The Dress of a 12th Century Svan Man

 


The Dress of a 12th Century Svan Man

Davit Jamburiani / David Bonar

davidbonar01@gmail.com





The purpose of this research is to reconstruct the dress of a male presenting Svan noble from the 12th century. While there is a lack of extant clothing and limited archaeological sources covering this area there is a body of visual art that provides many clues. These sources, mostly church frescos, are limited in their depiction of different social classes and gender but can still provide a starting point for it is said in the chronicles that by the 11th century Georgia was wealthy enough that even the low ranking population dressed beautifully and tastefully. (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011 p. 18). This research focuses on the outer robe. Additional garments such as shirts and hats will be addressed but mainly in connection to the interpretation of the robes.

A note on nomenclature. For the first part of this paper the term robe will apply to any outer garment that opens completely and tunic for any outer garment that is pulled on over the head. The word shirt will be reserved for undergarments. Georgian terms will be provided in the section on recreation.  

Svaneti and Georgia in Context

Svaneti is a mountainous region on the southern side of the Caucasus Mountains in the NW corner of the modern country of Georgia bordering Abkhazia..The Svan are an ethnic group who speak a Kartvelian language related to Georgian. They have historically lived in Svaneti as well as surrounding regions including Racha,Lechkhumi, Samegrelo, and Abkhazia (Gasiviani, G. 1991 p. 198-203). In the 9th and 10th centuries, prior to the unification of the Kingdom of Georgia, the Svan were part of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. During the 11th through 13th centuries during the Golden Age of the unified Kingdom of Georgia Svaneti was both politically and culturally important. (Kenia, M. 2010 p. 9)

In a broader context the Kingdom of Georgia was founded by the 1008 CE union between the Kingdom of Abkhazia and the Kingdom of Iberia by Bagrat III.. By the 12th century Georgia was the dominant power in the South Caucasus and into the northern Caucasus though allegiances with Alania and conquest of Derbent and Shirvan The region itself must be recognized as a very cosmopolitan space with a mixture of linguistic, cultural, religious, political boundaries and allegiances. Christianization in the 4th century did not remove the cultural and societal leanings of the Georgians. (Rapp, 2009 p. 683) These cultural connections include a divide between the Western Georgia region (the Kingdom of Abkhazia and the Black Sea coastal area) with strong ties to Roman and Greek culture and the Eastern Georgian (east of the Likhi Range) region with strong ties to Iranian culture both before and after the spread of Islam to the South Caucasus.

While the shared religion, use of imperial titles, and iconography connect the Kingdom of Georgia to the Eastern Roman Empire it is incorrect to view it as merely a border of the empire. Prior to the unification of Georgia the Georgian Bagratids used Eastern Roman imperial titles to show their ties to the empire and enhance their credibility and legitimacy as the leading Christian rulers in the area. (Nikolaishvili, 2019, p.59) (Rapp, S. 2017 p. 16) This continued under the first kings of Georgia.

The reign of David IV showed a distinct change in the importance of imperial titles. While he father Georgi II had minted coins using his imperial titles of sebastos and then kaisar by sometime in the 1090s Davit IV minted coins with his imperial titles diminished in size and importance. By the beginning of the 12th century, Davit had renounced his Eastern Roman titles and ceased referring to them in official acts and coinage. (Nikolaishvili, p. 107) The 12th century reigns of Davit IV’s son Demetre I and grandson Giorgi II saw the continuation of the trend. With the capital in Tbilisi and rulership over significant Muslim subjects in Tbilisi, Shirvan, and Ganja there was a flourishing of Persian culture and a recognition that the Kingdom of Georgia was tied more closely to Islamic world even as it maintained its status as a Christian nation. (Rayfield, D. 2019 p. 96)

The imagery found in the depiction of Georgian kings and nobles has been examined in detail. (Eastmond, A 1998) The trend is similar to that seen with coinage; the Georgian kings used Eastern Roman royal garb, such as depictions of the royalty wearing loros, to gain legitimacy.. During the late 11th and through the 12th century as the power of the Kingdom of Georgia grew relative to the power that the Eastern Roman empire could project into the Caucasus there was a rise in the use of different garb in depictions of Georgian royalty. This garb is considered to be a local style. With the reign of Queen Tamar there is a return to an Eastern Roman style of depiction to enhance the legitimacy of a female ruler.

