Gottfried Geissler, Abbildung und Beschreibung der Völkerstämme und Völker..., 1803

At the end of the 18th century, Prussian scholar Peter Simon Palas led several expeditions across the Russian Empire, in search of new plants and animals. On one of these expedition, in 1790s, he was accompanied by Gottfrid Geissler, the talented German artist who made numerous sketches that later, with the help of Friedrich Hempel, were published in a book "Depictions and Descriptions of Tribes and Nations under the Russian Emperor Alexander's Benevolent Governance" [Abbildung und Beschreibung der Völkerstämme und Völker unter des russischen Kaisers Alexander menschenfreundlichen Regierung] in 1803. The book features dozens of sketches of various peoples and short descriptions of their customs and traditions. Below are several drawings related to Georgia and the Caucasus.

 

Franz Caspar Schillinger, Persianische und Ost-Indianische Reis, 1707

In early October 1699 young Badenese – he just turned twenty years old – Franz Caspar Schillinger got bored with his life, packed his things and embarked on a journey to see the world. He had met a Jesuit missionary traveling to India and the thought of seeing that fabulous land so captivated him that he left everything behind and went along. Schillinger first travelled to Venice, then to Livorno, Malta, Alexandria, and Aleppo, where he arrived on December 15, 1699. After spending almost five weeks in Aleppo, he decided not to venture across the dangerous Syrian desert and took a more circuitous route, travelling north to Erzerum, then to Kars and Yerevan before heading south to Isfahan. After enjoying the delights of the Safavid capital, he proceeded to Bandar Abbas and departed for India in April 1701. He spent almost a year exploring India before boarding a ship to Europe, which took him around the tip of Africa to France. By December 1702, he was safely back home. One can only imagine stories he shared at a local tavern. We can glimpse some of his experiences in an interesting travelogue that he published in 1707 recounting his travels. 

In his travelogue, Schillinger frequently mentions Georgia and Georgians. He noted that "once Georgia was such a mighty kingdom that it was able to field more than 100,000 soldiers and take on Persians, Turks and Tatars" and that "on almost all church and war banners they show the image of the holy martyr George." Describing Georgians whom he had encountered in Persia, Schillinger observed the following:

"The inhabitants are white like we Europeans. They proudly dress in luxurious clothes, in particular the women. The men wear a cotton or silken binding that in layers encircles the head, and likewise with a bulge over the forehead. The women's main decoration over their hair almost looks like a double ship in the midst of which arises a small pointed turret. The lower robe reaches below the calves and almost to the feet and is turned crosswise over their body (just like in Germany some travel robes are made) and then girded with a sash. The upper robe does not have particular sleeves, but it is like a shortened gown, which open in front, lined with fur, and from the neck until the belt, the lapels, a hand wide, are lined with the same fur. The women wear trousers like the man, which hand down to the feet and slippers, but in such a way that the lower robe can be seen. Almost everyone wears slippers." 

Schillinger's travelogue contains several plates including one showing the appearance of the Georgians residing in Persia.

Giulio Ferrario's Il costume antico e moderno ovver

"Georgians", from Giulio Ferrario's Il costume antico e moderno ovvero Storia del governo delle milizia, della religione, delle arti, scienze ed usanze di tutti i popoli antichi e moderni... (Turin, 1830), volume 5.

Joannes de Laet, Persia seu Regni Persici Status (1647)

Two illustrations from Joannes de Laet's Persia seu Regni Persici Status. De Laet was a Dutch geographer and director of the Dutch West India Company. In 1647 he published an interesting book on Persia that was based on existing European travelogues and reports. The book included eight illustrations, including two showing a Georgian man and woman. Both illustrations seem to be copies of a drawing from Thomas Herbert's travelogue published in 1638.

Michael Myers Shoemaker, The Heart of the Orient: Saunterings through Georgia, Armenia, Persia (1906) - Part 1

Michael M. Shoemaker (1853-1924) was American professional travel writer who achieved a literary success through his travelogues in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After graduating from Cornell University in 1874, he devoted his life to traveling the world over and studying various cultures and peoples. He wrote numerous books of travel and history, including "The Heart of the Orient: Saunterings through Georgia, Armenia, Persia..." (1906) that was based on a lengthy trip he undertook in 1902-1903. Departing from Constantinople in the winter of 1802, he travelled through "the quaint and curious" Georgia (which he had first visited eight years prior) before proceeding to Iran.

TIFLIS

The day's ride is very beautiful, and as we fortunately have slight showers, there is no dust, while the air is laden with all the delicious fresh odours of spring. A Vermont boy would be amused at the attempts of these people toward tilling the soil. The plough used is of the most primitive description, and is drawn by ten yoke of young steers, guarded and conducted by seven men. The field that they are at work upon certainly is not more than three acres in extent, and at their rate of progress it should be ready for planting about October 1st, this being only March. The Vermont boy, with a good plough and stout pair of horses, would do the whole thing between the hours of milking and his noonday dinner, even allowing time for the removal of the usual rocks to be found on all New England farms. 

