Author : Prof. Mary Kay Judy

Timotesubani Church of the Virgin: Conservation Case Study

The Symposium Georgia Florence presentation will be a detailed case study of the Timotesubani Church restoration and how the conservation methodology is currently being applied to the Brick House (circa 1949) at the National Trust Philip Johnson’s Glass House complex in New Canaan, Connecticut in the United States.


Abstract:
The legacy of King David the Builder is revered in Georgia as the father of the modern Georgian identity. By creating an alliance with the Byzantine Empire to the west, and uniting all the regions of Georgia, King David had set the stage for his great-granddaughter Queen Tamar’s succeeding reign. Tamar, who is often referred to in historical texts as “King” Tamar, to symbolize her power, ushered in the Golden Age of Georgian history. Under Tamar’s rule, the country reached its zenith of military, economic and cultural power from 1184-1213.

Testifying to the glory of her Georgia’s strategic importance during the Middle Ages, are a handful of surviving Tamar-era cathedrals with priceless, jewel-like frescoed interiors. The cathedrals attest to the wealth, knowledge and dynamic cultural vibrancy Georgia enjoyed as an ally of the Byzantine Empire at the geographic confluence of the Eastern and Western worlds; transversed by the Silk Road trading routes from Central Asia and the Frankish Crusaders of northern Europe en route to Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Shortly after Queen Tamar’s reign in 1236, Ghenghis Khan led the Mongol invasion that abruptly ended the flowering of Georgian culture in it’s Golden Age. Following a period of Mongol domination, Georgia then endured centuries of foreign invasions by Turks and Persians, followed by a long period of Russian influence culminating in Soviet annexation in the early 20th century.

The most significant cathedral to survive from the reign of Queen Tamar is the Virgin Church of Timotesubani located approximately three hours west of the capital, Tbilisi, in the rural Borjomi region of central Georgia in the historic state of Kartli. The cathedral was built in 1200 A.D. on a rocky hillside in the secluded wooded landscape of Tori River valley above the village of Timotesubani.

Despite the centuries of foreign invasion, the disbanding of the Georgian Orthodox Church and years of neglect, the church has been able to retain its artistic and historic integrity and appears today much as it would have when it was originally constructed. The interior was completely covered in a full fresco cycle depicting Archangels, Prophets, Saints, scenes chronicling the life of Christ, the Last Judgment, Heaven, Hell and the Apocalypse.


In December 2005, the Georgian Art and Culture Center (GACC) completed the Virgin Church of Timotesubani’s five-year phased restoration project which included introducing site drainage for the unique topography, masonry and roofing repairs and replacement, and the complete documentation and conservation of the interior fresco cycle. The project was supported locally by governmental agencies and internationally by World Monuments Fund, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and Robert Wilson Challenge grant.

The Timotesubani restoration represents an excellent case study of a holistic site and building conservation- successfully bringing together multi-disciplinary specialists including geotechnical and structural engineers, microbiologists, architects, art historians and fresco conservators.

The Timotesubani restoration is now informing the author’s on-going work as the consulting restoration project manager of the Brick House (circa 1949) at the National Trust Philip Johnson’s Glass House complex in New Canaan, Connecticut in the United States. Although the site is one of America’s foremost Modernist properties, the site’s dynamics and conservation problems are remarkably similar to Timotesubani.

The proposed Symposium Georgia Florence presentation would include a detailed case study of the Timotesubani restoration and how the conservation methodology is currently being applied the Brick House’s investigation and restoration plan.