DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43337#0425
422 I THE WALL PAINTINGS OF AKHTALA MONASTERY
ter the «blessed Nino» had brought the faith to the Georgians, Xorenaci
wrote, she turned to Gregory with a request for further instructions and
was told «to cast down the idols following his own example and raise
the sign of the true cross»156. In the mediaeval Armenian tradition the
conversion of Armenia and Georgia was interpreted as a single great
undertaking in which St Nino aided St Gregory. The juxtaposition of
scenes in the church of Tigran Honents or the portraits of Gregory of
Armenia and St Nino in the iconographic programme in Akhtala were
intended to recall the primordial ties between the two churches. They
were to personify the historical community of Armenia and Georgia
and reflect the particular worldview of the Armenian-Chalcedonians
to whom the union with Georgia was not enforced by political necessi-
ty but the expression of an ancient confessional tradition.
4. The Southwest Compartment
Most of the compositions in this part of the church have been preserved
in insignificant fragments. Certain subjects are easily recognized while
others can only be provisionally identified and this makes it essential
to give a more detailed description of their distribution.
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CYCLE
Six scenes from the Baptist cycle are located on the south and north
slopes of the vault. Nothing now remains of the first composition on
the south face. However, in the 1930s Durnovo saw certain fragments,
and in particular a depiction of a ciborium157, which permitted her
to identify the composition as the «Annunciation to Zachariah» with
which the Baptist cycle usually begins158. A female figure with a platter
in her hand, standing beneath an archway denoting a building of some
type, has survived from the second scene. The three-quarter face figure
is shown moving from the right to the centre of the composition. This
permits us to identify an iconographic motif that is typical of certain
nativity scenes. Women bear rich gifts to the recumbent mother of the
new-born child, thereby repeating the ritual actions of the ladies of the
ter the «blessed Nino» had brought the faith to the Georgians, Xorenaci
wrote, she turned to Gregory with a request for further instructions and
was told «to cast down the idols following his own example and raise
the sign of the true cross»156. In the mediaeval Armenian tradition the
conversion of Armenia and Georgia was interpreted as a single great
undertaking in which St Nino aided St Gregory. The juxtaposition of
scenes in the church of Tigran Honents or the portraits of Gregory of
Armenia and St Nino in the iconographic programme in Akhtala were
intended to recall the primordial ties between the two churches. They
were to personify the historical community of Armenia and Georgia
and reflect the particular worldview of the Armenian-Chalcedonians
to whom the union with Georgia was not enforced by political necessi-
ty but the expression of an ancient confessional tradition.
4. The Southwest Compartment
Most of the compositions in this part of the church have been preserved
in insignificant fragments. Certain subjects are easily recognized while
others can only be provisionally identified and this makes it essential
to give a more detailed description of their distribution.
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CYCLE
Six scenes from the Baptist cycle are located on the south and north
slopes of the vault. Nothing now remains of the first composition on
the south face. However, in the 1930s Durnovo saw certain fragments,
and in particular a depiction of a ciborium157, which permitted her
to identify the composition as the «Annunciation to Zachariah» with
which the Baptist cycle usually begins158. A female figure with a platter
in her hand, standing beneath an archway denoting a building of some
type, has survived from the second scene. The three-quarter face figure
is shown moving from the right to the centre of the composition. This
permits us to identify an iconographic motif that is typical of certain
nativity scenes. Women bear rich gifts to the recumbent mother of the
new-born child, thereby repeating the ritual actions of the ladies of the