Vano Meliashvili (1892–1988) Subject: Tchoka Dance Theater Circa 1940–195

Subject: "Tchoka" dance theater, circa 1940–1950

Medium & technique: oil on cardboard panel

Stamp: USSR export stamp on the back

Provenance: Former Israeli-French collection acquired from the family in Walloon Brabant,

Belgium

File: A file was submitted to the Atinati Foundation, a nonprofit organization and cultural center based in Tbilisi, Georgia, established to promote Georgian art, heritage, and culture internationally. * I received a response from their historian, Professor Tsverava Tsotne, who searched the ATINATI Foundation’s archives but unfortunately found no record of the works that would confirm their authorship (it is possible that the work was, at the time, a diplomatic gift from the Russian government)

Biography: Ivane Meliashvili was a self-taught Georgian painter born in 1896 and who died in 1988.

His style draws primarily on Georgian miniatures and mosaic art, as seen in works such as *Portrait of Queen Tamar* and *The Opera*. Living a very modest life, he worked as a kindergarten custodian for twenty-five years while continuing to paint on the side. Recognition came late in his life, notably thanks to exhibitions in Tbilisi and later in Vienna, and his life was the subject of a documentary film.

*** On display at “Sablon Antiques Center,” 39 Place du Grand Sablon, 1000 Brussels

**** I can also send you a video via “WhatsApp”