Commissioners’ Representation in the Relief Decoration of Georgian Early Christian Stone Crosses

Abstract

Incorporating representations of laymen in works of religious art was a well-established Christian tradition originated in early Christian times. Historical figures depicted in church art are predominantly commissioners of artifacts. Relief portraits of commissioners, mostly local nobility and members of their families, are preserved both on early medieval Georgian stone crosses and on church facades. The distribution of donor figures on stone crosses standing in the open air outside churches, follows its own logic. The paper attempts to retrace the “topography” of commissioners’ images in the decoration system elaborated for such crosses. I argue that the placement of commissioners’ figures was conditioned by their social status, corresponding to the social hierarchy of that time.

In order to understand the hierarchic order of representations of laymen on stone crosses the spatial position of these devotional objects must be taken into consideration, particularly, their spatial interrelation with the church buildings. According to Palestinian tradition, stone crosses were erected to the south-west part of churches (e. g. Kumurdo, Ratevani, Dzveli Muskhi, etc.). The stone cross pillars and their capitals are decorated with narrative compositions, ornaments, crosses, and other Christian symbols. New Testament scenes are combined with Old Testament compositions. There is no fixed place for commissioner figures on the pillars of stone crosses. They can be found in various places and in different contexts – there are single inframed figures, couples and families (parents with a child) on various parts of the stone shafts. Some reliefs preserve the names and titles of the depicted individuals (e. g. Grigol upatos, Arshusha patrikios, Grigol mamasakhlisi, etc.).

Commissioners’ representations aimed to demonstrate their piety and advanced social status. Special attention is paid to the dress and attributes emphasizing the privileged position of depicted characters. The stone crosses of medieval Georgia, with their developed iconographic systems, communicate important religious messages and demonstrate the active engagement of representatives of power in the creation of mentioned cult objects. The presence of the representatives of local feudal society in the iconographic programs of these cult objects served to promote their influence and rank.