60 - Anastasis surrounded by an extensive cycle depicting the Great Feasts of the Byzantine liturgical year - Late 19th century

Anastasis surrounded by an extensive cycle depicting the Great Feasts of the Byzantine liturgical year - Late 19th century Egg tempera on panel Height x width: 36 x 31 cm The work belongs to the refined category of devotional and calendrical panel icons—objects designed for domestic veneration that pack extraordinary narrative density into a compact format. Iconographically, the panel follows a precise hierarchical scheme centered on a large depiction of the Resurrection (Pascha)—the pivotal event of the Orthodox faith—rendered here in the dual Russian variant that juxtaposes the Descent into Hell (Anastasis) in the lower section with the bodily Resurrection from the tomb in the upper section, showing the radiant Savior ascending within a mandorla of light. The work’s most significant art-historical feature lies in its complex border: unlike common, standardized models that depict only the twelve canonical feasts (the Dodekaortion), this panel features an expanded layout comprising sixteen rectangular scenes. This expansion reflects a deliberate theological and devotional choice characteristic of educated patrons and traditionalist workshops in nineteenth-century Russia; the inclusion of sixteen panels allowed for a departure from the rigidity of the standard liturgical calendar, enabling the integration of essential—yet otherwise omitted—Christological and Mariological episodes into the encyclopedic narrative, thereby offering a far more comprehensive visual synthesis of the History of Salvation. The peripheral micro-scenes—finely painted in miniature and surmounted by identifying inscriptions in Old Church Slavonic—illustrate, with extraordinary miniaturist skill, the Nativity of the Mother of God, her Presentation at the Temple, the Holy Trinity (in the form of Abraham’s Hospitality or Philoxenia), the Annunciation, the Nativity of Jesus, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (the Meeting/Hypapante), the Baptism in the Jordan (Theophany), the Entry into Jerusalem, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the Raising of Lazarus, the Crucifixion, the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), the Ascension into Heaven, the Dormition of the Virgin (Koimesis), the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and the Protection of the Mother of God (Pokrov), or other selected synaxarion scenes. Each panel bears witness to the superb craftsmanship of the Upper Volga masters—faithful to Old Believer canons—evident in the calligraphic use of gold highlights on the garments, the elongated architectural forms, and the characteristic rocky landscapes (*gorki*); these elements lend the composition a vibrant, jewel-like richness of color and make it highly prized by collectors. H.E. Most Rev. Francisco-Javier Lozano Sebastián, Titular Archbishop of Penafiel and Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus. Item condition rating: **** good. The lot is in good condition, with normal wear and defects commensurate with its age and use over time. Minor color loss.