Lot 0259
Rare Jerusalem Mother-of-Pearl Pilgrim Crucifix with Russian Monastic Inscription, 2nd Half 19th Century
Estimate: 3500-5000€
Rare memorial pilgrim Cross with the Crucifixion
Palestine, probably Jerusalem, second half of the 19th century
Wood, mother-of-pearl; carved and pierced relief
Dimensions: 22 x 13,5 x 5,5 cm.
A wooden four-ended cross with expanded, shaped terminals, clad on the front and along the edges with finely carved mother-of-pearl plaques. At the center is a high-relief representation of the Crucified Christ. Above His head appears the titulus with the inscription INRI, while below is the skull of Adam, the traditional symbol of Golgotha and of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. The four terminals contain carved representations of the Evangelists, each shown seated within an architectural setting. Pierced borders and radiating mother-of-pearl elements lend the object a refined silhouette and enhance the shimmering quality of its surface.
This type of object belongs to the group of Christian pilgrimage souvenirs known as eulogiae, that is, blessed devotional keepsakes acquired at major sacred centers. In 19th-century Palestine, especially in Jerusalem, workshops produced a wide range of such objects in mother-of-pearl, from small crosses and icons to more elaborate liturgical works. The present example is characteristic of that tradition in both material and iconography.
Of particular importance is the handwritten Cyrillic inscription on the reverse, now partly faded. It may be read approximately as identifying the object as a “Jerusalem cross” given to Hieromonk Father Polycarp of the Russian monastery on Mount Athos “as a blessing and in remembrance of the most holy places.”
Starting price: 2500€
Estimate: 3500-5000€
Hammer Price: €
Related Lots
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Lot 0261
Russian Travel Triptych with Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Brothers Markov, Moscow, 1898–1908
Estimate: 3000-4500€
Lot 0261
Russian Travel Triptych with Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Brothers Markov, Moscow, 1898–1908
Estimate: 3000-4500€A Russian Travel Triptych with Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Moscow, Brothers Markov, 1898-1908.
Silver, gilding, wood, oil.
Marked: firm’s mark of the Brothers Markov, 84 zolotnik silver standard, assay mark of Moscow. Dimensions (closed) with suspension: 12,5 x 9,5 x 1,7 cm. Dimensions(opened): 12,5 x 21,7 x 1,2. Total weight: 326 g.
A finely executed Russian portable travel triptych centered on an icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, shown half-length in episcopal vestments, raising his right hand in blessing and holding the Gospel in his left. The painted image, set within a silver folding case, is framed by engraved borders and surmounted by an applied gilt cross with the Crucified Christ. Compact in scale and fitted with a suspension ring, the triptych was intended for private prayer during travel, combining practicality with precious workmanship.
The triptych was produced by the honorable Moscow firm of the Brothers Markov, founded by Pavel and Fyodor Markov, proprietors of one of the major jewellery and silver enterprises of their time. Established on Ilyinka street, with additional branches on Nikolskaya Street and in Cherkassky Lane, the firm was known for its wide range of diamond, gold, and silver wares, icons, clocks, and table silver, as well as for the consistently high quality of its materials and craftsmanship.Starting price: 2500€
Estimate: 3000-4500€
Hammer Price: € -
Lot 0258
Icon of the Mother of God Khtitorissa of Vatopedi with Saints John the Theologian and Parthenios, Mount Athos, late 18th–early 19th century
Estimate: 4000-6000€
Lot 0258
Icon of the Mother of God Khtitorissa of Vatopedi with Saints John the Theologian and Parthenios, Mount Athos, late 18th–early 19th century
Estimate: 4000-6000€ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD KHTITORISSA OF VATOPEDI WITH SAINTS JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN AND PARTHENIOS, BISHOP OF LAMPSAKOS
Greece, Mount Athos (?), late 18th to early 19th century. Wood, levkas, tempera . Dimensions: 28.5 × 23 cm
Provenance: formerly in the possession of the Greek monk Parthenios.
