Mokwi Gospel Book

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The Mokwi Gospel Book ( Georgian მოქვის ოთხთავი or Georgian მოქვის სახარება , mɔkʰvɪs ɔtʰχtʰɑvɪ or mɔkʰvɪs sɑχɑrɛbɑ ) is a Georgian handwritten liturgical book from the 14th century containing the Gospels of the New Testament . The book consists of a total of 328 sheets with numerous miniature paintings ; the size of each page is 30 × 23 cm.

Miniatures in the Mokwi Gospel Book

history

The book was created by the calligrapher Eprem in 1300 on behalf of Bishop Daniel for the Church of Mokwi in western Georgia ( Abkhazia ). Eprem is also seen in the scientific literature as the creator of the numerous miniatures . A full-page miniature on the last page of the manuscript shows the client, Bishop Daniel, kneeling with the Mother of God .

The Gospels have been kept in Gelati Monastery since the 1880s . After the occupation of Georgia by the Red Army (1921), the Georgian historian and archaeologist Ekwtime Taqaishvili brought the Mokwi Gospels to France on behalf of the Georgian government in exile in order to save it from pillage by the occupiers. Only in 1945 could Taqaishvili bring the state treasure back to Georgia . Today the Gospels are kept in the Georgian National Manuscript Center Tbilisi under the signature Q 902.

layout

Damaged miniature with Bishop Daniel kneeling in front of Our Lady

font

The text is written in Georgian with the Georgian script Nuschuri in two columns. The titles are written in Assomtavruli . The writing material is parchment .

Book decorations

The gospel book is richly decorated with miniatures and ornamental decorations. There are a total of 531 initials and 152 square miniatures, which are incorporated in the corresponding text. Gold leaf is used as the base and the colors are applied to the top layer. This painting technique is unique to medieval Georgian book art. The miniatures are badly damaged. Some research has shown that the damage is mainly due to the unique technique of illumination. In the years 2010 to 2014 the Gospels were diagnosed and preserved several times. After the last conservation by the restorers of the Georgian National Manuscript Center and German specialist Andrea Pataki-Hundt, the manuscript center officially declared that the long process of conservation was successfully completed in 2014.

literature

  • Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia , Volume 4, Tiflis 1979, p. 247.
  • Elene Matschawariani: Painted Gospels from Mokvi. In: "Jvari Wasissa", №1, 2005 (Georgian: ელენე მაჭავარიანი, მოქვის დასურათებული ოთხთავი, ჟურნალი "ჯვარი ვაზისა", №1, 2005 წ.)

Web links

Commons : Mokwi Gospels  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia , Volume 4, Tiflis 1979, p. 247.
  2. ↑ Elene Matschawariani, Painted Gospel Book of Mokvi, in: "Jschwari Wasissa", №1, 2005 (Georgian: ელენე მაჭავარიანი, მოქვის დასურათებული ოთხთავი, ჟურნალი "ჯვარი ვაზისა", №1, 2005 წ.)
  3. ↑ a b Dschimscher Rechwiaschvili, Radio Tawissupleba, Let's Save Gospels of Mokvi, August 20, 2010 (Georgian: ჯიმშერ რეხვიაშვილი, გადავარჩინოთ მოქვის ოთხთავი)
  4. ↑ Elene Matschawariani, Painted Gospel Book of Mokvi, in: "Jschwari Wasissa", №1, 2005 (Georgian: ელენე მაჭავარიანი, მოქვის დასურათებული ოთხთავი, ჟურნალი "ჯვარი ვაზისა", №1, 2005 წ.)
  5. ↑ Sazogadoeba.ge , Why Was Gospel Book Damaged? (Georgian)
  6. ↑ Gospels of Mokwi saved together ( Memento of the original from November 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , manuscript.ge  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / manuscript.ge