LOT 1937

Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Saint Julitta, Cyricus and Deesis

19TH CENTURY A.D.

5 1/2 in. (360 grams, 14 cm).

With blue enamel and framed by a raised border; Saint Julitta and her son, Cyricus, Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John the Chrysostom standing beside them at the centre; three half-length figures above: St. Paraskeva (right), Eudokia, and Barbara (left); OCS inscriptions identifying the saints framing the scene; on the top a deesis, with Christ Pantokrator at the centre, flanked by Saint Mary and Saint John the Precursor; at the top left corner Archangel Michael, on the top right corner the Archangel Gabriel; beneath Saint Gabriel, in vertical order, Saint Paul, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Nicholas of Myra, Saint Demetrios; beneath Saint Michael, in vertical order, Saint Peter, Saint Basil the Great, Saint John Chrysostomos and Saint George; in the last row, nearby Saint Andrew, at the centre, the Archangel Raphael, with sword and cross.

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.

Cf. Eighme Ahlborn, R., Beaver-Bricken Espinola, V., Russian Copper Icons and crosses from the Kunz Collection: Castings of Faith, Washington, 1991, nos.25819.130 and 25819.133, pp.49,58, for similar iconography.

This icon was intended for private devotion, often carried by pilgrims and Orthodox believers for spiritual protection. St. Julyttas and her son Cyricus (Ки́рик и Иули́тта), among the most venerated figures in Russian tradition, are depicted in the centre, surrounded by other saints, a symbol of the communion of the righteous in front of the Divine Deesis.