Lure of the Orient, The

‘The Lure of the Orient’ is a very special art book. At first glance a collection of 24 beautiful paintings by the Georgian artist Sophia Varazi, yet the images demonstrate an unusually strong combination of European and Oriental themes, here heightened by selections of poetry and calligraphy gathered from across the region. Set opposite each painting is a verse by a Persian poet like Omar Khayyam, Jelaladdin Rumi, Firdausi, Hafiz, Simin Behbehani, or Georgia’s national poet Shota Rustaveli, translated into English. They are chosen by the book’s creator, Edna Fortescue. Below this is a verse written in flowing Georgian script, and below that another in elegant Farsi lettering by the contemporary Persian calligrapher, Kouroush Khorasani. The overall effect is an ageless synthesis of European and Oriental cultures, which today is still the essence of the Georgian nation and the lure it sends out to the world.