State Museum of Theater, Music, Cinema and Choreography

The museum has more than 300,000 exhibits on the history of theater, cinema, circus, folklore, opera and ballet of Georgia, on the life of prominent cultural figures.

Some exhibits of the museum date back to the classical era: of particular interest is the ancient mask, which was found by archaeologists in the city of Vani .

The museum repository of manuscripts and archival documents contains the manuscripts of Ilya Chavchavadze , Akaki Tsereteli , Alexander Kazbegi , Alexander Akhmeteli , Kote Marjanishvili , Pyotr Tchaikovsky , Fyodor Chaliapin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov , personal archives of the great Georgian composers Dimitri Arakishalishvili , Dimitri Arakalishvili , Arakalishvili , Arakalishvili , Drahim Arakalishvili, Drahim Arakalishvili, and the founder of the modern Georgian theater, George Eristavi, film director and screenwriter Mikhail Chiaureli, as well as the plays and translations of William Shakespeare into Georgian, Ivan Machabeli.

The book depository contains rare editions from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Gramophone records, posters, costumes for theater and cinema are also saved.

The depository of photographs and negatives includes unique materials from such outstanding films as: Jim Schvante, Mamluk and Georgy Saakadze.

The Depository of Fine Arts has a rich collection of Persian miniatures of the 16th – 17th centuries, French engravings of the 18th century and the best examples of the old style of Tbilisi painting. The museum presents paintings and drawings by Leon Bakst, Alexander Benois, Fernand Liege, David Kakabadze, Lado Gudiashvili, Elena Avkhlediani, Peter Otcheli and Irakli Pardzhiani.

In 2009, a garden was established on the territory of the museum (the initiators G. Kalandia, I. Zambakhidze, N. Todua, I. Moisstrapishvili) - not only as a place of relaxation and entertainment, but also a place to perpetuate the memory of famous Georgian theater and cinema figures, among which : Irakli Gamrekeli , Ramaz Chkhikvadze , Nikoloz Shengelaya , Vaso Godziashvili , Valerian Gunia , Shalva Gambashidze , Meliton Balanchivadze , Andrei Balanchivadze , Gano Bagrationi , Sofiko Chiaureli , Archil Kereselidze and Guram Sagaradze . Unique endemic plants are grown in the garden, spruces from the historical places of Tao-Klarjeti, namely the churches of Oshka, Ishhni and Ban, are specially brought. Presented are conifers from the Borjomi gorge, bushes from the urban settlement of Uplistsikhe, Colchis pizza, gold and scarlet roses from Ireland, mirents from the Colchis Lowland, chiracline from the Black Sea coast and so on.

The museum occupies the former palace of Prince Oldenburg. In 1882, the German Prince Konstantin of Oldenburg (1850-1906), while in Kutaisi, met the wife of Prince Dadiani Agrafina Dzhaparidze . Oldenburgsky was so blinded by her beauty that, ignoring her marital status, he declared his love for her. The prince's confession turned the head of Agrafina Japaridze; she quickly forgot about her devotion to her husband, and the lovers left Kutaisi and went to Tbilisi. Oldenburg ordered the architect from Paul Stern the palace building for his beloved as a sign of his great affection for her.

The museum was founded in 1927 by David Arsenishvili (1905-1963) - a famous Georgian cultural figure, who was subsequently appointed the first director of the Andrei Rublev Museum in Moscow. The basis of the museum’s collections was made up of exhibits personally collected by Arsenishvili (500 sketches, portraits, photographs, busts, etc.). Two years later, their number increased to 3000, materials came from Moscow, Yerevan and other cities, the great success of Arsenishvili, collecting materials on the work of Konstantin Mardzhanishvili , was that he managed to extract in 1930 in Moscow and bring to Tbilisi a curtain created in 1913 year of the Moscow Free Theater , performed by Konstantin Somov .

The museum organized departments: drama, music, circus, ballet, decorative art, etc.

It was originally located in the basement of the former Bomond Hotel on the corner of Nekrasov and Klara Zetkin Streets (now Tsinamdzgvrishvili ), then it changed its address more than once, in particular, in 1934 the museum was given the premises of the Norashen Church. In 1935 Arsenishvili was removed from office, he was replaced by P. Pataray, and less than two months later - by L. Kandelaki ^[1]

State Museum of Theater, Music, Cinema and Choreography