Khakhuli Triptych
Date:
Triptych from the first half of twelfth century with enamels from the ninth through eleventh centuries
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Georgia
Medium:
Gilt-silver,
Enamel
Dimensions:
147 × 202 cm (open)
Description:
This large triptych was created for the monastery at Gelati (Georgia). The Georgian king Davit IV "the Builder" (r. 1089–1125) was the first patron of the monastery. His son, King Demetre I (r. 1125–56), was the one who commissioned the triptych, which was designed to hold what was once the largest Byzantine enamel icon (54 × 41 cm). The icon of the Theotokos, a prized possession of a church in Khakhuli (now in eastern Turkey), was stolen in the nineteenth century. The replacement image at the center of the triptych still preserves the original face and hands of Mary.
The enamels incorporated into the surrounding gilt-silver triptych date to the ninth through eleventh centuries and were originally attached to reliquaries or book covers sent to Georgia as diplomatic gifts. They include images of saints and angels as well as scenes of holy figures legitimizing earthly authority: Christ appears crowning the Byzantine emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–78) and his Georgian consort, Maria of Alania; elsewhere, the Virgin crowns Byzantine empresses (among them are probably Zoe and her sister).
The long metrical inscription in Old Georgian on the wings of the triptych reads, in part:
The enamels incorporated into the surrounding gilt-silver triptych date to the ninth through eleventh centuries and were originally attached to reliquaries or book covers sent to Georgia as diplomatic gifts. They include images of saints and angels as well as scenes of holy figures legitimizing earthly authority: Christ appears crowning the Byzantine emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–78) and his Georgian consort, Maria of Alania; elsewhere, the Virgin crowns Byzantine empresses (among them are probably Zoe and her sister).
The long metrical inscription in Old Georgian on the wings of the triptych reads, in part:
As in the past, he [King David] who became the father of God by grace, You had flourished on his root, Our Queen [Mary], He had enriched and embellished the objects of your God's temple, In the same way, now, David, the offspring of David, Donated all—soul, body, church—to you, the holy Virgin, While the new Bezalel [Exod. 31] Solomon, Reigning as his son, doubly valuable Demetre, And similar to the sun of the visible sky, brightened your image, Now, for the supplication of long life, before you, Mother of God and in Heaven . . . of your Christ. (translation by Marine Kenia)
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• The Khakhuli Triptych is now in the Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi.
Image Credits:
Zaza Skhirtladze