Numerous ruined castles and towers are passed, perched high up on the mountains or close to the rushing river. Armenian churches are now inclosed in high, strong, fortress-like walls; otherwise such jewels as adorn their shrines would prove too tempting to the robbers of the mountains.

This valley of Tiflis reminds one of many in France. Hedges of primrose, poppies, and cornflowers, roses and cherries; yet with all its resemblance to France, there is a certain indescribable something that recalls the "Land of the Vulture," and one would not be surprised to see the minarets of Cairo rise from the valley. The resemblance is even stronger when Tiflis comes in sight. 

The capital of Georgia looks very Eastern, very Oriental, in the evening sunlight. But the first entrance into her streets convinces us that we are under the dominion of the Czar. Russian police stand here, there, and everywhere, and the wide berth that is given them demonstrates better than words the control that Government exercises over this southern possession. There is a monument near the western entrance of the town, on the spot where the Czar Paul nearly lost his life through a runaway team. It would have been better if the accident had succeeded in ridding Russia of that licentious monarch. I fancy that the Empress Catherine imported her "particular friends" from this section. The men are very handsome, but of the far-famed Georgian women I can say very little. From here the Turks of old procured their beauties, and the types which pleased them are still plentiful in the streets of Tiflis—huge in size, with flabby, chalky skins, and faces with no ray of feeling or intelligence. That was their idea of beauty, and they could not have come to a better market. I have seen but one woman I could call beautiful. I shall mention her farther on.

I find, upon descending at the excellent Hotel de Londres, that I am "remembered" once more in Georgia, and all the forlorn and lonely feeling departs as the pleasant-voiced landlady, Madame Richter, advances with both hands extended, and a "Welcome again to Tiflis!" I am shown up-stairs into the same room, most comfortable in all respects, and I rub my eyes in some doubt as to whether I have ever been away.

How dirty we are! How delicious the huge baths of the town feel to our tired bodies! The water is naturally hot and I sit for half an hour under a strong spout. There is absolutely nothing that they will not furnish you at these bath-houses, if you pay for it. But all things are very expensive at Tiflis, as I discover this morning when I desire to cable home—six roubles per word ($3.00); more than from Calcutta. I know it is wrong, pure robbery, in fact, but I must send the message. As the rates from London are only one shilling per word to New York, all the rest, with the exception of our inland rate at home, goes to the lines between here and England, or to the operator's pocket here, which is much more likely.

The bazaars of Tiflis are commonplace, and, like most bazaars, dirty—but not picturesque in their dirt. In addition they are absolutely wanting in all that peculiar charm which makes those of Cairo and Tunis so delightful to wander through and linger in. Nor does one find here displayed all the thousands of attractive articles which in those other cities cause one to return laden to the hotel. 

Through the centre of the town, between deep walls of rock down which pours the sewage of the place, sweeps the river Kur, a most repulsive-looking stream. I might have described this river and the cliffs as possessed of the beauty of Eden, but it would have been somewhat wide of the truth; I might have filled these bazaars with old silver, antique firearms and swords, and fairy stuffs of all sorts; laden their air with the perfume of the roses and lilies; made you drink delicious coffee and eat "Turkish delight" therein, while you stared at the veiled women and gorgeously costumed eunuchs; I might have described a mosque that would surpass that of Sultan Hassan. But I fear, had you come here and found the river and its cliffs repulsive, the bazaars full of all that is unattractive, the coffee and Turkish delight entirely lacking, also the mosque, you might have voted me a fraud. It will surely be better to find this capital of the Georgians more pleasing than you had expected, and if you content yourself with the panorama she displays, you will vote her enchanting; for the world, I think, holds no more superb view than that presented by this city of Tiflis approached from the great Darial Pass over the Caucasus.

After the death of [Queen] Tamara [in the early 13th century], Jenghis Khan swept like a black cloud over the valley, leaving such desolation and destruction that Tiflis has never recovered her ancient glory.

I met this morning, in the court of the hotel, an Englishman who has been living here for five years —at least he has lived in the country that length of time—and when I questioned him as to the climate he replied that, to those who lived here, hell possessed no further terrors—that is, in the matter of heat.

Trees of any size are unknown in Georgia. I noticed in crossing the Caucasus that nothing larger than a scrub was to be seen: no forests of stately pines near the summits, no dense groves of majestic trees lower down, no "aisles of the forest" spreading around one; plenty of green, but all so diminutive that even the telegraph wires are supported on rails from the railroad to which are bound sticks of timber certainly not more than ten feet long, but quite as long as can be found here or anywhere around here. The result is that refuse petroleum is the usual fuel.

