MUSEOS DE LA SEDA / SILK MUSEUMS

culture - Lyon, France - where in the laboratory of Louis Pasteur scientists were working on the methods of fighting Pebrine. Shavrov gained valuable experience and presented a plan of establishing the Caucasian Sericulture Station upon his return. The complex was built on the territory of Mushtaid Garden in Tbilisi and included up to 23 buildings, equipped with all facilities necessary for the full cycle of silk production. There were 5 main building and others included silkworm egg keeping house, silk thread spinning and reeling spaces, silk weaving workshop, facilities for workers, warehouses, etc. The ultimate goal of the station was to study the local species of silkworms, as well as to supply locals with healthy silkworm eggs. Moreover, the Caucasian Sericulture Station held various educational activities and free courses for general public. Frequent expe- ditions were organized across the Caucasus as part of their scientific work, followed by published reports (Kavkazskaia Shelkovodstvennaia Stancia,1906). THE SILK MUSEUM The samples gathered throughout the expeditions enriched the collections kept in the mu- seum and library. Unfortunately, the Caucasian Sericulture Station stopped functioning over time. Later, during the Soviet period the station started to function as a research insti- tute again, changed its name several times, however, the complex was gradually destroyed and various buildings were demolished towards the end of the 1960s. Only the main building and the former house for the employees remain today, out of which just the main building retains the function and currently serves as the State Silk Museum of Georgia. 127