Lot 40
Russia, ca. 19th century CE A hand-carved wooden sculptural medallion, probably part of an iconostasis, beautifully adorned in egg tempera and gold leaf, the curved panel depicting an image of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost - the New Testament Holy Trinity - one God in three Divine entities, floating upon billowing clouds against an intricately incised background. Surrounding the panel is a raised sinuous border followed by an ornate, ribbonlike surround, all beautifully finished in gold leaf and a rich red pigment. Size: 33" W x 27" H (83.8 cm x 68.6 cm)
Here we see the New Testament Holy Trinity (as opposed to the Old Testament Trinity that depicts the Trinity as the three angels who appeared to the patriarch Abraham on the plains of Mamre) presented as God the Father, an elderly man who the Russians call "Lord Sabaoth" with a long white beard and patriarchal appearance donning a triangular halo, holding a terrestrial globe in one hand and giving benediction with the other, Jesus the Son of God to his right presenting an open Gospel and holding a large cross signifying the Crucifixion, and the Holy Ghost symbolized by a magnificent dove. The figures are sensitively modeled with a stylistic leaning toward realism, very much influenced by Classical and Renaissance art of the Western world which became favored during the 1800s.
Exhibited in "Windows Into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art" at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004) and the North Carolina Museum of History (October 4, 2013 through March 5, 2014) which presented highlights of one of the world's great artistic traditions through an extraordinary group of sixty-five 18th and 19th century Russian icons on loan from the private collection of Lilly and Francis Robicsek. Published in a catalogue accompanying the North Carolina Museum of History exhition by curator Jeanne Marie Warzeski.
Icons (icon means "image" in Greek) are sacred objects within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Found in homes as well as churches, these painted images depict holy persons and saints as well as illustrate scenes from the Scriptures. Some icons are encased in precious metal covers (oklads) adorned with pearls and semi-precious stones or glass-fronted wooden cases (kiots). Icons are not worshiped, but are instead venerated for their ability to focus the power of an individual's prayer to God. As such they are truly "windows into heaven."
The Windows Into Heaven exhibition profiled a magnificent chapter of Russian artistry, the embrace of the Russian Orthodox faith of religious icons during the Romanov centuries. The Russian religious faith was an offshoot of Byzantine Christianity, which in 1054 parted ways from Roman Catholicism. Icons were and continue to be religious images created for veneration. As a focus for prayers and meditation for believers, icons serve as windows into heaven.
Provenance: Ex-Francis & Lilly Robicsek Collection, Charlotte, NC, part of the Museum Exhibition, Windows into Heaven - Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art, North Carolina Museum of History
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#119610
- Condition: Losses to pigment and gold leaf as shown. Decorative surround and raised frame show signs of repair. Panel was created from three pieces of wood and seams are now visible on the image. New back slats attached to secure. Suspension wire on verso.
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