I am awakened this morning by a burst of martial music, which draws me out into the fresh air, and I find that the town is all alive with soldiers wending their way from all directions to the public square. At its entrance stands a small Russian church, and the music of the many bands becomes reverential and tender as they pass the holy icons, although their selections are somewhat singular. I confess to being somewhat shocked, and almost look to see one particular saint in a long purple garment strike into a skirt dance. But no; neither does he drift into a waltz as the tender notes of Auf Wiedersehen are wafted on the air. This is the anniversary of the day when Russia finally settled, in the conquest of Schamyl, the Caucasus question, in which she employed 180,000 men to conquer the 15,000 of that chieftain... To-day his conquerors celebrate all this by holding high mass in the gardens here. The soldiers are arranged in a huge square and stand at attention as the general passes around in inspection. Russia does not neglect the religious welfare of her troops. Daily attendance at service is required, and to-day her priests, gorgeous in green and gold and purple, hold high celebration of the sacred rite. Then one and all are blessed, and with a fanfare of trumpets the troops move off to their barracks.

[...]

We spend our first Sunday in sleeping late into the morning and in a long stroll in the afternoon. The hills which surround Tiflis are barren and drear to the point where they rise to the higher mountains. While every here and there an Armenian church is sharply silhouetted against their dun-coloured sides. The ruined walls of the ancient fortress crown an eminence in the centre of the valley, and as we pass along them the town itself spreads all round, some hundreds of feet below, with its flat red, green, and blue roofs offering the only bits of colour in all the prospect; but the most characteristic features are the round, lantern-like cupolas of the Armenian churches, rising here, there, and everywhere. Their sides are perpendicular and their tops like an old-fashioned extinguisher of tin. This sect [Armenians] is, from an economic point, the backbone of Georgia, and is increasing rapidly. 

There are comparatively few Russian churches in Tiflis, but those of this ancient people [Armenians] are many. Russia forces them to use her language, but she cannot bend them to her form of religion, and that is indeed a thorn in her side. They are increasing rapidly and have more than doubled in numbers since the northern power conquered Tiflis. Their holy city is Etchmiazin, and the cathedral of that city furnishes the model for all these churches, which, be they large or small, are exactly of the same form,—a Latin cross with generally three round towers, one, large, in the centre and one on either side thereof, each surmounted by the cone of metal. In the interior are three altars, a centre and two side ones, immediately under the cupolas, and before each of which hangs, as in the temple at Jerusalem, a heavy veil, drawn aside at certain times.

By making this ancient sect feel that they are outnumbered by keeping them from office and by forcing the use of the Russian language, the Government of the Czar hopes finally to absorb them into the Greek Church, but the result is more than doubtful. The Empire dares not use greater force now, the occupation of this land having been a difficult step in the march south.

It is believed here that Russia is gathering for a move farther southward, and that it is but a question of a few years before she makes her southern boundary at the Arabian Sea, absorbing all of Persia, Turkey in Asia and probably in Europe, and Western China. England has often surrendered places once occupied,— has Russia ever done so? Does she not move steadily and irresistibly onward? Is not the sale to us of Alaska the only instance of a surrender of land once in her actual possession? Does any man believe that she will ever surrender Manchuria, or, on the contrary, that Peking is not her ultimate goal?

I think in my visit to Tiflis eight years ago that I did not do justice to the modern Russian city, or rather that I did not notice it as it deserved. It is all well built. The great street [present-day Rustaveli Avenue] is magnificent in length and width. There are several museums, a fine palace and church, and an opera house that would do justice to St. Petersburg, and there are several theatres, but, as in every Russian city, the pavements are horrible.

This week in Tiflis has passed very pleasantly, and I shall depart to-night with a totally different impression from that which I carried away with me in '94. Truly, pleasant companions make a great difference. As for the Hotel de Londres, I cannot too strongly express my content and satisfaction therewith. The people who keep it are Germans, the house is cleanliness itself, the table excellent, and the rooms most comfortable. In fact, I know of no hotel in Russia, those of the great cities not excepted, which can approach it. "Madame" realizes the necessity in this land for absolute cleanliness if health is to be maintained, hence her rooms are covered with oil cloth, which is washed off each day. The Turkish mats spread over this are thoroughly shaken each morning. The beds are of iron.

I may seem to dwell too long, to make too much of all this, but those of my readers who have visited these far-off lands will understand what an oasis such a house is amidst the abominations called "hotels" throughout the Russian dominions. We are charged seven roubles (about $3.50) per day, American plan, and the food is dainty and excellent.

I have seen but one Georgian woman that could be called a beauty. She was at the circus on Sunday. Her face was a pure oval, with large, black, antelope.like eyes, over which arched delicate eyebrows; a delicate, straight nose rose above a perfect mouth, and her complexion was beautiful. She wore a straight, broad gold band across her forehead and around her glossy black hair, which was bound down over her ears; from this band an emerald green veil fell far downward over a dress of the same colour. Both were of some soft stuff.

As a rule, however, the men are finer-looking than the women; many are superb specimens, and when robed in picturesque uniform [national costume] present engaging pictures. Yonder is one superbly formed and surely six feet six in height. His face and beard would do justice to Darius the King, and the former is crowned by a most picturesque turban of silver-grey astrakhan fur. His coat is of the same colour, and falls to the top of his highly polished black boots, while across his breast are two rows of long, bright cartridges, and his sword has scabbard-handle and tip of gold. He is handsome and he knows it, possessing none of the usual ignorance on that point common to our sex. On returning to the hotel I find Casimir awaiting me with the information that all is arranged for our onward movement to-morrow.

