Aggripina Djaparidze, Countess of Zarnekau

Agrippina, Countess von Zarnekau was a Georgian aristocrat, socialite and patron of numerous educational establishments in Russian Imperial Georgia. She was known for her scandalous divorce and her even more controversial role in the secret marriage of Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia, which caused a rupture in the Russian Imperial Family.

Tbilisi Women's Traditional Daily Wear

In 19th-century Tbilisi, women wore a long shirt (perangi) and ankle-length trousers (sheidishi), often embellished with gold threads or silk embroidery, topped with dresses and intricate, veil-covered headwear. Wealthy women wore a knee-length velvet or silk outer garment called a katibi, which was trimmed with fur and fastened with precious gold or silver hooks.

Silver Coin Jewelry on Traditional Clothing

Tushetian women decorated their undergarments with heavy silver attachments and real Russian coins, each carefully soldered to a ring. These intricate ensembles, often featuring geometric silver pieces, remained a highly prized and distinctive part of their traditional festive attire.

Festive Bread and Dance Traditions

During the Shrovetide (Maslenitsa) season, Georgian families baked nazuki (plain bread) and kada (rich bread) in preparation for the week's festivities. Women often gathered on neighbors' rooftops to dance the lezginka accompanied by the daira (tambourine).

Music in Noble Households

In noble households, young servants were trained to sing Mingrelian songs elegantly while attending guests during great feasts. These servants followed a strict daily routine, starting and ending their day by attending church services.

Road travel by arba cart

Travellers often used the arba, a clattering and cumbersome cart well-suited for rugged, mountainous terrain. A journey might be interrupted by broken-down carriages or poor roads, forcing travelers to walk or seek alternative transport.

Steamship travel on the Mtkvari River

In 1853, steamships began operating on the Mtkvari River, theoretically allowing goods to be transported 260 kilometers between Tiflis and Mingechaur. However, the river's dangerous rapids and shallow spots frequently forced travelers and traders to rely on overland treks instead.

Limited Access to Public Education

Public education was limited, with the Russian government establishing a gymnasium in Tbilisi, though few small schools existed elsewhere where very little was taught. Serfs generally received no reading instruction, while education remained primarily for the nobility or those attending newly centralized schools.

Traditional Housing and Cooking Methods

Peasant houses were often simple structures with walls made of clay and cowdung or tree trunks, featuring a central hearth for cooking and a hole in the roof for smoke to escape. In Tbilisi, traditional 'darbazi' houses consisted of one large room with a dirt floor, which was watered in summer for cooling and covered with carpets or felt in winter.

Eating with Adam's spoon

Diners often ate with their hands using an Adam's spoon, meaning their own fingers, to scoop up food from shared wooden or clay dishes.

Gomi millet porridge staple

Gomi, a millet porridge served without salt, was a staple food often eaten with cheese or fish, and served as a side to salted dishes.

Laborer and craftsman daily wages

In the Transcaucasus region during the mid-19th century, daily wages for laborers typically started at 15 to 20 kopecks in silver, while skilled craftsmen earned up to one silver ruble per day.

Cost of charcoal in Tiflis

In Tiflis (modern-day Tbilisi) in 1846, a pack of charcoal—essential for heating homes and shops via braziers—cost between 25 and 40 silver kopecks.

Early morning labor in Tiflis

Tiflis (Tbilisi) life began as early as 3:00 AM, with laborers and poor people gathering at fountains and water sources. Carriers, or mushi, spent their days transporting heavy goods on their backs while earning roughly four abazes on a productive day.

Guild craftsmen and church building

Artisan guilds known as amkari were required by tradition to dedicate one full day of unpaid labor to the construction of local churches. This religious and communal effort was considered a standard, expected practice among the city's craftsmen.