Details

LOT 0320

Veneto-Cretan Bust of the Virgin from a Deesis

17TH CENTURY A.D.

8 x 6 1/2 in. (554 grams, 20.2 x 16.5 cm).

A small icon from a Deesis, tempera on wood, depicting Mary on a gilt background inclining her head to the right, wearing a maphorion embroidered with gold stars, blue veil and a chiton of same colour; the reverse with a painted red cross with Greek lettering 'IC XI N K' for 'Jesus Christ is winner'.

Provenance

Property of a London lady, part of her family's collection.

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 searcher certificate no.11571-198600.

Literature

See Weizmann, K. et al., The Icon, New York, 1982; Psilakis, N., Byzantine Churches and Monasteries of Crete, Heraklion, 1998; Popescu, G.A., Cristiani d'Oriente, spiritualità, arte e potere nell'Europa Post-Bizantina, Milano, 1999; Geelmuyden Bulgurlu, V., Ulf, A., Lindgren N., Bodin H., Balicka-Witakowska, E., Five essays on icons, Stockholm & Istanbul, 2005.

Footnotes

This splendid specimen comes most probably from a large icon, where it was part of a Deesis. The image implies that the original icon represented Christ flanked by the Mother of God and John the Baptist, all three usually represented as a full figure. The Deisis or Deesis (Деисус, Gk. for “supplication”) was the depiction of the Virgin, John the Baptist and possibly many more saints interceding with Christ on behalf of mankind.