LOT 0436

Greek Wooden Icon of Deisis with Saints George and Demetrius

EARLY 18TH CENTURY A.D.

10 1/2 x 14 in. (1.8 kg, 26.8 x 35.5 cm).

Painted on a wooden board with gessoed surface, tempera on wood panel with the recess executed on a gold ground in three registers: above, Deisis with Christ Pantocrator carrying the Gospel, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist; middle, with three bearded saints with their names written in Greek beside them: Aghios Charalambos, Aghios Nikolaos and Aghios Pantaleimon, the first two holding holy books and one the third holding a child; bottom, two mounted military saints, St George attacking a dragon with spear, and St Demetrius trampling the King of Avars.

Ex Henry's Auction, Berlin, Germany.
From an important collection of icons.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12343-224612.

Cf. for similar icons Popescu, G.A., Cristiani d'Oriente, spiritualità, arte e potere nell'Europa Post-Bizantina, Milano, 1999, cat.99.

Here, according to local Greek traditions, the icon is enriched with images of three important saints: among them St Pantaleimon, holding a child in his arms. According to the legend, one day the Saint found a dead child on the street who had been bitten by a snake, which was still beside the child’s body. Pantaleimon began to pray for Jesus to revive the dead child and to destroy the venomous reptile, believing that if his prayers were fulfilled he would become a follower of Christ. His prayers were fulfilled and the child rose up alive, and the snake died before Pantaleimon’s eyes.