This local style of clothing, which can also be seen in frescos showing the garb of Church donors during the 11th and 12th centuries, has similarities with Seljuk clothing. It has been suggested that this might represent an attempt to enhance status (Flood, F. 2017 p. 237) or to display sophistication. (Peacock, 2011 p. 77) The first full example of the complete Turkic inspired outfit (hat and arm bands) appears to be in the last quarter of the 11th century in Zemo Krikhi. (Kalandia, G 2020 p. 224)

Of course the history and culture of the region is entangled with all of its neighbors, not only the major empires. While the dynasties of the Persian intermezzo, especially the Shaddadids and Shirvanshahs, have been alluded to in connection to Persian culture, it is worth specifically mentioning Alania and the North Caucasian region. Alania had historic ties by marriage and vassalage to the Kingdom of Georgia. It is also across the crest of the Caucasus Mountains from Svaneti with noted cultural similarities and trade connections along that Misimian branch of the Silk Road.. This is especially important for research on clothing due to the significant finds at Moshchevaya Balka and other North Caucasian sites. (Orfinskaya, 2013) (Hensellek, 2020) While these finds are dated significantly prior to the time of interest in this research, mostly dating from the 10th century or prior, there is reason to believe that the local style had at least some connection to the North Caucasus.

Examination of the Visual Record - Robes

The earliest fresco showing the local style is the fresco at the Ateni Sioni Church. The interior was replastered and covered with frescos in the later half of the 11th century. (Ateni, murals of Sioni Church, 2021) The north wall contains a procession of disputed identity but clearly royalty. Unfortunately most available images use the much later Russian recreation. (fig 1) Most of the figures are in Eastern Roman inspired court dress or, in the case of the figure on the right, religious dress. However the figure second from the right (in red) is wearing a secular outfit with a robe that appears to be slit down the middle of the front and, based on the equal triangular lapel flaps, not overlapping. His sleeves have a decorative band around the bicep.

The late 11th century frescos of donors in the previously mentioned Church of the Archangel in Zemo Krikhi. (fig. 2) The two donors are both wearing red robes with decorative upper arm bands. The figure on the left is wearing an overlapping, side opening caftan whereas the figure on the right has a center opening robe with two equal lapel flaps opened to expose his shirt underneath. As with the figure at Ateni Sioni the robe or caftan extends to the knee.

Perhaps the most notable image containing the local style is the coronation of Demetre I. (fig. 6) The fresco is at the Matskhvarishi Church of the Saviour in Svaneti and has a date of 1142 CE on the inscription. It shows two nobles belting a sword on to the standing figure of Demetre I. All three figures are in front opening robes with double triangular lapel flaps. As with the coinage minted during Demetre I’s reign the complete lack of Eastern Roman imagery in the style of the fresco and the garb of the participants shows that the Georgian kings did not feel they needed to show off their connections to the Eastern Roman empire.

A slightly later image (fig. 8) likely from the reign of Demetre’s son and successor Giorgi III shows a church donor in the Hadishi Church of the Saviour wearing another front opening robe with bicep bands. This fresco is notable for the preservation (outside of the area of the face) and the clear depiction of the lapel flaps coming to a non-overlapping point at the front and extending around the neck instead of stopping at the neck opening. This second fact suggests a form of band or standing collar that is worn folded down when the flaps are open. In the literature it is described as “the traditional clothing of a Georgian noble; strongly drawn in at the waist, long sleeved, with a round cut neck opening and a raised collar that lies like triangles on the heart.” (Kenia, 2011 p. 24)

Early 13th century royal imagery of Queen Tamar, such as that at the Betania Monastery (fig. 9), show a return to Eastern Roman royal garb for the monarch. To her left is a figure identified as Giorgi Lasha, her son and the future King Giorgi IV, wearing the open fronted, double triangular lapels, knee length robe with arm bands. This fresco is early in her reign when the idea of a female ruler needed to borrow from the prestige of earlier Eastern Roman empresses who ruled in their own right such as Irene and Zoe. Notably the court saw no reason to assume that Giorgi Lasha needed to borrow legitimacy.

