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ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "SEEKER OF THE LOST"

Creator(s): Unknown (Painter) , Unknown (Silversmith)

On view in: Russian Sacred Arts Gallery


About this object

In this faithful copy of the Mother of God "Promise of Those Who Suffer" Christ, dressed in a simple white chiton, seems to be climbing out of the crook of his mother's arm. With his right hand he steadies himself against her neck, while his left foot is supported by her left hand. Her cheek rests on the top of his head as she gazes off to the side. She is shown three-quarter length, dressed in a heavy dark red mantle with gold foliate pattern and richly beaded border; a length of similiar fabric covers her lap. Her high-waisted dark green gown with a rolled collar is enlivened with broad gold highlights and she wears a greenish veil with beaded border on top of which sits a crown with a Latin cross on top. In the upper right section stands St. John the Warrior with his arms parted in a gesture of praise. The faces and hands have pink ears, eyelids, cheeks and toes characteristic of Baroque painting. The ground of the icon is covered with a silver gilt oklad with a niello decoration of urns, sprays of flowers, and cherubim, on a stippled ground. The haloes of the central group are engraved with sunbursts and an inscription in Old Church Slavonic that reads "The Brightest Dawn of Our Heavenly Father." A second band of inscriptions reads " ". The monograms of the Mother of God and Christ are engraved in script in medallions in the upper corners. The icon has two vertical shponki and is covered on the verso with a red and cream floral fabric.

Object name:
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "SEEKER OF THE LOST"
Made from:
Tempera on wood with gilding -- silver gilt -- gilt -- and niello
Made in:
Moscow, Russia
Date made:
1790-1795
Size:
31.8 × 27 cm (12 1/2 × 10 5/8 in.)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
54.15
Class:
ICON
Signature marks:
MARK OKLAD: on bottom edge 1) M.D. for unknown master, 1790-93 (P-L #2641), 2) St. George and the Dragon for Moscow, 3) 1795 A.T for tester Andrei Titov, 1786-98 (P-L #2094), 4) AOP (in a heart shape) for unknown alderman (P-L #2136) INSCRIPTION on verso "MR" "FU"; "IIS KhTS"; "S M IOAN VO" (above each figure), "NBSNAGO TSRIA PRVTLAIA ZAPIA" (around Mother of God's halo), "PREIZBRINAIA MRIA NEVESTA MOLIASHCHISIA EI DAST VPOLSU MESTA MTI SSNOM BESEDUET DA VSIAKII V NEBE TSRSTVO NASLEDUET RAIIU SLOVESNY DOM EGO NBSNI" (outer band around the Mother of God's halo) ICON: on verso ". . . 12" (in pencil); "Loan Exhibition of Russian Icons at A La Vieille Russie 781 Fifth Ave New York Nov-Dec 1962 No 78" (printed label); "No 18" (on label attached to wire hanger)
Credit line:
Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973