Louis Guillaume Figuier, Les Races Humaines (1872)

Louis Guillaume Figuier (1819-1894) was a French scientist and writer, who, by the end of the 19th century, emerged as one of the leading popularizers of science. Born in Montpellier (France), he studied chemistry and eventually became professor of chemistry at L'Ecole de pharmacie of Montpellier and L'Ecole de Pharmacie of Paris. But he earned his fame by publishing numerous books of popular science, including Les Grandes inventions anciennes et modernes (1861), Le Savant du foyer (1862), La Terre avant le déluge (1863), La Terre et les mers (1864), Les Merveilles de la science (1867–1891) and others. His books enjoyed considerable success with the public. In this respect, one book in particular is noteworthy: Les Races Humaines (1872) where Figuier compiled, classified and described all of "human races"; the text was lavishly illustrated with 243 engravings on wood and 8 chromolithographs. The book was a success and was quickly translated into other languages and released in several editions over the next couple of decades. 

The book contains numerous mistakes and is clearly racist in its outlook, but for many Europeans, it served as an important source of information on the peoples of the world, including Georgians whom Figuier classified as one of the "Aramean" branch of the 'White Race." Figuier offers a brief description of the Georgians in a section dealing with the Caucasus but he also mentions them in the parts dealing with the Ottoman and Arab societies, noting that "besides their legitimate wives, the wealthy and the great keep a collection of Georgian and Circassian slaves." In fact, one of the eight chromolithographs was devoted to a Georgian slave.

The Georgian Family. 

The Georgian Family is gathered together on the southern slope of the Caucasus. The beauty of the 

Georgian women is proverbial. M. Moynet, in his "Journey to the Caspian and the Black Seas," tells us that they deserve all their reputation. Their physiognomy is as calm and regular as that of the immortal type handed down to us in the ancient statuary of Greece. A head-band of bright colours in the shape of a crown, and from which hangs a veil passing under the chin, forms their headdress. Two long plaits of hair fall behind, reaching nearly to their feet. Nothing can be imagined more graceful or more dignified than this head-dress. A long ribbon of the gayest hues serves them for a sash, and falls down the front of their dress to the ground. Out of doors they wrap themselves up in a flowing white cloth, which shields them from the sun, and which they wear with much grace.

The men are also generally handsome. They have preserved the Caucasian type untouched and unaltered. They wear rich dresses, embroidered with gold and silver, and carry costly, sparkling arms. They are brave and chivalrous, and are passionately fond of horses.

The Mingrelians, inhabitants of Mingrelia, a little kingdom on the shores of the Caspian Sea, resemble the Georgians in physical appearance, in manners, and in customs.

The Circassian Family.

The Circassian Family, collected in the Caucasian mountains, is composed of a population distinguished for their bravery, but very feebly civilized. The Circassian type has in the whole of the East a great reputation for beauty, and it deserves it. Most Circassians have a long oval face, a thin straight nose, a small mouth, large dark eyes, a well-defined figure, a small foot, brown hair, a very white skin, and a martial appearance.

In affinity with the Circassians are the Abases, who speak a dialect akin to Circassian. They are semi-barbarous, and live on the produce of their herds and from the spoil of their brigandage. Their features show no sign of Circassian grace. They have a narrow head, a prominent nose, and the lower half of their face is extremely short.

The Armenians

The Armenians of both sexes are remarkable for their physical beauty. Their language is nearly allied to the oldest dialects of the Aryan race, and their history is connected with that of the Medes and Persians by very ancient traditions. They have a white skin, black eyes and hair, and their features are rounder than those of the Persians. The luxuriant growth of the hair on their faces distinguishes them from the Hindoos.

The climate of Armenia is generally a cold one; but in the valleys and in the plains the atmosphere is less keen and the soil very fertile. Crops of wheat, wine, fruit, tobacco, and cotton are very plentiful there. Mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead are found there, but these are but little worked. Armenian horses have the reputation of being the best bred in western Asia. Cochineal, an important production of this country, is very plentiful at the foot of Ararat. Excellent manna is found in the same districts. Armenian floreals are very abundant.

Armenia nowadays constitutes the pachaliks of Erzeroum, Kara, and Dijar-Bekr in Asiatic Turkey. Besides its indigenous population, it is inhabited by Turks, Kurds, Turcomans, and the remnants of other nations who formerly made raids into their country. The Armenian is distinguished by his serious, laborious, intelligent, and hospitable disposition. He is very successful in business. Fond of the traditions of his forefathers, and attached to his government, he has a good deal of sympathy with Europeans. He becomes easily accustomed to European customs, and learns our languages with little difficulty.