From a similar time frame in the late 12th or possibly early 13th century we have the final image of a Georgian noble in the open fronted robe with arm bands and double triangular lapel flaps and a very visible extension for these lapels back around the neck. (fig. 10) This is Rati Surameli from a donor portrait in the Vardzia Monastery. Later frescos of Georgian nobles during the 14th century show either side opening robes (figs. 11-12, 15) or a totally different style of front opening robe (figs. 13-14). Whether this is because of a desire to adopt the clothing of the Mongols or merely a local change in fashion is unknown.

There are other extant frescos from the time period that provide different information. These are mostly incidental figures in religious themed frescos who are dressed in the then common clothing. (figs 3, 4a,b, 5) The first shows the killing of St. Cerycus and St. Julitta while the second torture of St. George on the rack at the order of Diocletian. The killer and the two torturers are wearing robes that close up the front. While the killer's neckline is unclear, the two torturers are clearly weaning robes with a banded collar in the same fabric that decorates the front of their robes. (fig. 4b) The fresco of the entrance to Jeruselam in the Matskhvarishi Church of the Saviour shows commoners watching. They are dressed in decorated tunics instead of robes although the central figure is turning flaps on his tunic out as if they were the lapels on a Georgian robe.

Two images (figs 7a and 7b) both show a robe open at the front that is buttoned up to the neck with sharply downwards pointing lapels. The first is a 12th century donor portrait from a church in Svaneti while the second is a 12th century anthropomorphic statue from the North Caucasus region. These statues are associated with the pagan beliefs of many steppe cultures and used in some funeral customs by the Alans even after Christianization. (Hensellek 2020 p. 182) Hensellek describes this type of robe as being similar to the earlier 7th to 9th century examples from the North Caucasus.

An image from the 14th century shows a very different style. (fig. 16) This is the donor portrait for the Khobi Monastery in far western Georgia (Abkhazia). The man shown, Giorgi II Dadiani, has a Svan last name but his robe is very different from those pictured on nobles in Svaneti and Racha. His robe has a larger, rounded opening without lapels. It is only held closed by a sash at the waist, and it is richly patterned.

Finally there are two 13th century frescoes showing Giorgi Lasha. (fig. 17) One, mentioned earlier from the Betania Monastery, is wearing a robe with triangular collars and a central slit. The other, on the left in the figure, is wearing an outfit that slightly resembles the so-called Persian riding coat (fig. 20). It is unclear if this coat has a particular meaning but it is not found in other images in Georgia. (Kalandia, G. 2017)

Examination of the Visual Record - Shirts

None of the men are shown wearing only a shirt. Commoners are shown wearing tunics that do not open along the front. It is unclear what is worn under them but it is likely that there is an inner shirt that is not pictured.

Wealthy and noble men are shown with a shirt visible at the neck no matter what type of robe is worn. The necklines are shown straight with no keyhole or visible slit. It is possible that the neckline is low enough that they can be pulled over the head. Alternatively it is possible that there is a slit along a shoulder or down the left side of the front. Either way the slit would be held closed by some sort of fastener or tie. The length of the shirt is unknown from frescoes as it is never seen below the robe. The issue of the shirt will be addressed more in the section on recreation.

Examination of the Visual Record - Hats

Although Kalandia describes the hats worn in the frescos from Zemo Krikhi and the Vardzia Monastery (figs 2 and 15) he does not name them. Flood identifies them as sharbush, a Turkic headgear. This seems to be a reasonable identification; they do not have the metal plate that is common on many sharbush but they have the shape and the fur trim.

The donor portrait (fig 8) from the Hadishi Church of the Saviour wears a round cap divided into four with a thick twisted strap, finished with a tufted brim on the forehead. (Kenia, 2011 p. 25) While the tufted brim is much like the fur trim on the sharbush the shape is somewhat different and it is possible that the fresco was showing a winding of cloth around the rim of the cap. The donor of the Tsvirmi Church of St. George also wears a round hat divided into four with decorative trim although the trim around the head is plain fabric instead of fur. The hat on the unidentified man third from the left in the fresco at Ateni Sioni (fig. 1) wears a similar shaped cap but without fur or twisted trim. Finally the cap on the 14th donor of the Khobi Monastery (fig. 16) appears to be an unadorned version of the same cap done in a solid color fabric similar to the modern Svaneti caps. (Kalandia, 2019 p. 93) . All of these round caps have some resemblance to the Rus princely hats from the late 13th century as seen in the Radziwiłł Manuscript. (Beebe 2022)

