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LOT 1972
Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Christ Flanked by Mary, Maria, and Saint John
19TH CENTURY A.D.
6 1/2 in. (270 grams, 16.6 cm).
Representing the Saviour on the cross, the titulum inscribed with the letters 'ΙC ΧΡ' (Jesus Christ); Cyrillic inscriptions over the sun (Солнце) and the moon (Луна), flanking Jesus and above the heads of the figures: Mary of Magdala (Мария Магдала), the Mother of God ('ΜΡ ϴΥ'), Saint John the Theologian (Св Иоанн) and Saint Longinus (Св Лонгин); on the background the symbols of the Passion (sponge on reed, spear and a skull set on stones marking the site as Golgotha, twisted cords or wire, skan) and the city of Jerusalem; on the upper part of the cross the Archangels Michael and Gabriel with cloth-covered hands, the Mandylion above them.
ProvenanceAcquired 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.
Cf. Eighme Ahlborn, R., Beaver-Bricken Espinola, V., Russian Copper Icons and crosses from the Kunz Collection: Castings of Faith, Washington, 1991, nos.25819.003ff., pp.42ff., for similar iconography.
FootnotesOrthodox travel icons were used by the faithful to carry a sacred representation with them during their journeys, offering protection and a constant spiritual connection. The icon features meticulous craftsmanship with intricate details of the Passion and Death of the Saviour, according to the Byzantine iconography.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1972
Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Christ Flanked by Mary, Maria, and Saint John
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£110 (EUR 128; USD 149) +BP*
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Post Medieval Agate Cameo of a Lady in Gold Pendant
19th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Carved in low-relief, a female profile bust wearing a straw hat and mantle. 6.40 grams, 36 mm
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market. -
Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Saint Antipas of Pergamum
19th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £110
Representing Saint Antipas with a Gospel in his left hand and making the gesture of blessing with his right, dressed as a bishop, with sticharion, covered by omophorion, and surmounted by an epitrachelion; the Mandylion at the centre above the saint, Saint Mary on the left panel and Jesus on the right; Old Slavic inscription around the figures: 'ΙC ΧΡ' (Jesus Christ); 'ΜΡ ϴΥ'(Mother of God); Saint Antipas of Pergamum (Св Анти́па Перга́мский). 238 grams, 11.3 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 features meticulous craftsmanship typical of Orthodox iconography. Saint Antipas was popularly held to be a healer of tooth problems. He was martyred by being burned in a brazen bull-shaped altar under the Emperor Nero or Domitian. -
Bourbon Era Gold Devotional Pendant with Verre Eglomise Miniatures of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint John of Nepomuk
Spain, circa 1700 A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Featuring a gold mount with twisted ropework border and scalloped edges securing bevelled glass coverings, one side depicting nimbate Saint Catherine of Alexandria wearing a pale blue dress with a red cloak, holding a gilt palm frond; the other side with Saint John of Nepomuk dressed in clerical attire and holding a gilt cross and a palm frond. 29.1 grams, 43 mm
Acquired on the European art market.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a Christian saint and virgin who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the Emperor Maxentius. She was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to Christianity and was martyred around the age of 18. More than 1,100 years after Catherine's martyrdom, Joan of Arc identified her as one of the saints who appeared to and counselled her. Saint John of Nepomuk (c. 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava River at the behest of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. Based on this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods and drowning. Verre églomisé is a French term referring to the process of applying both a design and gilding onto the rear face of glass to produce a mirror finish. The name is derived from the 18th-century French decorator and art-dealer Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711–1786), who was responsible for its revival. Glomy's technique was a relatively simple one of applying decorative designs in a combination of plain colour and gilding, usually to glass picture frames. However, over time, it has come to be used to describe nearly any process involving back-painted and gilded glass, however elaborate.