The Christian religion has always been followed in Armenia, and Armenians are much attached to their church. But this is divided into several sects. The Gregorian (the creed founded by Saint Gregory), the Roman Catholic, and the Protestant religions are all to be found in Armenia. The head of the first, which is the most numerous (it musters about four million worshippers), resides at Etchmiadzia, in Russian Armenia. There is another patriarch, who is nearly independent, at Cis, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Cilicia. The patriarch of the Catholics, who are fifty thousand in number, resides at Constantinople; but a second patriarch (in partibus), whose jurisdiction extends over Syria, Cilicia, and a part of Asia Minor, dwells on Mount Libanus. The Roman Catholics of Russian Armenia belong to the see of the Metropolitan residing in St. Petersburg. The head of the Protestant church, which contains from four to five thousand souls, dwells at Constantinople.

The Ossetines

The Ossetines, who are the last branch of the Aryan race in Asia, inhabit a small portion of the chain of the Caucasian mountains, populated for the most part by races distinct from the IndoEuropeans. They resemble the peasants of the north of Russia; but their customs are barbarous, and they are given to pillage. M. Vereschaguine met with the Ossetines in his travels in the Caucasian provinces. A Cossack, with whom he had some trouble, belonged to this race. The villages of the Ossetines lie on the slopes of the mountains. On each side of the Darial Pass lofty walls, flanked by towers, are to be seen, reminding the spectator of the days of brigandage.

The Ossetine, contrary to the customs of all the other tribes of the Caucasus and of the Trans-Caucasus, uses beds, tables, and chairs. He seats himself, like most Europeans, without crossing his legs.

William P. Cresson, Persia: The Awakening East" (1908)

William P. Cresson (1864-1932) was an American architect, who was born in Claymont, DE, and attended the University of Pennsylvania. He started his career as a draftsman for Cope & Stewardson company. After spending several years studying architecture in Europe, he pursued a rather diverse career as a diplomat (served in Lima, London, Quito, Panama, Portugal and finally as a secretary in the American embassy in St. Petersburg), soldier, professor of history and politics at the Princeton University (1919), and a well respected architect. Before and during the World War I, he had traveled extensively in the Russian Empire and the Middle East and later published several books about his experiences, including "Persia: The Awakening East" (1908) in which he recounted he briefly recounted his visit to Georgia at the turn of the 19th century.

Fostered by the generous colonial policy of M. de Witte [Sergei Witte,  minister, and prime minister in Imperial Russia] - a policy that dotted the far Russian border with modern cities like Dalny and Krasnovodsk, built in a night to give substance to the dream of Russian Imperialism, while it left the moujik [common men] of Central Russia to starve on his barren fields - we found the ancient towns of the Caucasus fast losing their Oriental traits and taking on the outward aspect, at least, of European cities. The Golovinsky Prospect, that strange street of Tiflis, which has its beginning among the theatres, clubs and palaces of the European quarter, and ends in the Asiatic filth and squalor of the Tatar town, was crowded with handsome equipages and gay with Russian uniforms and the bright dresses worn by the women-folk of Georgian and Armenian merchants. In the cafes of the Place de l'Europe we met moon-faced Tatar merchants and Georgian chieftains in their picturesque national costumes, who talked intelligently about the price of Standard Oil and the American Tariff question; while at the Officers' Club we saw Circassian princes (every one in the Caucasus who lives in a brick house lays claim to that title), dancing graceful Polish dances with the wives and daughters of Russian bureaucrats.

Among the motley throng of domineering officials and subservient Asiatics who filled the broad avenues of Tiflis, the native Caucasians, with their handsome physique and regular features, presented a marked contrast to the stolid Tartar-faced troopers of the conquering race. The Georgian national dress is one of the most graceful and warlike costumes in the world; clad in the flowing "tcherkeska," an arsenal of shining weapons belted about his narrow waist and wearing a tall cap of shaggy sheepskin, the native of Tiflis is a fierce and imposing figure. In private life he may be nothing more warlike than a bazar merchant or a prosperous tailor of the Golovinsky, but as he swaggers about the streets of his native town, toying with the silver hilt of his long Caucasian dagger, one realizes that the Georgian national spirit, after withstanding for centuries the onslaught of all the great conquerors of Asia, from Tamerlane to Aga Mohammed, has not yet succumbed to the despotism of a hundred years of Russian rule.

While the newspapers of St. Petersburg were talking complacently of Russia's "Manifest Destiny in Asia," and comparing the prosperous condition of the Caucasus with the famine-stricken provinces of India, the first mutterings of the approaching storm were beginning to be heard. During our visit the police were already preparing for the sudden outburst of barbarism long repressed that a few months later filled the Caucasus with familiar scenes of rapine and bloodshed.

As the Trans-Caspian Express, which was to carry us to Baku, moved out from the new railway station in Tiflis, we observed that the broad platforms between the triple line of military sidings were crowded with soldiers wearing the uniform of every branch of the Russian service: Cossacks in gray and silver; dragoons in sombre green; infantry of the line in dingy white caps and blouses; smart guardsmen from St. Petersburg and workmanlike riflemen from the Trans-Caspian, [all] waiting transportation to one point or another of the chain of patrols and garrisons established along the whole length of the railroad, and in every town and hamlet of the Caucasus. This display of armed force was the only visible sign of the fierce internal struggle against Russification that was going on all over the Caucasus, the real key-note of Russia's policy along her Turkish and Persian frontiers; the foundation for the unconvincing prosperity which astonishes the traveller towards the Shah's dominions, as he pauses on the threshold of the Eternal East to take a farewell glimpse of the blessings of European civilization. 