In fig. 6 the nobleman kneeling on the right side is wearing a hard to see hat. It has been described as a tall cone with a wrapping of fabric around the base in the fashion of a turban. (Kalandia, G. 2019 p.54-55) This type of hat is not seen in other frescoes. As with the singular instance of the downwards pointed lapels found in fig. 7a it feels like this style is ambiguous without additional support.

In general the record of hats emphasizes the elite nature of the figures present in the frescos. The sharbush is specifically the hat of the military class. The domed hat as presented is highly decorated. By comparison the image of the Entrance to Jerusalem in the Matskhvarishi Church of the Saviour (fig. 5) shows commoners. Their head wear is hard to pick out from the crowd scene; it seems to be either some form of hood, close fitting caps, or bare headed. Similarly the men torturing St. George are pictured as bare headed.

A Note on Fabric

Wool and flax textiles have a long history in the north Caucasus dating back to at least 3200 BCE (Shishilina et al, 2003). Flax and hemp textiles have been produced in southwestern Georgia with evidence dating back to at least 2000 BCE. The same site has yielded evidence of cotton fabric that is assumed to have been acquired by trading (Bedianashavili et al, 2022). It is expected that wool and linen would remain the mainstay of clothing textiles in the region. There are possible links to hemp production continuing especially in Svaneti but documentation is lacking and it is unclear if the fiber was used in lower class clothing or for utilitarian purposes such as ropes that would benefit from the stronger hemp fibers.

Looking at the 11th through 13th centuries the consensus is that flax, cotton, wool, and silk were in common use as fibers with silk also being an export commodity. (Kalandia, 2017 p. 13) In the absence of other evidence the general assumption in European historical recreation (or American recreation of European historical clothing) is that wool is the period choice for outer clothing. Yet in the North Caucasus there is evidence from multiple sites that linen was used to make caftans. (Kajitani, N. 2001)(Knauer, E. 2001) (Orfinskaya, O. 2013) Either material is probably a defensible option in the absence of archaeological evidence.

Some medieval decorative textile samples from churches in Svaneti have survived (Kec’xoveli, 1988) and, when combined with the extensive survey of frescos and miniatures (Kalandia, 2017), it is possible to get an idea of the fabrics and patterns that are documented. The earlier the garment, the more likely it is to be a solid color. Later garments (figs. 11-16) are generally patterned although, as would be expected, all royal garments are of patterned fabric and even the solid color fabric is decorated with borders of decorative fabric or embroidery. Sasanian style patterns (whether of Sasanian, Eastern Roman, or local origin is not always apparent) are known but during the time in question they are found in church fabric and not shown in frescos. Instead garments have smaller and simpler patterns with repeating figures or floral designs on a plain background. Large, Ottoman, style patterns are not seen during the 11th and 12th centuries.

The reconstruction world has, with good reason, often focused on silk as the only luxury fabric. Kalandia’s study of frescos identifies silk, moire (Kalandia, 2017 p. 44) and velvet (Kalandia, 2017 p. 33) in depicted garments from the 11th through the 13th centuries. However this sampling leans towards the royal frescos and skips some of the donor frescos in Svaneti (figs 6 outside of Demetre I’s clothing, 7a, and 8) and all figures that are not donors or royalty. It is an open question what fabric would have been used on the decorative trim for a lower ranking or less wealthy noble but block printed cotton and yarn dyed ikat fabric are known to have been desired as decorative fabric in the Eastern Roman and Islamic worlds in this time frame.

Design Notes for Reconstruction - Robe and Shirt

From the visual evidence we can pick out a basic garb for a 12th century Georgian nobleman as a shirt (visible at the neck and long sleeved), an outer robe, and a hat. Pants are not definitively seen on frescos but it is unclear if they were worn.. They were known in medieval Georgia and there is evidence for them in other art. (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011 p. 63) They could be covered at the top by the robe and at the ankles by boots so that they are not distinctly different from other leggings in frescoes.. Given this idea pants, hose or leggings and some form of boxer style garment would match the lower body garb shown in the frescos. This general pattern of a shirt, robe, and trousers or leggings fits the pattern found in the North Caucasus and Seljuq areas during the time period.

