🗿 The Colchis Bas-Relief in Kutaisi: Georgia's Stone Chronicle at the Green Market

🗿 What This Relief Is and Where to Find It

The “Kolkheti” relief is a monumental ceramic artwork that covers the entire side wall of a building at the entrance to the Central Bazaar in Kutaisi (also known as the Green Bazaar). The composition spans 217 square meters, making it the largest relief in the former USSR. The figures project deeply from the wall, casting real shadows, so from a distance the whole surface looks like a crowd frozen in stone.

There is a bit of confusion around the address. On maps and in some directories the relief is sometimes marked as a “bas-relief on the wall of a residential building near the market.” In reality it sits right at the market entrance, on the windowless wall of a building you will pass anyway on your way to the bazaar. So there is no need to search for it separately: head toward the Central Bazaar, and the wall will appear in front of you.

🎨 Who Created “Kolkheti”: Bernard (Franz) Nebieridze

The relief was created by the Georgian artist Bernard Nebieridze (1939-1987), whom many knew by his second name, Franz. He began work on “Kolkheti” in 1982, and it became the project of the final years of his life. The scale speaks for itself: painting and sculpting 217 square meters of ceramic, building an entire panorama of dozens of figures across a wall, is years of painstaking labor.

Nebieridze did not manage to finish the relief in his lifetime. He died in 1987, while the composition was still incomplete. The work was brought to completion by his colleagues, Vazha Kutateladze and Temur Zhorzholiani, in 1992. The relief was finally mounted on the market wall only in 1995, eight years after the artist's death. According to some sources, the main part of the composition was ready as early as the mid-1980s, but its journey from the studio to the facade stretched out over nearly a decade.

The relief is sometimes nicknamed “Franz's Panel,” after the artist's nickname. In this way, a single wall by the Kutaisi market forever tied the artist's name to the city for which he created this stone chronicle.

🏺 Colchis, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece: The Myth Behind the Name

The name “Kolkheti” (Colchis) refers to an ancient kingdom that lay along the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Kutaisi stands on the site of legendary Aea (Aia), the capital of that kingdom, so the myth of Colchis is no abstraction for the city but part of its own ancestry. By naming the relief after the ancient land, the artist set the tone for the entire composition from the outset.

It was to Colchis, according to Greek legend, that Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. The fleece was guarded by King Aeetes, and Jason was helped to obtain it by the king's daughter, the sorceress Medea. These are the very figures you will see on the wall: Aeetes in his mantle, the Golden Fleece beside him, Medea. They are gathered together for a reason, as they form the semantic core of the whole panorama.

Colchis and the Caucasus are tied to another great myth as well, that of Prometheus, who was chained to a rock for giving fire to humankind (in the Georgian tradition his counterpart is the hero Amirani). If you want to see how the same Colchian theme resonates in modern Kutaisi, the Colchis Fountain stands nearby, with gilded figures modeled on Colchian archaeological finds. And you can continue the story of Prometheus at the Prometheus Cave near the city.

🧱 What Is Depicted: Four Eras of Georgia in Stone

The central idea of the relief is that it is not a set of random figures but a deliberate chronicle, divided into four eras: Georgia BC, Georgia AD, the present day, and the future. The wall reads like a timeline on which ancient myths gradually flow into history, and history into the modern age. That is why a legendary king and a twentieth-century person may stand side by side: for the artist, these are links in a single chain.

From the mythological part, the wall brings together the heroes of Colchis: King Aeetes in his mantle stands in the right section of the panorama, above the gate, with the Golden Fleece beside him and Medea nearby. Historical Georgia is embodied by King David the Builder, holding in his hands Gelati Monastery, the sacred site he founded near Kutaisi. There is also a reference to Khakhuli, one of Georgia's foremost relics, and a collective image of the Georgian family as the backbone of the nation.

Not every scene is literal. Part of the composition is allegory: the struggle between good and evil, the motif of disarmament and peaceful life. You do not need to identify them by name; it is enough to sense the overall mood. The longer you look, the more details emerge, and that is precisely why both locals and visitors so often pause in front of this wall.

📐 Scale and Technique: 217 m² of Ceramic High Relief

The defining feature of “Kolkheti” is its size. The composition occupies 217 square meters and is considered the largest relief in the former USSR. To picture the scale: it is comparable to the floor area of a spacious two- or three-room apartment, only stood upright against a wall. Because of these dimensions, the relief cannot be taken in at a single glance up close; you have to step back.

Technically, this is a high relief. Unlike a flat bas-relief, where figures project only slightly from the surface, in a high relief they emerge from the wall by more than half, almost like freestanding sculptures. Because of this, the figures cast real shadows and the scene looks three-dimensional and alive. On a sunny day the shadows shift, and the wall literally changes its appearance from morning to evening.

The relief is made of ceramic, and its rusty terracotta color has long become part of its character. The warm brick tone sits well within the urban setting of the market and looks especially striking in soft light. It is the combination of scale, depth and earthy color that makes “Kolkheti” something worth approaching on purpose, rather than just glancing at on the way to do your shopping.

🚶 How to Get There and What's Nearby

The relief stands in the center of Kutaisi, so the easiest way to reach it is on foot. There is just one landmark to remember: the Central (Green) Bazaar. Head toward the market, and the wall with the relief will appear right at the entrance, impossible to walk past. For exact coordinates and a ready route, see the listing (link above); we deliberately avoid embedding a map directly in the article so that you rely on up-to-date data.

Conveniently, several of the city's notable sights are clustered nearby, so the relief is easy to fold into a single walk.

🧡 The Key Takeaways

The “Kolkheti” relief is exactly the kind of case where a genuine landmark hides beside an ordinary city market. A vast ceramic wall of 217 square meters, the largest relief in the former USSR, has been turned into a stone chronicle of Georgia: from mythical Colchis with its Golden Fleece to King David the Builder and images of the modern age. The artist, Bernard Nebieridze, worked on it during the final years of his life, and the relief was completed by his colleagues.

If you are in Kutaisi, approach this wall on purpose, not in passing. Step back a few paces to take in the whole composition, then examine individual scenes up close: the longer you look, the more details emerge. And since the relief stands right in the center, by the market, it is easy to combine with other places in the city and build an unhurried yet full day around it.

🗣️ Now Over to You

Have you seen the “Kolkheti” relief in person?

Did you manage to spot Aeetes with the Golden Fleece, or David the Builder with the church in his hands, or perhaps you noticed a detail we did not mention?

Share your impressions and photos in the reviews: your observations will help other travelers read this stone chronicle more closely and not walk past the wall by the market.