Introduction
Georgian Heritage Crafts (Georgian: საქართველო) Association is a membership organization, which acts to safeguard Georgian heritage crafts traditions and works towards a sustainable framework for sector’s development in the future. Georgian Heritage Crafts Association aims to overcome the existing challenges through the creation of a networking platform for individuals, craftspeople, organizations and guilds, which care about the loss of traditional crafts skills.
Crafts
WOODWORK
Being widely used both in religious and folk architecture and applied arts, woodwork has been amongst the most developed traditional crafts in Georgia. Woodworking techniques were essential for domestic architecture in every region of the country, widely applied in darbazi type structures, prevalent in Eastern and Southern part of the country, the openwork wooden Oda-type houses built on wooden “legs” typical to western lowland of Georgia, or magnificent interior of machubi in Svaneti. Meanwhile, the traditions of folk furniture making and wooden architecture are maintained in several regions of the country. Amongst these are Svaneti, Racha and Upper Achara, where this tradition is still kept alive in everyday life.
METALWORK
Thanks to the region's rich natural resources and its geographical location, Georgia developed metallurgical traditions which go back to the Early Bronze Age, namely the fourth to third millennium BC, when the Mtkvari-Araxian Culture (c. 3500 – 2400 BC) emerged on the territory of the East Caucasus. Unearthed artifacts from this period already demonstrate the advanced skills both in bronze metallurgy and in working with precious metals.Contrary to the items made elsewhere these Old Tbilisian silver bowls often display local Tbilisian characters. The rich artistic tradition of medieval repoussé work reinvented itself in the works of Georgian masterns during the Soviet time by changing religious subject matter with secular themes inspired by national motives.
CERAMICS
The traditions of pottery in Georgia go back to the hoary past. Unusual variety of winemaking equipment and wine vessels of ancient times attest to the high skill of Georgian craftsmen. Georgian museums have on display numerous clay vessels of all designations. The most impressive among these is kvevri, giant clay vessels in which wine was fermented and stored. Others, such as chapi, kula, khelada, azarfesha, doki, sura, chinchila, deda-khelada, marania communication vessels of different shapes, dzhami, tasi, pialawere used for serving and drinking.
