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ICON OF THE RESURRECTION AND THE TWELVE GREAT FEASTS OF THE CHURCH

Creator(s): Fedor Stroganov (Silversmith)

Currently in storage


About this object

The Orthodox iconography for the Resurrection is the Descent into Hell. Here the artist has adopted the Western interpretation of the event, with Christ actually rising from the tomb. According to traditional Russian iconography, this specific image of Christ should not be depicted because no one actually witnessed Christ rising from the dead. Twelve principal feasts surround the icon of the Resurrection. This icon is similar in form to a Gospel cover, which would have had the crucifixion in the center and the four evangelists in the corners. Icons of this type, consisting only of enameled plaques on a metal ground, are unusual and demonstrate the persistence of Western imagery into the second half of the nineteenth century, just as the Russian Revival, a reaction to these forms, was about to take hold.

In the center of the icon is a large oval enamel medallion depicting the Resurrection of Christ. Naked except for his shroud which flies about him, Christ springs up out of the tomb while an angel in a white robe holds the lid and the three myrh-bearing women can be seen approaching from behind a ruined archway. Evenly spaced around the outer edge of the icon are twelve smaller enamel medallions representing the principle Feastdays of the Orthdox church. Clockwise from the top left these are 1) the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, 2) the Baptism, 3) the Presentation of the Mother of God, 4) the Adoration of the Shepherds, 5) the Annunciation, 6) the Ascension, 7) the Nativity, 8) the Dormition, 9) the Old Testament Trinity, 10) the Entry into Jerusalem, 11) the Elevation of the Cross, and 12) the Transfiguration. The smaller medallions do not follow a logical order and were probably incorrectly remounted at some point. All thirteen medallions are painted in an Italian style in bright colors of safron, apple green, mauve, pink, and azure and are framed with a circle of glass pastes. The gilt metal ground has a richly ornamented boarder of repousse scrolls and leaves on a stippled ground.

Object name:
ICON OF THE RESURRECTION AND THE TWELVE GREAT FEASTS OF THE CHURCH
Made from:
Silver gilt with painted enamels on copper and paste gemstones
Made in:
Moscow, Russia
Date made:
1857
Size:
36.2 × 31.6 cm (14 1/4 × 12 7/16 in.)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
54.28
Class:
ICON
Signature marks:
INSCRIPTION; MARK (on the medallions) "IS KhS," "SRETENIE," "BOGOIAVLENIE", "?" , "BOGOVESHCHENIE", "?," "USPENIE," "?" "TROITSE," "?" "VOZDVIZHENIE KRESTA," "VOZNESENIE"; on the top edge 1) V.S. 1857 for tester Viktor Savinkov 1855-88 (P-L #2111-12), 2) 84 for silver content, 3) St. George and the Dragon for Moscow, 4) FS for maker Fedor Stroganov 1858-97 (P-L #2973); [verso] "#14"
Credit line:
Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973