🍷 Azarphesha
Also known as: azarpesha, azarfesha, azarpeshi, Georgian wine ladle, Georgian silver wine cup
The azarpesha (azarphesha) is a Georgian wine-drinking bowl with a long handle, usually silver and holding only 50 to 60 ml, used at the supra feast.
The azarpesha (azarphesha) is a Georgian wine-drinking vessel, a shallow bowl on a long handle. With the handle it measures 20 to 35 cm. The bowl is 8 to 15 cm across. It holds only 50 to 60 ml, so it is a sip rather than a glass. It belongs to the supra, the Georgian feast where wine is drunk with toasts.
Most are silver. Some carry small gold elements and a few are brass. The handle is riveted to the bowl, and a third piece reinforces the joint while doubling as decoration. Goldsmiths worked them with engraving, embossing, niello, filigree and gilding, and some show Queen Tamar, the poet Shota Rustaveli or King Erekle II.
Dates help place them. Most survivors come from the 19th century, a few from the 17th and 18th. The fashion peaked in the first half of the 19th. When the French traveller Jean Chardin visited in the early 1670s, he described twelve azarpeshas on a single table, almost all silver.
It was a status object. Writers link it with noble and wealthy families and with a bride's dowry, and women owned them too. Owners engraved a name, a verse or a shairi, a short witty rhyme, on the handle. Today Georgian goldsmiths make new ones again.
The supra itself, in the tourism administration's words, is a generous meal and an ancient ritual of sharing, with wine at the centre and a tamada leading the toasts. The same source says a good tamada drinks in moderation and sets an example of courtesy. Fitting, given the size of the bowl. Wine is for adults.
Facts
| Country | Georgia 1 |
|---|---|
| Raw material | Mostly silver; sometimes small gold parts or brass 1 |
| Bottle size | 50-60 ml; 20-35 cm long, bowl 8-15 cm across 1 |
| Occasion | The supra feast with a tamada and toasts 2 |
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Azarphesha → then → 🍷 Georgian supra ← used in ← 🍷 Wine
Links
- Next step
- 🍷 Georgian supra
- Part of
- 🍾 Wine containers, glassware and serving
Frequently asked questions
What is the azarpesha made of?
Mostly silver, sometimes with small gold parts, rarely brass.
Whose portraits appear on some bowls?
Queen Tamar, the poet Shota Rustaveli and King Erekle II.
Is it true that the azarpesha is only a museum piece now?
No. Georgian goldsmiths are making new azarpeshas again.
How does a good tamada drink?
In moderation, setting an example of respect, courtesy and eloquence.
When was the azarpesha most popular?
In the first half of the 19th century; most surviving pieces date from the 19th century.
Similar
🍷 Drinking horn (kantsi) · 🍷 Carafe · 🍷 Porrón · 🍷 Sabrage · 🍷 Rhyton · 🍷 Decanter
Sources
- Georgian Folklore (Folklore State Centre). Azarpesha, by L. Togonidze
- Georgian National Tourism Administration. Georgian Supra
- Georgian National Tourism Administration. Tamada