2017-05-19
TSU Hosts Exhibition “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin and the Rustaveli Epoch”
Unique manuscripts, publications and illustrations of The Knight in the Panther’s Skin were displayed at the exhibition held at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) on May 19. Rector of TSU, Giorgi Sharvashidze, Minister of Education and Science, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandre Jejelava, and Director of the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts, Zaza Abashidze attended the event.
Unique materials kept at the TSU Library, the TSU Emigration Museum and the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts were displayed at the exhibition dedicated to Shota Rustaveli’s 850th anniversary.
Oldest and rarest editions of The Knight in the Panther’s Skin kept in the TSU Library collections, including the first printed version published by King Vakhtang VI in 1712, as well as the second edition published in 1888 with the financial support of Giorgi Kartvelishvili and illustrated by Hungarian artist Mihály Zichy were exhibited. Viewers had an opportunity to view the editions translated into various languages (French, German, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Persian, Arabic, Chechen, Latvian, Ossetian, etc.). Korean translation of The Knight in the Panthers Skin, which was translated in 2016 and presented to the TSU Library as a gift by the Korean Ambassador to Georgia, was also displayed at the exhibition.
TSU Rector Giorgi Sharvashidze said: “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin has already been translated into many languages and this process is still underway. Last year the poem was translated into the Korean language and this edition is also exhibited today. The exhibition will last for a week. It has a very interesting start and I hope that we will have a lot of guests,” Rector Sharvashidze said.
“The 850th anniversary of Shota Rustaveli is a very important date in the history of our nation. It is not only literature; it is the foundation of our values and it can be said that it is the world level poem. Therefore, marking this day has both local and international importance,” Georgian Education Minister, Aleksandre Jejelava said. He noted that Rustaveli and his epic poem will be one of the reasons for visiting the Frankfurt Book Fair next year. “This year we plan to hold a lot of events in Georgia and outside its limits. We will be good Europeans and good Georgians, if we remember our roots and those values on which the Georgian state has been built,” Jejelava added.
The National Center of Manuscripts presented the original illustrations by Hungarian artist Mihály Zichy; so called “live photos” taken by Zichy before creating illustrations of the Knight in the Panther’s Skin; these photos were taken in Tbilisi and Kutaisi and were later used for creating illustrations. The photos depict prominent Georgians of the 1980s: Giorgi Sharvashidze, Babo Dadiani, etc. Among the exhibits were exact copies of unique manuscripts of the Knight in the Panther’s Skin.
“An official part of the Year of Rustaveli is actually beginning today. The university is the right place to exhibit this huge wealth kept at the National Center of Manuscripts. It is worth noting that the Georgian Historical-Ethnographic Museum, which had kept all these manuscripts in its time, was located just in the building of the Tbilisi State University,” Zaza Abashidze, director of the National Center of Manuscripts, said.
Unique materials kept at the TSU Library, the TSU Emigration Museum and the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts were displayed at the exhibition dedicated to Shota Rustaveli’s 850th anniversary.
Oldest and rarest editions of The Knight in the Panther’s Skin kept in the TSU Library collections, including the first printed version published by King Vakhtang VI in 1712, as well as the second edition published in 1888 with the financial support of Giorgi Kartvelishvili and illustrated by Hungarian artist Mihály Zichy were exhibited. Viewers had an opportunity to view the editions translated into various languages (French, German, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Persian, Arabic, Chechen, Latvian, Ossetian, etc.). Korean translation of The Knight in the Panthers Skin, which was translated in 2016 and presented to the TSU Library as a gift by the Korean Ambassador to Georgia, was also displayed at the exhibition.
TSU Rector Giorgi Sharvashidze said: “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin has already been translated into many languages and this process is still underway. Last year the poem was translated into the Korean language and this edition is also exhibited today. The exhibition will last for a week. It has a very interesting start and I hope that we will have a lot of guests,” Rector Sharvashidze said.
“The 850th anniversary of Shota Rustaveli is a very important date in the history of our nation. It is not only literature; it is the foundation of our values and it can be said that it is the world level poem. Therefore, marking this day has both local and international importance,” Georgian Education Minister, Aleksandre Jejelava said. He noted that Rustaveli and his epic poem will be one of the reasons for visiting the Frankfurt Book Fair next year. “This year we plan to hold a lot of events in Georgia and outside its limits. We will be good Europeans and good Georgians, if we remember our roots and those values on which the Georgian state has been built,” Jejelava added.
The National Center of Manuscripts presented the original illustrations by Hungarian artist Mihály Zichy; so called “live photos” taken by Zichy before creating illustrations of the Knight in the Panther’s Skin; these photos were taken in Tbilisi and Kutaisi and were later used for creating illustrations. The photos depict prominent Georgians of the 1980s: Giorgi Sharvashidze, Babo Dadiani, etc. Among the exhibits were exact copies of unique manuscripts of the Knight in the Panther’s Skin.
“An official part of the Year of Rustaveli is actually beginning today. The university is the right place to exhibit this huge wealth kept at the National Center of Manuscripts. It is worth noting that the Georgian Historical-Ethnographic Museum, which had kept all these manuscripts in its time, was located just in the building of the Tbilisi State University,” Zaza Abashidze, director of the National Center of Manuscripts, said.
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