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Russia, ca. 18th century CE. A stunning rendition of the Hospitality of Abraham in egg tempera and gilt on wood with a silver basma, referencing chapter 18 of the Book of Genesis in which three angels appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. Inspired by the famous icon by Andrei Rublev (ca. 1408-1425), this icon depicts the angels seated at a table with Abraham and his wife Sarah, both of a smaller scale, attending to the visitors; below, a servant slays a calf. All is framed by a silver basma with foliage and beaded motifs. Size: 23.5" W x 26" H (59.7 cm x 66 cm)

According to curator Jeanne Marie Warzeski, "Because of the generosity portrayed towards the three visitors, this scene also is known as the 'Hospitality of Abraham.' Some scholars interpret the figures to indicate the New Testament Trinity: Christ at the center, above whom is the tree, signifying the wood of the Cross; the Father to the left, before a building, symbolizing the church; and the Holy Spirit on the right, below a hill, representing spiritual ascent. This icon type goes back to early Christian art and has remained the most common Orthodox depiction of the Trinity." She continues, "In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pentecost is also called Trinity Sunday. Most Russian minyeia (calendar) icons will substitute a Pentecost image with that of the Old Testament Trinity."

Exhibited in "Windows Into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art" at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina (December 20, 2003 through February 22, 2004) which presented highlights of one of the world's great artistic traditions through an extraordinary group of sixty-five 18th and 19th century Russian icons on loan from the private collection of Lilly and Francis Robicsek as well as the exhibition of the same name at the North Carolina Museum of History (October 4, 2013 through March 5, 2014). This icon was also published in the catalogue accompanying the North Carolina Museum of History exhibition (p. 13).

Icons (icon means "image" in Greek) are sacred objects within the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. Found in homes as well as churches, these painted images depict holy persons and saints as well as illustrate scenes from the Scriptures. Some icons are encased in precious metal covers (oklads) adorned with pearls and semi-precious stones or glass-fronted wooden cases (kiots). Some are framed in beautiful basma, like this example. Icons are not worshiped, but are instead venerated for their ability to focus the power of an individual's prayer to God. As such they are truly "windows into heaven."

The “Windows Into Heaven” exhibition profiled a magnificent chapter of Russian artistry, the embrace of the Russian Orthodox faith of religious icons during the Romanov centuries. The Russian religious faith was an offshoot of Byzantine Christianity, which in 1054 parted ways from Roman Catholicism. Icons were and continue to be religious images created for veneration. As a focus for prayers and meditation for believers, icons serve as “windows into heaven.”

Provenance: Ex-Francis & Lilly Robicsek Collection, Charlotte, NC, part of the Museum Exhibition, Windows into Heaven - Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art, North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC. Published in the catalogue accompanying the North Carolina Museum of History exhibition (p. 13).

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#119580

Some losses to basma (bhasma) with a few tears and areas of separation from image as shown. Icon shows nice craquelure and expected wear/losses to pigment and gold leaf as shown. This said, imagery remains quite vivid. Crossbars/back slats intact. Verso shows inactive insect holes, age cracks, and losses.