DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43337#0407
404 I THE WALL PAINTINGS OF AKHTALA MONASTERY
of justice. In the murals of Akhtala, Betania and Timotesoubani the
scene became an entire composition set in a special frame. While one
angel holds the scales, another drives away with a spear the demons
who try to tip the scales in their direction. At Akhtala the mural is very
explicit. Scrolls with inscriptions in Georgian lie on the scales115. On
the first scale has been placed a large scroll symbolising virtue and in-
scribed «tears, fasting». The author of the composition names the chief
virtues of repentance and abstinence and reminds the monks of their
most important obligations. On the second scale there are seven scrolls
for the seven deadly sins, and the lowest bears the words «arrogance».
The single scroll of virtue outweighs the seven scrolls of sin despite all
the efforts of the winged devils to pull down the second scale.
In the majority of Byzantine depictions the scales are shown even-
ly balanced and often located between scenes of heaven and hell: the
mosaics of Torcello or the no less famous miniature from the Paris
Gospel (gr. 74) are examples. The stress falls on the dramatic expec-
tation of the courts decision. In Georgian variants the main idea
becomes the triumph of virtue over vice. This is shown not only by
the strong tilting of the scales towards the side of the righteous but
also by the appearance of the second angel who destroys the forces
of evil. Probably this explains the location of the «Scales of Justice»
at Akhtala. It is shown in the same tier as the scenes of paradise and
above the procession of saints, who were among the first to be de-
clared innocent by a higher justice, approaching the gates of heaven.
The scene itself is interpreted in the same spirit as the entire compo-
sition of the «Last Judgement» where the dominant theme is one of
triumphal glorification. All of this is evidence of a quite conscious
reworking of the Byzantine iconographic type in the Georgian eccle-
siastical environment116 117 118 119.
115 Some paintings, for instance, the Vardzia murals, portray books instead of scrolls. This detail
comes from Revelation 20:12.
116 The interpretation of the Last Judgement and the cupola decor of early 13th-century Geor-
gian churches, reviewed above, are based on common ideas.
117 On the source, symbolism and existing iconographic variants, see Bogyay Th. Hetoimasia //
Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst, Bd. II. Stuttgart, 1971. Sp. 1189-1202.
118 See Babic G. Christological controversies in the twelfth century and the emergence of new
scenes in the apse decoration of Byzantine churches // Zbornik za likovne umetnosti, 2 (1966),
pp. 21-25.— In Serbian.
119 See Krasnoseltsev N.F. On the ancient liturgical interpretations. Odessa, 1894, p. 63.
of justice. In the murals of Akhtala, Betania and Timotesoubani the
scene became an entire composition set in a special frame. While one
angel holds the scales, another drives away with a spear the demons
who try to tip the scales in their direction. At Akhtala the mural is very
explicit. Scrolls with inscriptions in Georgian lie on the scales115. On
the first scale has been placed a large scroll symbolising virtue and in-
scribed «tears, fasting». The author of the composition names the chief
virtues of repentance and abstinence and reminds the monks of their
most important obligations. On the second scale there are seven scrolls
for the seven deadly sins, and the lowest bears the words «arrogance».
The single scroll of virtue outweighs the seven scrolls of sin despite all
the efforts of the winged devils to pull down the second scale.
In the majority of Byzantine depictions the scales are shown even-
ly balanced and often located between scenes of heaven and hell: the
mosaics of Torcello or the no less famous miniature from the Paris
Gospel (gr. 74) are examples. The stress falls on the dramatic expec-
tation of the courts decision. In Georgian variants the main idea
becomes the triumph of virtue over vice. This is shown not only by
the strong tilting of the scales towards the side of the righteous but
also by the appearance of the second angel who destroys the forces
of evil. Probably this explains the location of the «Scales of Justice»
at Akhtala. It is shown in the same tier as the scenes of paradise and
above the procession of saints, who were among the first to be de-
clared innocent by a higher justice, approaching the gates of heaven.
The scene itself is interpreted in the same spirit as the entire compo-
sition of the «Last Judgement» where the dominant theme is one of
triumphal glorification. All of this is evidence of a quite conscious
reworking of the Byzantine iconographic type in the Georgian eccle-
siastical environment116 117 118 119.
115 Some paintings, for instance, the Vardzia murals, portray books instead of scrolls. This detail
comes from Revelation 20:12.
116 The interpretation of the Last Judgement and the cupola decor of early 13th-century Geor-
gian churches, reviewed above, are based on common ideas.
117 On the source, symbolism and existing iconographic variants, see Bogyay Th. Hetoimasia //
Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst, Bd. II. Stuttgart, 1971. Sp. 1189-1202.
118 See Babic G. Christological controversies in the twelfth century and the emergence of new
scenes in the apse decoration of Byzantine churches // Zbornik za likovne umetnosti, 2 (1966),
pp. 21-25.— In Serbian.
119 See Krasnoseltsev N.F. On the ancient liturgical interpretations. Odessa, 1894, p. 63.