National Centre of Manuscripts (Tbilisi)

National Centre of Manuscripts (Tbilisi)
Name	National Centre of Manuscripts (Tbilisi)
Established	1959
Location	Tbilisi, Georgia
Type	Manuscript repository
Collection size	ca. 125,000 items

National Centre of Manuscripts (Tbilisi) The National Centre of Manuscripts (Tbilisi) is a major repository and research institute in Tbilisi, Georgia, specializing in medieval, early modern, and modern manuscripts, archives, and rare books. The Centre functions as a hub for manuscript studies, paleography, codicology, philology, and conservation, attracting scholars working on Caucasian, Byzantine, Islamic, Persian, Armenian, Georgian, Slavic, and European sources. It collaborates with universities, museums, libraries, and cultural organizations across Eurasia.

History

Founded during the Soviet period, the institution traces institutional roots to scholarly initiatives in Tbilisi connected to the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Manuscripts, and archival collections formed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Centre developed through links with the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, the State Museum of Georgia, and the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts’ predecessors, drawing on private collections, monastic libraries from Mount Athos, and deposits from the National Library of Georgia, the Tbilisi State University, and monasteries in Tao-Klarjeti. Over the decades it engaged with international projects involving the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Vatican Library, the Russian State Library, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Princeton University Library, and the Oriental Institute. During transitions after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Centre navigated legal frameworks tied to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Protection, UNESCO conventions, and bilateral cultural agreements with Turkey, Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Key moments include cataloguing campaigns influenced by methodologies from the British Museum, digitization initiatives aligned with the Library of Congress, and conservation partnerships with the Getty Conservation Institute and the International Council on Archives.

Collections

The Centre's holdings encompass Georgian palimpsests, ecclesiastical codices, secular charters, hagiographies, and illuminated Gospels alongside Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, Syriac, Hebrew, and Greek manuscripts. Collections include royal charters from the Bagrationi dynasty, correspondence linked to figures associated with the House of Romanov, documents connected to the Safavid dynasty, and travel accounts referencing the Caucasus by travellers such as Alexander Griboedov and John Bell. The repository preserves incunabula and early printed books related to the printing history in Venice, Constantinople, and Moscow, as well as maps and atlases with provenance tying to Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and the Habsburg territories. Archival fonds hold diplomatic correspondence, notarial records, legal codices, and ethnographic fieldnotes collected by researchers affiliated with Tbilisi State University, the Georgian Academy, and the Institute of History and Ethnology. The manuscript languages and scripts represented include Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri, Mkhedruli, Classical Armenian, Classical Arabic, Middle Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Greek minuscule, Hebrew square script, Syriac Estrangelo, Georgian chronicle materials tied to works like The Georgian Chronicles, colophons referencing monasteries such as Gelati, David Gareja, and Vardzia, and materials associated with figures like Shota Rustaveli, Ekvtime Takaishvili, and Ilia Chavchavadze.

Research and Conservation

Scholarly activity at the Centre embraces paleography, codicology, diplomatic studies, textual criticism, philology, and digital humanities. Researchers collaborate with specialists in Byzantine studies, Caucasiology, Persian studies, Armenian studies, Islamic studies, Slavic studies, and Romance philology. Conservation labs apply techniques informed by the international standards of ICOMOS, IFLA, and the American Institute for Conservation and involve treatments used by the British Library Conservation Studio, the National Archives of France, and the Conservation Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Scientific analyses include multispectral imaging, Raman spectroscopy, XRF, and paper fiber analysis developed in cooperation with laboratories at the Max Planck Institute, the École Pratique des Hautes Études, and the University of Oxford. The Centre issues critical editions, catalogues, and digital facsimiles, engaging with projects like the World Digital Library, Europeana, and national digitization strategies supported by the European Union and UNESCO.

Exhibitions and Public Programs

The Centre organizes rotating exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and seminars aimed at publics and specialists, coordinating with institutions such as the Georgian National Museum, the Tbilisi Open Air Museum of Ethnography, the Rustaveli Theatre institutions, and the National Parliamentary Library. Past exhibitions have showcased illuminated Gospels, palimpsests, diplomatic correspondence, and calligraphic traditions with loans from the State Historical Museum, the Hermitage Museum, the Bodleian Library, and the Vatican Apostolic Library. Public programming includes collaborations with UNESCO, ICOM, the British Council, the Goethe-Institut, the French Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution to run educational outreach, curator tours, and manuscript handling sessions for students from Ilia State University, Caucasus University, and international visiting scholars. The Centre participates in cultural festivals, national heritage days, and commemorations connected to figures like Niko Pirosmani, Akaki Tsereteli, and Vazha-Pshavela.

Organizational Structure and Governance

Governance integrates an administrative board, scientific council, conservation department, archival services, and outreach unit. The institutional framework has interfaced with the Georgian Ministry of Culture, city authorities of Tbilisi, and international funding bodies including the European Union, the Mellon Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Getty Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. The scientific council includes scholars affiliated with Tbilisi State University, the Georgian Academy of Sciences, the Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology, and international partners from the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, and Saint Petersburg State University. The Centre adheres to national legal instruments concerning cultural property, accords inspired by the 1970 UNESCO Convention, and ethical guidelines promoted by ICOMOS and the International Council on Archives.

Notable Manuscripts and Scholars

Among manuscripts of international significance are illuminated Gospel-books, royal charters of the Bagrationi, palimpsests revealing earlier liturgical texts, and colophons naming scribes associated with Gelati Monastery and other monastic centers. The Centre's holdings have been studied by scholars such as Ekvtime Takaishvili, Ivane Javakhishvili, Simon Janashia, Nikoloz Berdzenishvili, Giorgi Melikishvili, Korneli Kekelidze, Mariam Lordkipanidze, Stephen F. Jones, Ronald Suny, Donald Rayfield, and R.W. Thomson. International researchers include Alexander Vassiliev, Robert Hewsen, Nina Garsoïan, Richard Frye, Bernard Lewis, Sheila Blair, David Marshall Lang, Agop Jack Hacikyan, Thomas J. Samuelian, and Michael E. Stone. The manuscripts have informed studies on the Georgian epic tradition exemplified by Shota Rustaveli, medieval Caucasian diplomacy tied to the Byzantine Empire, Sasanian Iran, Ottoman administration, and Persianate literature including works by Ferdowsi, Nizami, and Hafez. The Centre continues to attract philologists, paleographers, conservators, and historians investigating connections to the Crusades, the Mongol Empire, the Safavid–Ottoman rivalry, the Hellenistic world, and modern nation-building movements in the Caucasus.

Category:Libraries in Georgia (country) Category:Archives in Georgia (country) Category:Cultural heritage of Georgia