126-BIS - IVAN ALEKSEEVICH ALEKSEEV Russian Icon depicting Christ Pantocrator with a silver riza - Moscow, 1899-1908

IVAN ALEKSEEVICH ALEKSEEV Russian Icon depicting Christ Pantocrator with a silver riza - Moscow, 1899-1908 Egg tempera on board with riza Height x width: 22 x 18 cm Depicting Christ Pantocrator (Spas Vsedershitel), according to the traditional iconography of the Russian Orthodox Church. Christ is portrayed frontally, half-length, with a solemn expression and his gaze directed towards the viewer, his right hand raised in blessing and his left holding an open Gospel Book bearing an inscription in Church Slavonic Cyrillic characters. The painted image is distinguished by the delicacy of the flesh tones, the subtle chiaroscuro transitions and the naturalistic rendering of the facial features, which convey a composed and contemplative expression, in accordance with the models of Russian religious painting in the academic style prevalent between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The wooden panel is embellished with an elaborate silver riza (oklad), worked in repoussé, chasing, engraving and openwork, covering almost the entire painted surface while leaving Christ's face and hands visible. The garments display rich ornamental detailing, with carefully modelled folds, borders decorated with vegetal motifs and finely engraved details that lend depth and movement to the composition. Particularly elaborate is the circular halo, featuring an inner band decorated with geometric motifs and a broad openwork outer border embellished with stylised scrolling foliage, against a background engraved with radiating lines. The surrounding frame displays an intricate decorative repertoire of foliate scrolls, geometric interlacing and circular medallions containing cruciform motifs. At the bottom, within a rectangular cartouche, appears the inscription in Church Slavonic Cyrillic characters referring to Christ Pantocrator, «Господь Вседержитель» (The Lord Almighty). The icon represents a significant example of Russian icon painting from the late Imperial period, in which the tradition of religious painting is combined with the refined silverwork of Moscow workshops, reflecting the continuity of the decorative arts and Orthodox devotion between the 19th and 20th centuries. The riza is made of silver of 84 zolotniks standard (875/1000) and bears the combined assay mark featuring a female head wearing a kokoshnik, accompanied by the number «84» and the initials «ИЛ» of the assayer Ivan Sergeyevich Lebedkin, a mark used by the Moscow Assay Office between 1899 and 1908. It also bears the silversmith's mark «ИА», attributable to the workshop of Ivan Alekseevich Alekseev (Иван Алексеевич Алексеев), owner of a goldsmithing and silversmithing factory established in Moscow in 1876 and documented as active until 1912. The workshop specialised in the production of fine silverware, liturgical objects and silver revetments for icons, frequently characterised by elaborate ornamental motifs drawn from the Russian decorative tradition. In 1897, the factory employed approximately forty workers, attesting to a well-established and sizeable manufacturing enterprise within the Moscow goldsmithing and silversmithing industry of the period. Marina M. Postnikova-Loseva, Золотое и серебряное дело XV–XX вв. (Gold and Silver Work, 15th–20th Centuries), Mosca, 1983, p. 215, n. 2472 (marchio dell'argentiere Ivan Alekseevich Alekseev). Item condition grading: **** good. The lot is in a good state of preservation with the normal wear and defects commensurate with its age and use over time.