Robert Ker Porter, Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia (1821)

Sir Robert Ker Porter (1777–1842) was a Scottish traveler, writer and diplomat. Born in Durham, he pursued his passion for drawing at the Royal Academy and won a number of prizes for his earlier works. With the start of the Napoleonic Wars, Ker Porter traveled across Europe, visiting Sweden, Finland and Russia in 1804-1805 and later travelling to Portugal and Spain in 1810-1811. By 1812, he was back in Russia (where he married a Russian princess) and wrote his account of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. returning to Britain in 1813, he again traveled to the Russian Empire in 1817. He spent next three years visiting southern Russian provinces, Caucasus (Georgia and Armenia) and Iran. The result of these travels was his new book "Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia, 1817–1820" published in London in 1821. Ker Porter recorded many interesting observations about Georgia, its nature and people. One of his passages dealt with the Georgian clothing:

During my stay at Tiflis, the weather, which was almost one continued rain, proved very unfavourable to my wish of penetrating any depth into the fine province of Kakhetia, the celebrated Albania of the ancients. However, what I did see, more than answered the images impressed on my imagination, by the representations I had received of the abundant beauties of its valleys. The hills, and even mountains are clothed with the finest woods, consisting of oak, ash, chestnut, beech, and elm, intermixed with a thousand peculiarly favoured spots (as if the benign spirits of these more genial regions had here planted their own little secret gardens) producing the most delicious grapes, though wild, and fruits of the choicest flavour. The wines, both red and white, which are made from these natural vineyards, have always been esteemed for softness, lightness and delicacy of taste, beyond those of any other district in the province of Georgia.

The valleys of Kakhetia are abundant in hemp, flax, rice, millet, barley, and wheat; and with so little trouble to the occupier of the. soil, it might almost be said, they grow spontaneously. Pheasants, wild fowl of every kind, antelopes, and deer, sheep, and all sorts of domestic cattle, enrich these luxuriantly-pastured vales. The rivers, too, add their tribute of plenty to the ample stores of nature. And, to wind up the climax of such a prodigality of blessings, (for all the treasures of the mineral world may be found in the hearts of its mountains,) the climate is delightful. Indeed, heaven seems to have drawn to this happy spot the essence of all that is necessary to the wants of man.

But, alas! the man, which has been placed in this earthly paradise, to keep, to dress, and to enjoy it, has neither the will to separate the weed from the good herb, nor the taste to feel that it is sweeter than his neighbour’s. Sunk in apathy, he cares not whether rain or sunshine descend on the ground; abandoned to indolence, it is all one to him, whether his food be the bramble [rough prickly shrub] or the grape; and, for personal comfort, the stye would afford as pleasant a pillow as a bed of flowers: such is the present Kakhetian!

But, that so strange a contrast between the man and the soil, is not always the effect of any natural cause, such as climate, &c. may be affirmed, from what was the character of the Albanian inhabitant of this very same district.

Dr. Beniggs, who resided for a considerable time in Georgia. during the reign of the unfortunate Heraclius [King Erekle II, d. 1798], writes thus of the general Georgian character at that time, which, of course, includes the Kakhetians, their country being a province of Georgia. And in the reasons he gives for the moral defects he describes, we find the cause why the later natives of Kakhetia differ so essentially from its earlier people, when the same country bore the name of Albania. He observes, "that both the nobles and peasantry of Georgia are given up to a wretched degree of sloth, appearing to despise all laudable pursuits which require attention or labour ; and, amongst others, the cultivation of the earth. But this stubbornv indolence is not the natural bias of the Georgian. He is fully aware of his wants, of his miserable poverty, and of the usual means of relieving such a state; but he has no hope, in applying, to the resources apparently open to his industry. Oppression is at the door to weigh down his efforts, or rapacity at hand to seize the product of his labours. He is under the eye, and the hand, and the double yoke, first of his own chiefs, and then of the powers beyond them, till the burden becomes too heavy to be borne erect, and the man falls prostrate, a wretched, useless slave. Thus avarice set bounds to its own extortion, by damming up the sources whence it flows.”

