Russian Orthodox Enamelled Bronze Travel Icon with Saints Zosima and Sabbas

CIRCA 1820 A.D.

3 1/2 in. (108 grams, 88 mm).

Depicting Saint Zosima and Saint Sabbas in front of the Solovetsky Monastery; both nimbate and dressed inAbbot’s garments, holding the model of the monastery offered to God, represented in the sky as a dove upon a cloud; arabesque frame; inscriptions in Old Slavonic with the names of the saints.

Provenance

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.

Literature

Cf. Matthieson, S., Morrison, G., Heavenly Beings, Icons of the Christian Orthodox World, Auckland, 2022, p.66, for a similar icon.

Footnotes

Saints Zosima and Sabbas or Sabbatius were highly venerated Orthodox saints, founders of the Solovetsky Monastery, a fortified monastery located in the White Sea in Northern Russia. This double portrait shows Zosima and Sabbas holding up a model of their religious institution, which resembles a small medieval city. Solovetsky Monastery obtained big investments from the city of Novgorod and established itself as one of the richest monasteries in Russia.

CONDITION

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LOT 2090