The shirt, in Georgian perangi, is suggested to be short and with a vertical slit on the left shoulder closed with a button. (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011 p. 65) This makes sense in a culture that wears pants instead of hose to reduce the bulk of fabric at the waist. There is also a suggestion that the majority of Georgian, those who did not regularly ride horses, would have worn a longer shirt more similar to a tunic with leggings. (Topchishvili, R. 2019)

For the most distinctly Georgian choice the outer robe should follow the pattern identified in donor figures (figs. 1, 2, 6, 7a, 8, 9, and 10). That is a long sleeved garment with thin sleeves, center opening, buttoned and close fitting down to the waist, knee length or mid calf, and with a raised collar that lies down like triangles either pointing parallel to the ground or pointing towards the ground (fig. 7a,b). The base fabric of the robe should be a solid color as should the shirt. Buttons or fasteners should be minimally visible, likely cloth buttons of the decorative trim fabric, as they are not obvious in most frescos although there is evidence from the North Caucasus (fig. 7b) of obvious buttons. No decorative frogging is shown until the 14th century. The robe is decorated at the cuffs, along the central opening, at the collar, and in arm bands. On most garments the decorative trim is the same at all points. Going by the images of men wearing this garment with the collar up (figs. 3, 4a and b) the collar is decorated on the outside as well as the inside facing.

The proposed raised or band collar (Kenia, 2011) has been seen in areas that are not too far from Georgia including Anatolia (Dawson, 2002, Dawson, 2003) and the North Caucasus (Hensellek, 2020). The shape of the triangular flaps and the continuation of the trim fabric around the neck that can be seen (figs 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10) requires a band collar. The two depictions of pointed lapels (7a,b) would seem to require a two part collar similar to a modern shirt. There are other Turkic stelae that might provide information on the pointed collars but for now I consider the pointed collar style as interesting but unsupported without further research.

It is possible to make a case that this style is also particularly Svan. Beyond the number of representations on frescoes in Svaneti, which might be survivorship bias based on Svaneti’s remoteness, this is supported by the collar which is seen on extant robes from the North Caucasus but not generally on Persianate robes. Contrasting this is the style of the arm bands.. They are often referred to as tiraz in reference to the Islamic style even though there is evidence of a Persian origin prior to the Islamic conquest (Chofikashvili, N. 1964 p. 108) and Georgian examples show both purely decorative bands and bands that have a pseudo-Kufic appearance.(Kalandia, G. 2017)

While I have used robe as a generic word there is a need to be specific. Using modern fashion terminology the garment in question is a coat; a front-fastening garment with symmetrical front panels and sleeves. (Hensellek, 2020 p. 17). This stands in opposition to a robe which is of similar construction but more generously cut and a kaftan which is a similar garment but with an asymmetrical, overlapping front. Using this terminology the left figure in the donor portrait at Zemo Krikhi (fig. 2) is wearing a kaftan while the right figure is wearing a coat. Note that this terminology is not standardized in either the academic or historical recreation worlds.

Complicating the issue is the possible imprecision in the terms center-cut (or opening in the center) and overlapping. Fig. 18 shows a caftan that is considered to be overlapping by Henselleck (Henselleck, B. 2020). Compared to the Turkic or Mongol style crossover caftans (fig. 11 for example) this could be considered a central front opening. Yet the two sides are asymmetrical and the opening is offset even if the offset is small and similar to a modern shirt front. This can be compared to the style of men’s dress from the Svaneti frescoes shown in fig. 19 where the opening is down the centerline and the two triangular flaps have no overlap. (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011) The interpretation of no overlap is supported in earlier literature which describes the garments as having “a double vertical stripe from the collar.” (Chofikashvili, N. 1964. p. 78).