Constant feuds amongst the [Georgian] chiefs themselves, rendered desperate by the total absence of all law or justice; the inroads of the Lesghees, and bloody wars with the Turks and Persians; all combined to drive the great mass of the people into that state of utter despair, which gradually subsides into the sullen contentedness of sloth, ignorance, and poverty. This must be the universal situation of every country which has been, for any time, under the subjection, or rather mis-rule, of a ceaseless change of masters; some absolutely barbarians, and others, who have yet to learn the science of government from Christian laws: and this was the situation of Georgia for a sad succession of times. But, about twenty years ago, it was received within the lines of the Russian empire, and the happy effects on the minds of the people, in feeling themselves under a regular government, secure in its natural strength, and dispensing that security to its appendages, are already become very apparent. Every encouragement to industry is held out to them; and none has more persuasion than the laws, which protect men in the possession of the fruits of their labours. The different European governors, who have been put at the head of affairs here, since the junction of the province with Russia, have done all in their power to conciliate both nobles and people, by the administration of an equal justice, and a gradual amelioration of all those circumstances which had so long, disorganised, and rendered poor, savage, and miserable, all ranks of persons. Being now effectually guarded from the inroads of the Lesghees, or the more overwhelming incursions of Turks and Persians, the higher orders begin to feel again that they hold a station in their country; and to establish the re-awakened sense in their own minds, and in the respect of the people at large.

His Imperial Majesty [Russian Emperor Alexander I] has conferred orders and medals of distinction on many of the native nobility, with titles and commissions of military rank; and, in short, every other excitement to the restoration, or rather civilisation, of the country, that can be offered by a generous sovereign to a brave and confiding people. That they are still brave, when they have any thing beyond mere animal existence to defend, has been made manifest during the last twelve or fourteen years. In the wars of that period, they engaged heart and hand under the banners of Russia; and their chiefs so distinguished themselves, that many rose to the rank of generals; still continuing the brave acts by which their new honours were won. Indeed, it is very evident how much easier their new government finds it to arouse the old spirit of Iberian and Albanian courage, in the bosoms of their Georgian descendants, than to inspire them with one for traffic and agriculture. But all will succeed in time; and their neighbours, the Armenians, set a stimulating example of the ways and means of industry, and show many persuasive advantages, resulting from their extensive exercise.

[...]

One evening, at an entertainment given by His Excellency the Governor-General [Alexei Yermolov], I had an opportunity of seeing, not only a great many of the native nobility of both sexes, but also persons of consequence from other of the Caucasian countries. The Georgian noble is particularly distinguishable by the sombre cast of visage, above described; but though so stern, it is of a fine contour, and harmonizes with the manliness of his figure and style of dress. The latter is admirably calculated for freedom of motion, and therefore cannot but show the person to advantage. It chiefly consists, first of an under garment of fine pink cloth, worn as a shirt, and discoverable by the opening of the vest at the bosom, but only as far up as the bottom of the throat, the neck being entirely bare. The vest, which is cloth also, of a different colour from the shirt, has sleeves to it, sitting easy to the arm; and over this is the tunic or upper garment, coming'down as low as the knees, but opening before; and bound round the waist with a cloth sash, universally white, to which is attached the wearer’s sword. The skirt of the tunic meets the termination of the full short trouser or breeches, which descend no lower than the knees; the leg being covered with a sort of stocking, and a close-laced half-boot, usually black or scarlet, with a very pointed toe. 

All these various garments are of cloth, of as various hues; and, frequently, very handsomely ornamented with gold lace or embroidery. Mustachios on the upper lip, with some appearance of dark curling hair in the pole of the neck, from under the high black sheep-skin cap on his head, complete the dress of a Georgian gentleman. This cap is, in form and materials, the same with that in use all- over Persia; only, the Georgian "wears his with a difference;" not striking it down into a sort of bi-forked shape at the top, when putting it on, but keeping it quite erect, in its original rounded pyramidal form. 

The costume of the lower ranks, is marked by long trousers, reaching to the ankles, made of an inferior kind of silk; a dagger (or kanjar) in place of a sword, hanging to the girdle ; but the rest of the raiment [clothing], being of the same fashion with the chief’s, is also of the same materials; cloth, though of a coarser quality, and without decoration. 

The dresses of the Georgian ladies bear a full proportion, in point of cumbersomeness and ornament, to the beauty they overload, in attempting to adorn it. A bandeau, round the forehead, richly set with brilliants and other costly stones, confines a couple of black tresses, which hang down on each side of a face, beautiful by nature, as its features testify, but so cased in enamel, that not a trace of its original texture can be seen ; and, what is worse, the surface is rendered so stiff, by its painted exterior, that not a line shows a particle of animation, excepting the eyes ; which are large, dark, liquid, and full of a mild lustre, rendered in the highest degree lovely, by the shade of long black lashes, and the regularity of the arched eye-brow. A silken shawl-like veil depends from the bandeau, flowing, off the shoulders, down the back; while a thin gauze handkerchief, is fastened beneath the chin, binding the lower part of the face, and descending as low as the bosom, where it ties over the rest of the garments; showing, through its light medium, the golden necklaces and other jewelry which decorate the vest. This latter piece of raiment is usually made of velvet, or silk richly embroidered, covering the bosom and entire waist. A close gown of brocade, with sleeves to the wrist, and an exceedingly long skirt, devolving on the ground all round, is put over the vest; but left open in front, as far as the bottom of the waist. The whole is then confined, with a fine Kashmere shawl. The sleeves of the gown are open in front of the arm, but closed at pleasure by little pineapple-shaped gold buttons and loops. Over all this, in cold weather (which was the season in which I saw these ladies) is added the oimah, or short pelisse, of gold brocade lined with fur: it flows loose to the figure, with wide sleeves; is open in front, reaching only a little below the knees; and has a superb, as well as comfortable appearance. However, when the fair Georgians sit or stand together, in this gorgeous apparel, the inflexible stiffness of their position, and_total absence of motion in features or complexion, give them the effect, rather of large waxen images, which open and shut their eyes by mechanical ingenuity, than that of living, breathing, lovely women.

