late-12th-century Georgian metalists (“gold sculptors”).
The Opizari worked in Opiza. Beshken Opizari’s works, such as the gold-plated silver cover on the Bert Gospels (Manuscript Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, Tbilisi), are marked by austerity and by a certain archaism in the treatment of forms. The works of Beka Opizari, who apparently was Beshken’s pupil, have more supple relief and more varied floral ornamentation. This is seen in the gold-plated silver cover of the Tskarostav Gospels (Manuscript Institute, Tbilisi). Colorful enamel insets and precious stones typified the Opizari works.