Whether one considers this a coat or a caftan in Georgian it is a kaba (Topchishvili, 2019 p. 54) (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011 p. 56) with the statement that this translates as “dress” but in historical context it was not gender specific. This is clearly connected to the Persian word qaba, potentially the same term with different transliterations, and the Greek kabbadion for the garment of similar cut. Neither the Persian word nor the Georgia word separate the center opening (whether with or without a small overlap) from the asymmetrical crossover styles without additional modifiers. A similar style of clothing is called a juba although this term is considered incorrect by some. (Chofikashvili, N. 1964 p. 79) A possible distinction is provided by Ugrekhelidze who suggests that a juba is made as one piece whereas a kaba is made as a top plus a skirt with a seam at the waist and continues to suggest that a kaba could be worn under a juba.. (Ugrekhelidze, I. p. 56). Either a kaba or a juba could have the diminutive ending -cha added to indicate a shorter and short sleeved version. (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011 p. 52) By this description the donor portrait in the Lagami Upper Church of the Saviour (fig. 13) is wearing a kabacha.

Design Notes for Reconstruction - Hats

During the 12th century the hat would be a version of a round or dome shaped hat with a band around the forehead. The band could be embroidery, decorative fabric or fur depending on the status of the wearer. The hats with fur trim strongly resemble the Turkic sharbush hat and arrive in the pictorial record at the right time to fit the idea of borrowing status or sophistication from the Seljuks. Given the limited number of examples it is impossible to determine which one is a better option but the round hat with a decorated but not fur band seems to be the most strictly Georgian and, given the military nature of the sharbush, perhaps more fitting outside of a military or high nobility.

Even for a lower class or less well off person a four piece hat with a band around the head of some form is a common form very similar to what is known as a Svan or Kaheti hat today (as well as being similar to migration era or Viking hats. Modern Svan hats are felted and decorated only with simple cords or lines of stitching. It is possible that a period hat would also have been felted especially for everyday or winter use.

Variations due to class

During the Georgian Golden Age it was recorded that servants dressed like their masters. This is supported by miniatures and relief carvings showing merchants and workers. (Ugrekhelidze, I. 2011 p. 68) In general the juba and kaba are appropriate for all but the lowest in society although the fabric would differ. In some cases laborers are shown in a longer shirt, more tunic like,

Creating Patterns

With no extant clothing, creating a pattern is heavily dependent on sources from nearby cultures. Of these the most extensively documented is the collection of garments from North Caucasus burial sites including Moshchevaja Balka. Multiple patterns have been drafted for clothing finds including at least three different adult male caftans (figs. 21 - 23). (Kajitani, N. 2001) (Orfinskaya, O. 2013) All include garments constructed with a seam at the waist, sleeves with larger triangular gores that approximate the curved arc used to shape the sleeve to torso region on a felted garment, two vents in the back, and crossover front panels. Caftans from children and teenagers show more European style rectangular construction with small gussets at the underarm. Orfinskaya proposes that the two different patterns represent a transition over time from garments cut in the manner of cutting a felt garment to those cut in a manner to best use woven fabric of narrow width. Combining that with the fact that the cemeteries at Lower Arkhyz cover a later time period when compared to Moshchevaya Balka it is possible that some of these garments were from as late as the 11th or 12th century even though no concrete statement can be made as much of the in situ information about the finds that might have been used for dating has been lost. Unfortunately no pattern has been proposed for caftans with openings closer to the center (fig. 24 and particularly the bottom picture)) even though caftans of this form were found in the North Caucasus. (Hensellek, B. 2020)

Academic sources have generally agreed that Persian dress in the Seljuq and Iranian Intermezzo periods resembled earlier Central Asian and North Caucasian examples based on art from around the region. (Peck, E. 2012) At the present time I have not come across any academic patterns created from extant garments or extrapolating from fragments for 11th - 13th century Seljuq, or Persianate coats. There are SCA patterns available but most are, like the North Caucasus ones, for crossover caftans. Those that are for center opening coats are either based on later Ottoman and Safavid Persian outfits or they have been presented without enough information to know exactly what they are trying to match.

