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Oshki
Oshki (963-973), church of St John the Baptist, from the east
Oshki monastery was a major centre of
Georgian literature and enlightenment during the
Middle Ages.[14] The monastery is considered "one of the largest and architecturally most complex buildings produced anywhere in the
Eastern Christian world."[15]
It is considered one of the four
Great Cathedrals of the Georgian Orthodox world.
The blind arches are an important part of the whole decoration. In Oshki they stretch along the outer walls of the church in the south, east and north. It is an early example of the use of decorative blind arches on the facades. They divide the wall in line with the general architectural rhythm. The central part of the facade is mainly decorated with bas-reliefs.
Bas-reliefs, placed high above the central arch, are given the place of honour on the southern facade, which is the main facade of the church. They stand out from the flat surface. The eagle with an animal in his talons probably symbolises victory, and the whole sculptural composition the triumph of the heavenly forces represented by the
archangelsMichael and
Gabriel.
Engravings from Le Tour du Monde based on drawing by Théophile Deyrolle, who traveled in Turkey and Georgia in the 1870s, documenting, among other things, medieval Georgian monuments on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
The Refectory of the Georgian church, Oshki
Engravings from Le Tour du Monde based on drawing by Théophile Deyrolle, who traveled in Turkey and Georgia in the 1870s, documenting, among other things, medieval Georgian monuments on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
In the province of
Tao the power lay in the hands of the ruling dynasty of the
Bagrationi, whose members Bagrat eristavt-eristavi and David Magistros are depicted lower down on the same facade, near the
deesis, to show that the heavenly forces were the family's patrons.
The figures are well proportioned, elegant in contour and form. The static postures of earlier donor portraits give way to free movement, and an equal attempt can be traced in the near three-dimensional renderings of the archangels and the deesis of the southern facade, as well as on a column in the southern gallery. The decorative system of the Oshki church also includes the low reliefs characteristic of the so-called transitional period in medieval Georgian art (8th – 10th centuries), when the old style had not yet given way completely, and new ways were evolving. Sculptors of the different generations must have worked on it. The church in Oshki already shows the tendencies that would eventually develop in the 11th century.
Name and Etymology
There are two different views regarding the etymology of the place name ოშკი (ošḳi;
IPA: ɔʃkʼi): according to Kakha Shengelia and Valeri Silogava the word ოშკი (ošḳi) derives from
Megrelian word შქა (shka), meaning "being in the middle";[16] according to Merab Chukhua, is
Laz word and means "dog rose" (rosa canina), which corresponds to
Georgianასკილი (asḳili) and
Kartvelian*ასკილ- (*asḳil-).[17] In Armenian and Turkish languages this monastery is named "Oshk vank" (from Armenian language "vank" – "cathedral").[citation needed]
Inscriptions
Inscription №1
The first inscription in Oshki temple is drawn with Sanguri (
Georgian: სანგური) color and is located over the southern main entrance to the temple. Nowadays 12 lines still exist. All inscriptions are written with Mrgvlovani, the earliest version of Georgian script. The original can be seen on the illustration in the right. The first scientist who explored this inscription was
Marie-Félicité Brosset, a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies.[18] Later these inscriptions were researched by
Ekvtime Takaishvili and
Wachtang Djobadze. As noted by Wachtang Djobadze, the first inscription gives a lot of information about the temple. It mentions the names of
Ktetors of the church – Georgian kings Bagrat Eristavt-Eristavi and
David III of Tao. Also there is information about architect of the church – someone called Grigol.[19]
სამნივე დაიფარენ მორჯოჳენითა თ(ჳ)სითა და ა(დი)დ(ე)ნ ორთავე ცხორებ(ა)თა და მე გრიგოლ ღირს მყო ღ(მრერთმა)ნ მსახოჳრებ(ა)სა ამას მ(ა)თსა ღ(მრ)თისა მიმართ და მე ვიყ
ავ სა[ქ]მესა ზ(ედ)ა-მ[დ]გომი და არწმოჳნა ღ(მერთმა)ნ გონებასა მ(ა)თსა ერთ-გოჳლობაჲ ჩ(ე)მი მ(ო)ნისა მ(ა)თისაჲ ესე იყო გალატოზთა და მოქმედთა მიზდი და აზავერთა მექოჳიშე
თაჲ რ(ომე)ელ წელიწადსა წარეგების დრამაჲ :კ: ათასი ღოჳინოჲ ფ(ისო)სი :ჭ: რკინაჲ ლიტრი :ნ: ხოჳარბალი გრივი :ს:მ:ი: გალატოზი და ხო[ჳ]როჲ და მჭედელი რ(ომე)[ლმა]რადის შ(უ)რებო
Oshki (963-973), interior, looking east into the main apse
Oshki (963-973), south porch
Oshki (963-973), church of St John the Baptist, south facade
References
^
abОшки — грузинский средневековый монастырь (ныне на северо востоке Турции), один из духовно религиозных и культурных центров Грузии. Грандиозный собор (окончен между 958 и 961) трёхапсидное купольное здание, украшенное аркатурой, резными… (Encyclopaedic Dictionary)
^ОШКИ — грузинский средневековый монастырь (на территории Турции). Грандиозный собор (окончен между 958 и 961) с рельефным декором и росписью (1036). … (Modern Encyclopaedia)
^ОШКИ — - грузинский средневековый монастырь (ныне на территории Турции), один из культурных центров Грузии. Грандиозный собор (окончен между 958 и 961); трехапсидное купольное здание, украшенное аркатурой, резными наличниками, рельефными… (Big Encyclopaedic Dictionary)
^Ошки — грузинский средневековый монастырь (ныне на северо востоке Турции); один из культурных центров феодальной Грузии. Грандиозный собор (окончен между 958 и 961, архитектор Григол): в плане триконх с капеллами по сторонам каждой конхи;… (Encyclopaedia of art)
^Rapp, Stephen H. (2012). Caucasia and the second Byzantine Commonwealth : Byzantinization in the context of regional coherence. National Council for Eurasian and East European Research.
OCLC860797903.
^
abM. Brosset, Inscriptions géorgiennes et autres recueillies par le P. Nerses Sargisian, Mékhitariste de S.Lazare, et expliquées par M.Brosset; Mémoires de l'Académie impériale des sciences de St.Pétersbourg, VII ser., t. VIII, no.10 (S.-Petersbourg, 1864), стр.1-24
^Wachtang Djobadze – Georgian monasteries of early medieval period in historical Tao, Klarjeti and Shavsheti = ადრეული შუა საუკუნეების ქართული მონასტრები ისტორიულ ტაოში, კლარჯეთსა და შავშეთში / Editor – M.Lordkipanidze. — Tb.:Universal, 2007. — 346 p. —
ISBN978-99940-61-11-2