Gemstone Collection

Three card boxes, each with a musket and pistol shot and explanatory text inside lid. 170 grams total, 13-17 mm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey, one of the global authorities on the confederate army in the US civil war; thence by descent to his grandson.

Representing the Protection of the Mother of God; the icon within inside a crested kokoshnik (bochka) with triple border; the crest depicting the Trinity, with God the Father and the Son sitting and facing each other across an orb and crucifix; a dove, symbolising the Holy Spirit, hovering above the crucifix; the Trinity inscribed inside a crown of flying angels, sitting at his feet the four living creatures, the Cherubins symbolising the Evangelists: the Lion, the Angel, the Eagle and the Ox; inscription in Old Slavonic beneath the crest, the Mother of God standing slightly left, looking toward God the Son in the upper corner; clouds at her feet and around the upper left corner; thirteen Saints and four Angels above them standing around her. 281 grams, 17.1 cm



Acquired from Chris Martin-Zakheim, Iconastas, 5 Piccadilly Arcade, London SW1. From the private collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the early 2000s.

The Icon of the Protection of the Mother of God, or Pokrov (in Old Slavonic), celebrates the Virgin Mary, depicting the Mother of God in prayer, wrapped in her mantle, surrounded by angels and saints. The image is a powerful symbol of protection and a reminder of Marian intercessory prayer, centered on protecting the Christian people from adversity and danger.

Discoid in plan and slightly domed with loop to the edge; central facing bust wearing a diadem; field with embossed rosettes and other ornament. 118 grams, 10.5 cm



From the collection of a Buckinghamshire, UK, collector established from the earlier 1960s.