Using the similarity between Persian, Central Asian, and North Caucasian garb as a starting point it would be straightforward to recreate the crossover caftans seen in some frescoes such as figs. 2 (left hand person) and 11. For example, the pattern that has been suggested as potentially later than the 10th century (fig. 23) would give the proper silhouette and construction using a separate skirt section although the sleeves might be too generous to match the descriptions and frescoes. However the front opening coat is harder due to the unanswered question concerning the construction of the front panel. Besides being 400 years later, historical reenactor’s patterns based on later Safavid clothing are not consistent. Some patterns include triangular pieces attached to the sides of the front opening to make the skirt fuller. Others show the cut from neck to hem with no additional material other than trim.

Conclusions

While there is no extant clothing from the medieval Kingdom of Georgia there is enough visual and contextual clues to create a basic outfit. Multiple different outer garment types are found in the art of the period. The center cut coat with a stand collar able to be folded down to form two lapels of triangular shape is the most common during the 11th and 12th centuries. Other options include a caftan with crossover front flaps and a caftan with a smaller overlap on the front and a shape reminiscent of a Persian-style riding coat. While the front opening kaba has strong Turkic connections the cultural connections to the northern Caucasus suggest the use of a pattern derived from the North Caucasus burial sites is suggested in the absence of detailed information on similar Turkic or Persian garments of the time period. The default material choice would be wool or linen with silk trim however there are historically supported options for other trim fabrics that are possibly more appropriate for a man of somewhat lower status or wealth who is interested in following the fashion of higher nobility.


Illustrations

Fig. 1 Ateni Sioni Church - The mural is mostly known from its reconstruction shown below. [original mural from the second half of the 11th century]








Fig. 2 Donor fresco portraits from the Church of the Archangel Zemo-Krikhi - [Racha 11th century]







Fig. 3 Lagurka ( Church of St. Cerycus and St. Julitta in Kala) - [Svaneti 1112 AD]







Fig. 4a Nakipari Church of St. George - [Svaneti 1130 AD]







Fig. 4b Close up of the neck area on the two torturers in image 4.







Fig. 5 Matskhvarishi Church of the Saviour - [Svaneti 1140]







Fig. 6 Matskhvarishi Church of the Saviour - [Svaneti 1140 AD]







Fig. 6b Coronation of Demetre I fresco with the background digitally edited out to enhance visibility. (Kalandia, G. 2017)







Fig. 7a Tsvirmi ( Chobani Quarter) Church of St. George - [Svaneti 12th century]







Fig. 7b Dlinnaia Poliana balbal statue, Alanic, 12th century CE, Nizhnii Arkhyz, Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkesiia, Russian Federation, Stavropol Regional Museum, Stavropol







Fig. 8 Hadishi Church of the Saviour - [Svaneti 12-13th century]







Fig. 9 The mural in Betania Monastery, Georgia - [1207]







Fig. 10 Rati Surameli from the Vardzia Monastery - [1184-85]







Fig. 11 Sapara Church of St. Sabba, Samtskhe-Javakheti. - 14th century







Fig. 12 Sapara monastery bell tower, Samtskhe-Javakheti - [14th century]







Fig. 13 Lagami Upper Church of the Saviour - [Svaneti mid 14th century]







Fig. 14 Pari Svipi Church of St. George - [Svaneti mid 14th century]







Fig. 15 Church of Crucifixion of Sori - [Racha 14th - 15th century\








Fig. 16 Donor portrait Khobi Monastery - 14th century







Fig. 17 Giorgi Lasha in two frescoes; left is from Bertubania Monastery, right is from Betania Monastery. Both 13th century







Fig. 18 Methods of wearing a caftan from Henselleck 2020.







Fig. 19 Styles of men’s kaba. The middle version is the one of particular interest from donor portraits.







Fig. 20 Persian style riding coat (5th - 7th century)







Fig. 21 Pattern of Alanic caftan from Moshchevaya Balka from the Met Conservator;s Report (




Fig. 22 Pattern of Alanic caftan housed at the Karachai-Circassian Museum-Reserve (Orfinskaya, O. 2013 p. 88)







Fig. 23 Pattern of Alanic caftan housed at the Karachai-Circassian Museum-Reserve. Note that this pattern is assumed to be later than the pattern from fig. 22 and represents a more complete move to woven cloth patterning. (Orfinskaya, O. 2013 p. 89)







Fig. 24 Alanic caftans from Moshchevaya Balka housed at the State Hermitage Museum, photos by the author. (Hensellek, B. 2020)

References

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