An exhibition The Knight in the Panthers Skin dedicated to the 850th anniversary of Shota Rustaveli was opened at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) on November 22. Korean Ambassador to Georgia, Kim Chang-Gyu presented a Korean translation of The Knight in the Panthers Skin to the TSU Library as a gift.
Oldest and rarest editions of The Knight in the Panthers Skin kept at the TSU Library, including those translated into foreign languages, as well as the first printed version of The Knight in the Panthers Skin published by King Vakhtang VI in 1712 were exhibited.
Rector of TSU, Giorgi Sharvashidze, Deputy Rector Mikheil Chkhenkeli, Chairman of the Tbilisi City Council, Giorgi Alibegashvili, students and invited guests attended the event.
“A very interesting and important exhibition is being held at the Tbilisi State University. We have already held a lot of events dedicated to the 850th anniversary of Shota Rustaveli, among them is Kartvelological Symposium dedicated to the research related to The Knight in the Panthers Skin,” Rector Giorgi Sharvashidze said.
Head of the TSU Library, Zurab Gaiparashvili said: “Unique editions are exhibited here today. We have received very interesting gifts and our library will be further enriched with new editions.”
Chairman of the Tbilisi City Council, Giorgi Alibegashvili congratulated the university and Georgia on opening the exhibition. He said that “The Knight in the Panthers Skin belongs to the category of those works, which will never lose their topicality.”
TSU’s PhD student, Levan Gelashvili presented the first illustrated board game The Knight in the Panthers Skin. He said that “the illustrated board game is based on aphorisms from The Knight in the Panthers Skin as well as a literary map. Our goal was to create such a board game, which would return the poem to more interactive environment and have a practical purpose.” He presented several copies of the board game to the university library as a gift. Illustrations created by painter Nino Gelashvili specifically for this game were also exhibited.
In addition, presentation of a book “The Knight in the Panthers Skin – Graphic Novel” by Papuna Davitaia was also held. The book contains about 1500 illustrations.
