Exhibition at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University .
More than one hundred of the rare antique
books preserved in the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Science Library were put on show at the university’s assembly hall on December 12. Among the items on
display was the first Georgian publication in history, “Georgian Alphabet with Prayers,” printed in Rome in 1629. The book is in both Georgian and Italian, and was issued to diplomat Nikopere Irbakhi in Georgia. “The diplomatic mission had hard times then, as Georgia was going through a difficult period,” says Gia Khubua, rector of the university. “But now we have this unique book.” The book was among the oldest presented at the exhibition. The show also included some of the oldest books in Italian, Russian, German, English, Arabic and many other languages from around the world, like a volume of Italian poetry dated to 1547. The exhibition was supported by the
Foreign Relations Department of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Tea Gergetava, of the Foreign Relations Department, said they had put only a few of the university’s treasures on display—and not for long. “
are very valuable and very fragile, and will be stored back away in the library after the exhibition,” she said. A number of officials, including Khobua Deputy Culture Minister Nika Vacheishvili and more than a few foreign ambassadors attended the exhibition. UN Resident Representative in Georgia Robert Watkins, a self-professed bibliophile, admitted he would love to be able to buy every one of the books on display. “I love books very much, and to be honest I was hoping that there was going to be sale at the exhibition…. I’m very happy to see all these interesting books, and this is my first visit to this room. I’ve been to the university before, but never to the assembly hall,” he enthused. “It’s a very beautiful place to show and exhibit books.” His pick of the lot, Watkins said, was the 17th century “Georgian Alphabet with Prayers.” Bernd Schroder, a professor at the University of Zaarland, said this was his first visit to a book exhibition in Georgia. “For us foreigners, it’s very interesting to see the really old books. They are very precious,” he commented. The professor’s German guest, Dr. Armin Mortiz, said he was most partial to the German books on display. Khubua, the rector, said the university would open a science and education museum to display some of these rare publications, and to give a glimpse of a little-seen facet of Georgian culture to foreign tourists and locals alike. “This museum will be one of the best ways for people to learn more about Georgia and its rich cultural heritage. People should learn that the history of Georgia’s universities doesn’t start in 1918, but has deeper roots in the Ikalto Gelati academy,” Khubua said. He added that the international texts on display confirm that Georgia has always had relations with other culture—and that Georgians have been reading books since the first bound text was printed. “The oldest book displayed here today was published in Guterberg, several years after the very first book saw daylight…. Georgian culture has always been open, and always been keen to adopt everything worthwhile it can find. I believe the books you see here are valuable not simply due to their age, but because they are classic books which will always have readers, and will never get too old to read,” Khubua said. Currently, the university together with the Culture Ministry are implementing project, with a grant from the president’s office, to painstakingly restore the collection’s oldest books. “The restorations will be followed with an exhibition, so it’s not simply a closed process in the laboratory but something that can be seen by anyone interested,” said Deputy Culture Minister Vacheishvili.
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