Beschreibung:

A RARE AND MONUMENTAL IMAGE OF A COMPLETE ICONOSTASIS
RUSSIAN, 19TH CENTURY
A RARE AND MONUMENTAL IMAGE OF A COMPLETE ICONOSTASIS RUSSIAN, 19TH CENTURY The panel faithfully reproducing the screen that separates the nave from the sanctuary in the Orthodox Churches; divided in five registers, surmounted by domes, the lowest section containing the three doors, in the centre the Royal Gate with images of the Evangelists and the Annunciation, a Deacon's Door at each side, in between them the Mandylion and the Birth of the Mother of God to the right, the Kazanskaya and the Decollation of the Baptist to the left, St. Nicholas and St. Nikita appearing at the extremities, the bottom with selected New Testament events, the second row illustrating the major Liturgical Feasts, a larger row above showing the Deisis, comprising of the Enthroned Christ flanked by John the Baptist and his Mother in supplication, extended at each side by an archangel, the Evangelists and other Apostles, the next rank displaying the Mother of God and Christ in adoration by two Monastic saints, flanked by Prophets, each holding a scroll, the top register showing the Holy Trinity amidst the Old Testament Patriarchs, the tympana below the domes representing events from the Passion, beginning from the left: the Betrayal, the Deposition, the Crucifixion, the Entombment and Christ's Fall while carrying the Cross, the extensive composition finely painted using a abundance of colours complemented by gold details, the panel covered by an elaborate oklad, the border decorated with geometric designs and embossed with flower buds, the spandrels applied with portraits of the Evangelists, two cherubs applied at the sides 34¾ x 28 in. (88.3 x 71.2 cm)