211 - HISTORICISM

HISTORICISM ICON OF CHRIST PANTOCRATOR IN A SILVER-GILT OKLAD WITH CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1885. The icon of Christ Pantocrator represents one of the most important images of Orthodox Christian iconography. Christ is depicted frontally, raising His right hand in blessing and holding an open Gospel Book in His left hand. The painted image follows the traditions of Russian icon painting of the second half of the 19th century, distinguished by the delicate modelling of the facial features and the profound spiritual expression of the composition. The icon is enclosed in a Moscow-made silver-gilt oklad dating from 1885, mounted within its original hand-forged retaining frame. The silver riza is executed in repoussé and engraving techniques, with finely detailed rendering of Christ’s garments, textile textures and ornamental elements. The surface combines polished and matte finishes, enhancing the depth of the relief decoration and demonstrating the high quality of craftsmanship. Of particular artistic importance is the applied silver halo, decorated with polychrome cloisonné enamel. The ornamental composition follows traditional motifs of Russian decorative art, featuring rich shades of blue, turquoise, green, white and red enamel. The presence of a separate maker’s mark on the enamel element indicates that the halo was produced by a specialised Moscow workshop, a practice typical of high-quality commissioned icon oklads of the late 19th century. The lower enamel plaque bears the inscription “Lord Almighty”, executed in stylised Old Russian script. Marks: Maker’s mark “ИЕ” within a rectangular punch - a Moscow silversmith active during the second half of the 19th century; Moscow assay mark with the initials of assay master “A.S” and the date “1885”; Moscow city mark depicting Saint George the Victorious; silver standard mark “84” (875/1000 silver). The silver enamel halo bears an additional mark of a specialised Moscow workshop with a partially legible Cyrillic maker’s mark “Ф...М”, together with the silver standard mark “84”. Dimensions: Height: 31 cm; width: 26 cm; depth: 3 cm. Weight: 1.465 kg. Width: 26cm, Height: 31cm, Depth: 3cm, Weight: 1.465kg, Condition: Good, Material: Cloisonné enamel, ID: ID-ANTQ-16560