GEM WITH THE IMAGE OF RIDER FROM ZHINVALI CEMETERY

Abstract

The present article is dedicated to the study of a sardonyx gem-intaglio set in a bronze 
ring, which was discovered in 1983 in burial N552 of the Zhinvali cemetery. The gem depicts vertically a rider wearing a headdress mounted on a rearing horse. Both figures shown in profile.
Comparative analysis reveals tahat the Zhinvali gem finds analogies with two groups of 
gem-intaglios discovered in Georgia: Group I (Urbnisi, 1st-2nd centuries AD) includes glass 
gems with images of riders without divine attributes; Group II (Urbnisi, Samtavro, Karsniskhevi, 
Kutaisi, 3rd-4th centuries AD) is represented by compositions featuring a radiate Phrygian hat, 
altar, and tree of life.
Remarkably, the Zhinvali gem combines features characteristic of both groups and at the 
same time represents a distinct iconographic variant of the rider.
It should be noted that images similar to the compositions united in Group II are attested on the reverse of copper city coins of Trapezunt from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, which were 
discovered in Bichvinta. According to scholars, the horseman represents a syncretic deity, with 
attributes of the sun god Mithras and the Cappadocian moon god – Men.
Riders and horse motifs also appear on polyhedral casts of blue glass, which were produced in Iberia from the 2nd-1st centuries BC to the 2nd century AD and are considered as a 
late, independent group of "Greco-Persian" glyptics (the so-called Bern group).
According to the conducted research, the rider depicted on the Zhinvali gem also represents a syncretic deity, specifically Mithras, which combines powerful local traditions and new 
cultural tendencies introduced by the spread of Mithraism. The gem is dated to the second half 
of the 2nd century AD and is considered as a local glyptic work, while the ring is a product of 
the 4th century, indicating the gem's secondary use within a Christian context. The study emphasizes the long evolution of the rider motif, which ultimately served as the foundation for 
the iconography of Saint George.