Beschreibung:

POST MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN ICON OF THE VLADIMIR VIRGIN 18th century AD A rectangular wooden icon with tempera painted scene of the Vladimir Virgin (Владимирская икона Божией Матери), nimbate, holding the Christ Child to her cheek; slots to the reverse with wooden mounting blocks, adhesive labels with text in Russian and German. 1 kg, 31 x 26cm (12 1/4 x 10 1/4"). Fair condition, some abrasion and wormholes. Provenance From the Alexandra collection, Somerset, UK; previously acquired by a Russian art collector from Sotheby's Amsterdam in 2004; formerly acquired between 1970 and 1972 by one of the largest industrialists from East Germany, who made his fortune in selling cement to Russia, and was subsequently part paid in icons and other important works of art by the Russian government. Accompanied by an original certificate of authenticity from the Ministry of Culture, Moscow, CCCP (USSR), signed and stamped by the director of the national export department, K. Olenev; and signed by the highest ranking scientific expert, Mr E. Morozova; along with a hand written description in German, and a typed German translation of the Russian certificate by Emil J. Janucek, from the office of Terra Handels-Gesellschaft mbH. Footnotes The original icon, Theotokos of Vladimir, is a medieval Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child, now located in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. It is one of the most venerated icons in Orthodox church and a fine early example of the iconography of Eleusa type. The original has been copied repeatedly for centuries, and many copies have considerable artistic and religious significance of their own. The icon is sometimes described as expressing universal feelings of motherly love and anxiety for her child. The venerated image was used during celebrations and official ceremonies like coronations or elections of patriarchs.