Silver Threads Through Georgian History

 

"The Art of Silver Mastership in 4th–19th Century Georgia"
Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi

 

Some of the pleasures of visiting Tbilisi, Georgia, are the exhibitions about its history. This summer I visited The Art of Silver Mastership in 4th–19th Century Georgia, an exhibition bringing together remarkable silver objects excavated from archaeological sites throughout Georgia. Spanning more than 1,500 years, the exhibition is about silversmithing and also about the lives of the people who owned these objects.

 

The exhibition traces the extraordinary skill of Georgian silversmiths through centuries of changing kingdoms, invasions, trade routes, and fashions. Every display case contains objects that were once part of everyday life, or at least the everyday life of those wealthy enough to own them.

 

There are elegant jewellery pieces: rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and finely worked pendants. There are ornate clothing accessories, such as dress pins, hat pins and decorative fasteners that transformed practical garments into works of art. Some of the smallest objects are among the most fascinating, such as the delicate silver pins tipped with amber or deep blue stones. There are also armour fittings, weapon decorations and military ornaments of medieval Georgia, a kingdom between Europe and Asia. 

 

A surprise was discovering personal accessories that could easily pass for modern fashion, such as a crafted silver purse with delicate chainwork. Another favourite was a garment made entirely from hundreds of linked silver discs.

 

Then there are objects such as engraved drinking horns, ceremonial pipes, bowls, pitchers and tableware that demonstrate that hospitality has long been part of Georgian culture. Sharing wine, food and conversation has always been part of Georgia's identity.

 

Across sixteen centuries, the exhibit displays a wide range of silver objects showcasing the art of silver mastership.

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MARTINA NICOLLS

MARTINA NICOLLS is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in foreign aid evaluations and audits, education, psychosocial support, resilience, peace and stabilization, and communication, including script writing. She lives in Paris. Her latest books are: If Paris Were My Lover (2025), Tranquility Mapping (2025), Moon, Mood, and Mind Mapping Tracker (2025), and Innovations within Constraints Handbook (2025). She is the author  of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce  (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009). 

 

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