← Back to theme

Feast of the Karachogelians

Historic black-and-white photograph of Karachogelians in traditional dress gathered around a feast table with wine and musical instruments in Tbilisi.
Free to view
Sepia edition preview
Preview
Museum-quality sepia toning for authentic period atmosphere
$20.00 USD
Contact Museum to Purchase
Artistic edition preview
Preview
Creative reinterpretation: colorized or artistically enhanced
$50.00 USD
Contact Museum to Purchase
Short animated video (up to 10 seconds) bringing the historic photograph to life
$60.00 USD
Contact Museum to Purchase

Group of Karachogelians gathered around a festive table in Tiflis.

This photograph depicts a group of Karachogelians — distinctive urban figures of old Tiflis — gathered around a festive table with traditional food, wine, and musical instruments. Some members are playing traditional instruments while others participate in the feast.

Karachogelians were representatives of the working urban class of 19th-century Tiflis. Known for their courage, dignity, and strong moral code, they often acted as informal defenders of the poor and disadvantaged. Within the social fabric of the city, they occupied a unique role — combining elements of craftsmen, local guardians, and charismatic public figures. Their reputation has often been compared to a “Robin Hood”-like archetype within Georgian urban folklore.

The photograph is an important ethnographic document reflecting traditional dress, social rituals, and the cultural identity of old Tbilisi.

← Previous39 of 45Next →
Seven men in traditional Georgian clothing and fur hats pose together, one reclining in front while others stand and sit around him.Horse-drawn tram moving along Golovin Prospect in Tiflis with carriages, pedestrians, and historic buildings.Stereoscopic street view of Abano Street in Tiflis with balconies, pedestrians, and horse-drawn carriages, photographed by Aleksandre Mamatsashvili, 1897.View of the railway station building and station square in Tiflis filled with horse-drawn carriages and people.View of the Viceroy’s Palace building in Tiflis with mountains in the background, photographed by David Korganov, 1863.View of the Tiflis Opera Theatre building with pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages on the street, photographed by Eduard Klar, 1896.View of Old Tiflis with wooden balcony houses built along the cliffs beneath Narikala fortress.Panoramic view of Tiflis showing densely built houses, churches, and hills surrounding the historic city.Market square in Tiflis with horse-drawn carts, pedestrians, and buildings, with Narikala fortress visible on the hill.View of the Vera district of Tbilisi with a cross monument, winding road, bridge, and surrounding hills.Panoramic view of the Rike district along the Mtkvari River with dense historic houses in Tbilisi.Statue of Count Vorontsov on a pedestal in a public square in Tbilisi surrounded by people and 19th-century buildings.Stone arch bridge known as Mikhail’s Bridge crossing the Mtkvari River in Tbilisi with horse-drawn carts nearby.Panoramic view of Tbilisi across the Mtkvari River with dense historic buildings and surrounding hills.Two water carriers with donkeys transporting leather water bags on the bank of the Mtkvari River in Old Tbilisi.Historic view of the Meidan Mosque and surrounding riverside buildings along the Mtkvari River in Old Tbilisi.Decorated interior room with patterned wallpaper, upholstered seating, mirror, framed portraits, small tables, and chandelier.Multi-storey residential building with wooden balconies and intersecting exterior staircases facing a shared courtyard in Tbilisi.Interior room with desk, upholstered seating, decorative cabinet, framed photographs, and patterned textiles in a private house in Ortachala.Two-storey brick house with balcony, staircase, and garden in Ortachala, Tbilisi.Interior study room with desk, chairs, fireplace, framed photographs on the walls, and a window in Ilia Chavchavadze’s house.Single-storey brick house with iron gate and fenced courtyard on Andrew Street in Tbilisi.Garden courtyard with pathways, benches, and surrounding institutional buildings at the House of the Indigents in Tbilisi.Large multi-storey brick institutional building on a sloping cobblestone street with a few people seated in front.Two-storey 19th-century building with wraparound balconies and arched windows on a street in Tbilisi.Monumental stone bank building with columns and arched central entrance on a cobblestone street in Tbilisi.Large multi-storey theatre building with ornate facade and balconies along Glovin Avenue in Tbilisi, with pedestrians on the street.Two-storey 19th-century hotel building on Glovin Avenue in Tbilisi with pedestrians and street activity in front.Black and white 19th-century photograph of the Viceroy’s Palace on Golovin Avenue in Tiflis, showing a neoclassical building with a columned portico overlooking the river.Black and white 19th-century photograph of the Town Council building on Erivan Square in Tiflis, showing a civic tower, horse-drawn carriages, and tram tracks.Woman standing in a studio setting wearing traditional Georgian attire and holding a glass, with a table and bottle beside her.A bathhouse masseur standing on a seated man’s back while performing an intensive massage inside a sulfur bath.A bathhouse masseur standing on a seated man’s back while performing an intensive massage inside a sulfur bath.A bathhouse masseur standing on a seated man’s back while performing an intensive massage inside a sulfur bath.Facade of a 19th-century sulfur bath building in Tiflis with people gathered in front and a horse-drawn carriage nearby.A bathhouse masseur standing on a seated man’s back while performing an intensive massage inside a sulfur bath.Black-and-white photograph of an ornate early 20th-century interior with paintings, carved furniture, carpets, and a chandelier in David Sarajishvili’s house.Black-and-white photograph of an ornate early 20th-century interior with paintings, carved furniture, carpets, and a chandelier in David Sarajishvili’s house.Historic black-and-white photograph of Karachogelians in traditional dress gathered around a feast table with wine and musical instruments in Tbilisi.View of wooden mills built along the Mtkvari River with bridges and urban buildings in the background.Panoramic view of Tiflis with the Mtkvari River in the foreground and hillside buildings rising above the city.Elevated view of dense urban neighborhood with multi-story buildings, tree-lined streets, and mountains in background.Black and white photograph showing a medieval church with conical dome on a rocky cliff overlooking a river, with surrounding residential buildings and cityscape in the background.Black and white photograph showing multi-story wooden houses with balconies built on a hillside overlooking a gorge with vegetation.თბილისის (ტფილისის) პანორამული ხედი მაღლა წერტილიდან, წინა პლანზე მჭიდროდ განლაგებული შენობები კრამიტის სახურავებით და ქალაქის გაფართოება მთებამდე, 1858
Date
1848
Photographer
Alexander Engel
Source
Georgian Museum of Photography
Attribution
Alexander Engel Collection
Rights
Public domain - Free to use
Alexander EngelOld TbilisiSocial Types, Trades & ProfessionsTiflis