ethnographic Society of Georgia; the scholar catalogued and described the antiquities survived at Tsaishi and among them this manuscript. He dated the manuscript back to the 17th century.
Until 2007 the manuscript did not construe exploration and study. Only after taking the book partially apart and special conservation treatment was held the study of the gospel became possible. After reconstruction the similarity of the Tsaishi Gospel with other Georgian illuminated books of the 11th century was evident. They are: the portraits of the Evangelists inserted in the Mestia Gospel and the miniatures of the Evangelists from the different manuscript of the Black Mountain Georgian scriptoria (H-2806, K 76). Here should also be mentioned that the sizes of the illustrated pages of the miniatures (of St. Mark and St. Luke) are almost the same of the Evangelists’ portraits from H-2806.
So based on iconographic analysis of these manuscripts (Mestia MS I (k-70) - 1033, K-76 – 1060, H-2806 – the second half of the 11th century, the Tsaishi Gospel miniatures - turn of 11th -12th cc.) poses that the Evangelists are portrayed, gests, garment draping, working environment, writing accessories help us to assume that: a) Mestia Four Gospels, written at Oshki, serves as an undoubtful iconographic source for Tsaishi miniatures; b) the artist of H-2806 uses not only K-76 artistic forms but of Tsaishi as well; c) after reconstruction it became obvious that illuminated pages from the Tsaishi Gospel miniatures (of St. Mark and St. Luke) coincide in size, illustration details, ornamental décor with the Evangelists’ portraits from H-2806. All these gives us the right to conclude, that the manuscript to which the miniatures from the Tsaishi Gospel belonged to and the manuscript H-2806, should be identical in size and as for the date of execution should be considered the turn of the 11th-12th centuries.