Images

This unique specimen of Colchian goldsmithery is one of the earliest examples of making patterns in sheet gold by cutting out portions of metal (opus interrasile). This artifact was found at the Vani archaeological site, burial no. 24, in...

This gold necklace likely belonged to a member of the royal family of Kartli. It dates from the 2nd to 3rd centuries BCE and was recovered from a burial in Armaztsikhe, Georgia. (Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi)

The pagoda of the Tianning Temple, Beijing. Constructed during the Khitan Liao dynasty (907-1125 CE).

A painting showing Khitan tribesmen hunting with eagles. 9-10th century CE.

A map indicating the territory controlled by the Liao dynasty (Khitans), 907-1125 CE.

This Christian antefix made of clay was once in Akhiza Church in Artanuji (Ardanuchi), Turkey. It dates from the 5th-6th centuries. (Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi)

This fragment was rediscovered in Davati village, located in eastern Georgia, in 1980. It was originally made in the 6th century CE from limestone. The standing figure of the Virgin Mary represents a unique iconographic type of the Virgin...

This phiale, on whose medallion the bust of a bearded male is represented, must have been made in one of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire or in the Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia), which is located in what's modern Georgia. Goldsmithery...

A stele or stonecross depicting scenes from the New Testament, including Christ's entry into Jerusalem (top half of stele) and his baptism (lower half of stele). It was created in Usaneti, located in southern Georgia, between 650-800 CE and...

This very large clay vessel was unearthed in Zhinvali, Georgia and dates from the first half of the 3rd millennium BCE. (Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi)