Russia, ca. 15th to 16th century CE. A very old surviving example of a wooden icon showing the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus in the Our Lady of the Spring or Our Lady of the Waters position. She sits underneath a crenelated arch held up by two decorated columns. The arch is surmounted on either curved side by floral motifs. These architectural features were gilded. The depiction of Mary is simple; she has a halo and wears a red robe. Christ, on her lap, is looking up at her; her head is tilted towards him in adoration. At her feet is another child, one of Christ's "brothers", who, in the Orthodox religion, are believed to be the children of another Mary whom Jesus was particularly close to. There is a fine level of detail on the piece, with beautiful painting that is still clearly visible despite age and wear. There is also some writing in the bottom right corner, but unfortunately, it is not possible to decipher it. Size: 10.25" W x 12.25" H (26 cm x 31.1 cm)

From the fifteenth century onward, growing prosperity allowed the personal ownernship of icons. In the home, they would be placed in the corner of a room or over the headboard of the bed. This icon was made by smoothing a piece of wood with an adze, then covering it with a layer of gesso and polishing that layer (once hardened) to a shiny surface. Using a stencil, the outline was traced onto the board, followed by a background. Then the artist paints the final image using pigments tempered with egg or wax. Afterward, the artist would apply a layer of flax-seed or olive oil to enhance the colors (although this would quickly darken them). The surfaces of old Russian icons were often repainted to enliven the colors, but, ultimately, this made them darker.

Provenance: Ex-Sieling collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#118414

Wear to the surface, with wear, darkening, and losses to the paint; loss to the top center as shown. Frame is not original.