Late 18th Century Russian School. The Akhtyrskaya Mother of ...

Estimate

£3,000 - £4,000

Late 18th Century Russian School. The Akhtyrskaya Mother of God Icon with a Synaxis of Saints, Oil on panel, Inscribed with the names of the Saints and inscribed 1739, with an 84 stamped silver oklad dated 1808 and with marks of the Kalugg area (weight 716g), 12.5" x 11" (31.7 x 28cm). Provenance: A Church in the area of Greater Moscow; private collection (from mid 20th century). Notes: This work represents the veneration of the Akhtyrskaya Mother of God icon by Saints. A priest, Father Vasily Danilov, discovered the Akhtyrskaya icon in 1739 lying in grass by his church in Akhtyrka in the Kharkov Province. The Holy Mother later appeared to him in a dream commanding him to wash the icon and use the water to bless the sick. Notes of the miraculous healings were reported to the Synod and in 1751 they honoured the image as miraculous. In 1768, by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, a stone cathedral was built in Akhtyrka to house the original.