An archive relating to renowned Georgian artist Alexander Shervashidze has been discovered in London by a research team led by Giorgi Kalandia, General Director of the Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History and Doctor of Historical Sciences. The material was found in the collections of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
The discovery is particularly significant following the devastating fire at the Central Exhibition Hall in Sukhumi in January 2024, which destroyed around 4,000 artworks, including a substantial number by Shervashidze.
Born in 1867, Shervashidze was a painter, graphic artist, scenographer and art critic who worked at the Mariinsky and Alexandrinsky theaters in St Petersburg and later lived in exile in Paris and Monte Carlo. He died in 1968 at the age of 100.
The newly discovered documents offer valuable insight into the artist’s identity and cultural connections.
According to Kalandia, Shervashidze signed himself Shervashidze, rather than the Abkhaz form Chachba, and used Georgian letters for his signatures. The documents also reveal his close relationships with Georgians living in London.
Particularly significant is a genealogy compiled by Shervashidze himself, which repeatedly refers to Georgian noble families, including the Dadiani dynasty. The material could therefore provide researchers with new information about his family history and Georgian cultural connections.
Digital copies of the documents will be added to the Alexander Shervashidze collection at the Art Palace in Tbilisi, complementing material already preserved there.
The research was supported by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia. Kalandia and his team also thanked the Royal Asiatic Society for its cooperation and assistance in accessing Georgian-related materials in its collections.
The discovery shows how much Georgian history remains preserved in archives outside the country, and how much may still be waiting to be found.
By Team GT
