IVANE GVARAMADZE AND SARO ICON OF CHRIST THE SAVIOR

Abstract

The icon of Christ the Savior, was seen by Ivane Rostomashvili in the Church of Archangel in Saro. He wrote in the journal “A Traveller“ in 1901 that Leon Abashidze endowed it to the church in 1747. The icon hadn’t already been there in the time of Bolsheviks. It was considered to be lost. We became interested in the fate of the icon and found out that Konstantine, Ivane Gvaramadze’s son had given it to the Akhaltsikhe Museum. We found the icon in the funds of the museum and while examining it we saw a scratched inscription on the back of the iron painted in black. I have studied it well, with Nato Kruashvili,. It appeared that the inscription was done by Ivane Gvaramadze. It informs us that, Paata Chikviladzes and his wife Tamar Japaridze adorned the icon, and then perhaps endowed it to the church. Then Ivane Gvaramadze made an inscription on the back of the icon.