649 - Travel icon with Christ Pantocrator, oklad, in a shaped kiot behind glass, Russia, probably 19th c.

Travel icon with Christ Pantocrator, oklad, in a shaped kiot behind glass, Russia, probably 19th c. Wooden panel, tempera, oklad of sheet metal, stamped, in a shaped wooden case (kiot) behind glass. Depicted is Christ Pantocrator (Ruler of All) in half-length, the right hand raised in blessing, the left on the Holy Scripture, which is represented in the oklad as a closed Gospel book with a cross on the cover and is covered by it. The oklad leaves only the face and hands exposed; around the head a radiant nimbus, the half-figure beneath an arched frame, the garment with stamped drapery folds, flowers in the upper corners, the borders with scrolling foliage. The icon sits in a case of dark-painted wood, shaped on all sides, with a glazed lid and two side hinges; a removable gilt frame encloses the panel. The lid can be opened, a keyhole at the side, the key is missing. Condition commensurate with age, frame and case bumped, paint layer with blistering. Image 12x10.5 cm (HxW) The icon is a cult image of the Orthodox Church; its depiction follows a binding canon that prescribes posture, gesture and colouring. The Pantocrator, Greek for Ruler of All, has been the most widespread type of Christ since the 4th century: Christ in half-length, the right hand raised in blessing, holding in the left the Gospel book as a sign of his word; the nimbus, the halo, is here stamped into the cover as a radiant crown. The oklad, in Russian also called riza, is a metal cover that protected the tempera layer from candle soot and touch and was at the same time an expression of veneration; covers that conceal everything except face and hands have been widespread in Russia since the 17th century and reached their peak in the 19th century. The kiot is the shrine-like case into which domestic icons were frequently set from the later 19th century onwards to protect them behind glass; a lockable hinged case such as this one made the panel a travel icon, which could be protected on the road and set up as a small domestic altar at its destination.