[...]

In the course of the evening, at His Excellency’s, some of the Georgian young men of rank were prevailed on to show us a specimen of their national dance; but none of the ladies could be induced to take a part in it.

[...]

The Georgian dance, to which I was then a spectator, consisted of feats of activity, and many strange, and far from elegant, contortions of the limbs; such as twisting one leg over the other, knocking the knees together, and hopping along on their bunkers; but, I fear, the generality of my readers will not understand that provincial word of the north of England; it is, however, the only one which occurs to me, descriptive of the grotesque action, which happens to be, also, a sport amongst children, of the lower orders, in our northern counties; and it is done, by sitting down on their heels, and hopping about in that position. The Georgians, after several other bodily freaks of the kind, completed their exploits by capering on their toes. To give a proper spirit to the performers, the national music had been procured, which bore an equal rank in points of civilisation and elegance with the graces it was to inspire. However, it seemed to animate the motions of the brave inhabitants of Caucasus, in like manner with the influence of the bag-pipe on the vigorous limbs of our own gallant Highlanders; for feet, hands, and head, all moved in active response to the strains of their native Orpheuses. The instruments, and the strains, are difficult to describe; but I make the attempt in saying that the first consisted of an assemblage of small double-drums, in shape and size not much larger than a couple of slop-basons united; these were beat continually in concert with five or six instruments in the form of guitars, played upon with a bow. Their harsh scrapings, mingling incessantly with the monotonous thumping of the drums, sent forth a noise [that] I could only compare to that of a water-mill, without its harmony.

Ivan G. Golovin, The Caucasus (1854)

Ivan Golovin (1816-1890) was a Russian publicist and writer, who had published several popular works about the Russian empire in French, German and English. After graduating from the University of Derpt in 1837, he pursued a diplomatic career and was posted abroad before making a mistake of publishing a book that was banned by the Russian secret police. Recalled back to Russia, he refused to follow orders and stayed in Britain; he was tried in absentia and condemned to an exile to Siberia. Between 1845 and 1860, Golovin wrote several popular works on the Russian empire, including The Caucasus (1854) that appeared on the eve of the Crimean War and sought to educate a British reader about the region's geography, ethnography and history. 

Georgians are an agricultural people, and their ploughs are drawn by as many as ten or twelve oxen or buffaloes; but their dwellings are wretched hovels, little better than dens. They bring up silk-worms at home, and keep numerous flocks. Their bridges, on the Kour, are constructed according to the primitive system that prevailed in the time of Cambyses. Skins, the same that are used as leathern bottles to carry wine, are sewed, inflated, and carefully shut. Then they are tied one to the other, so as to cover the water from one bank to the other. Over them planks are fitted up. Such are their bridges.

The Georgians soon reach maturity and old age; and their daughters marry and have children even when they are only eleven years old.

The Georgian costume partakes of both the Persian and the Circassian. The upper garment is called kaba, and covers the arholuh, and the sharwali, which have become fashionable in Russia. The shirts are in silk or cotton. The Georgians dye their hair, and they display, in that art, a skill equal to that of the Persians.

[...]

The Immeretians, as well as the Georgians and Mingrelians, belong to the Kartwell race, though their languages are distinguished by a striking dissimilarity. The Immeretians wear the Persian costume, except the cap, which is a piece of cloth, fitted up for the purpose, sometimes embroidered with silver, and which is tied with a string round the chin. This cap, which has the shape of a vine leaf, covers only the surface of the head, and is no protection against the cold. However, its inefficiency is supplied by long and thick hair, which is dyed red, whilst moustaches are dyed black.

The Immeretians cultivate the vine, and are still more fond of wine than the Georgians. Their libations take place amidst sacred hymns, and no other kind of singing is known to them. Their dancing, like Circassian and Persian dancing, consists not of steps but of gestures and simple motions of the feet. Though Christians, they worship ancient idols, and make sacrifices of animals, especially on the tombs of the dead.

Jean Chardin, Travels (1673)

Western Georgian, as seen by French traveler Jean Chardin who visited Georgia in 1673. The drawing was first published in the 1686 edition of Chardin's travelogue but this version comes from the 1711 edition produced in Amsterdam. Looking at it, I am reminded of Italian traveler Giosafat (Josaphat) Barbaro who visited western Georgia in 1472 (two hundred years before Chardin) and noted that "they [Georgians] go with their heads rounded and shaven, leaving only a little around, after the manner of our abbots."