The most successful use of decorative sculpture is in the broad bands surrounding the church windows and in the panels let into the walls. These are in very flat and low relief, and are often highly original, differing from Byzantine work and bearing a most remarkable resemblance to the patterns in Celtic-Irish, Anglo-Saxon, and Frankish illuminated manuscripts. This is espe cially the case in churches of the Eleventh to the Fifteenth centuries. It is interesting that in scriptions were turned to extremely decorative purposes, just as they were in Mohammedan art. The most decorative class of smaller works are the sepulchral slabs usually erected like antique stiles on pedestals in the open air. Their design is graceful in outline and delicate in the detail of their arabesque and lace-work patterns around a central cross or rosette. One cannot help see ing in such as these the originals of the famous Irish, Welsh, and Saxon stone crosses, which are far less exquisite in design and execution. Wood carving and ivory-carving were practiced, as is shown by some church doors and a multitude of images, book-covers, crosiers. crosses, and other bits of handiwork. But the highest efforts of Georgian and Armenian decoration, with its amalgamation of Sassanian-Persian,of Byzantine and Mohammedan design, are shown in the gold smith's work,where the metals are combined with enamels and set stones. The treasuries of mon asteries and churches in Suanetia, Mingrelia, and other provinces are still extremely rich in such works; especially Etchmiadzin, the national sanctuary of Armenia, Ghelathi, Khopi, Tchu kul, etc. None of them are earlier than the Tenth Century. In most cases the ornamentation surrounds some sacred image. The elaborate geometric design, so difficult to follow, and yet so thoroughly scientific, winds over the entire gold surface inclosing the enamels surrounded by pearls, the precious stones framed in gold eioisonR. The cloisonne enamel employed is another link both with Byzantium and with the primitive jewelry of the Goths and their imitators, the Germanic tribes. It is probable that the process
originated in this very region. The local style of figured enamels, of great originality in the Ninth to Twelfth centuries, and independent of Byzan tium, is brilliantly shown in those of the Khakul image at Glielathi and others at Sion, Djuma ti, Khopi, etc. In jewelry, figured compositions were not avoided, as in large sculpture; especially where the art came strongly under Byzantine influence, and the figures in their crude realism and exaggerated movement again connect with Carlovingian and other branches of the north European art of early mediteval times, rather than with Byzantium. Religieuses, gold images, triptychs, crosses, chalices, book-covers, are among the forms taken by this jewelry. They are found in dozens of church treasuries. Wall painting was very general during the entire period, and here again considerable independence of Byzantium was shown. The only example of the mosaic work so universal among the Greeks is at Ghelathi, and was a present to King David from Emperor Alexis Comnenus. Caucasian painting ',vas far less stiff and classic than Byzantine. It admitted historic scenes more fre quently, and the desire of the artists to glorify events of national interest is shown vividly in frequent portraits of the sovereigns of Georgia and Armenia. Such frescoes are at Sion (Eleventh Century) , Nekresi (Eleventh Century), and ospecially Ghelathi and Bethania. On the other hand, in the numerous illuminated MSS. of the same period (Eleventh to Fifteenth cen Byzantine influence predominated. The Georgian are the earliest, and attained perfec tion in the Eleventh Century. More numerous, but later, are the Armenian. The largest collec tions of such 31SS. are in the Armenian Library in Venice, and in that of the monastery of Etchmiadzin. The Thirteenth Century marks for this, as well as for most other branches of art, the highest point of perfection. In the Seven teenth Century foreign influences—especially Italian and Persian—began to predominate. See ARCHITECTURE; ART, HISTORY OF; BYZANTINE ART.