This icon presents a refined and unusually elaborate variant of the Vatopedi Khtitorissa iconography. The Virgin enthroned with the Christ Child occupies the center of the composition, while two angels descending in cloud-borne segments place a crown upon her head. In the miraculous prototype of the Vatopedi monastery, the crown belongs to the revetment; here it has been fully integrated into the painted image, lending the composition greater ceremonial splendor. The Christ Child, instead of the customary scroll, holds a Gospel bound in a precious cover, a variant known in later painted replicas of revered miracle-working icons.
At either side of the central group stand two full-length saints, compressed into the narrow vertical spaces between the principal composition and the side margins. To the viewer’s right appears Saint John the Theologian, accompanied below by his symbolic eagle. To the left stands Saint Parthenios, Bishop of Lampsakos. Along the lower border runs a cursive owner’s inscription which may be translated: “Supplication of the servant of God, the monk Parthenios.” The icon was most likely ordered by an Athonite monk named Parthenios, probably a member of the Vatopedi monastery, who wished to possess an image of the monastery’s venerated wonderworking shrine, joined with the figure of his name saint, Saint Parthenios of Lampsakos, shown in prayerful intercession before the Mother of God.
The inclusion of Saint John the Theologian may also reflect the patron’s Greek devotional identity. The Evangelist’s close association with the island of Patmos, where according to tradition he received and wrote the Apocalypse, would have carried particular resonance for a Greek monk and pilgrim milieu. The icon thus unites personal piety, monastic devotion, and local sacred geography within a single, carefully conceived image.Starting price: 3500€
Estimate: 4000-6000€
Hammer Price: € -
Lot 0257
Icon of the Mother of God “Skoroposlushnitsa (Gorgoepikoos)”, Mount Athos, circa 1900
Estimate: 7500-9000€
Lot 0257
Icon of the Mother of God “Skoroposlushnitsa (Gorgoepikoos)”, Mount Athos, circa 1900
Estimate: 7500-9000€ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD “SKOROPOSLUSHNITSA” (Gorgoepikoos)
Greece, Mount Athos, circa 1900. Wood, gesso, oil, gilding. Dimensions: 26.5 × 22 cm
Inscriptions and stamps: on the reverse, a stamp of the Holy Mountain of Athos (Iera Epistasia, “ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΝ”) and a circular seal; below, an ink inscription in Russian: “This authentic icon was received from the Holy Mount Athos, from the Russian Panteleimon Monastery.”
This icon represents the Mother of God in the Hodegetria type, the Guide or She Who Shows the Way. The Virgin, crowned and half-length, supports the Christ Child on her left arm and gestures toward Him with her right hand, directing the viewer’s devotion to the Incarnate Logos. The Christ Child, seated frontally, holds a rolled scroll. The background is entirely gilded, while the haloes are subtly tooled, lending the surface a restrained ceremonial brilliance. In the field appear the customary inscriptions: the Greek abbreviations for the Mother of God, the Christogram beside the Child, and, at left, the title identifying the image as the Most Holy Mother of God “Skoroposlushnitsa.”
The icon is an Athonite replica of the miracle-working Skoroposlushnitsa image displayed at the Monastery of Dochiariou. The original prototype was a wall painting of the 10th or 11th century, located near the entrance to the monastery refectory. Its special veneration is connected with the well-known Athonite tradition of the cellarer Nilus, who in 1664 received both rebuke and healing through the voice of the Mother of God. From that time onward, the image acquired fame as a wonderworking shrine, especially revered for its swift response to prayer.
Particularly significant are the marks on the reverse, which preserve the devotional biography of the present work. The official Athonite stamps indicate authorization for its departure from the Holy Mountain, while the inscription confirms its association with the Russian Monastery of Saint Panteleimon. Such details place the icon within the wide circulation of Athonite blessing images produced for pilgrims and benefactors, yet this example rises above the merely documentary by virtue of its refined execution and its well-preserved liturgical character.
The history of the Russian veneration of the Skoroposlushnitsa is closely linked with Hieromonk Arsenii (Alexander Minin, 1823-1879), a noted spiritual writer and publisher from the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. Having come to Russia in 1862 to collect donations for the monastery, he brought to Moscow in 1866 a portion of the relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon together with an icon of the Mother of God Skoroposlushnitsa. From that moment the cult of this image spread widely in Russia. At first the holy objects were housed in the Epiphany Monastery in Moscow; in 1870 a special Athonite chapel was erected for them at the corner of Nikolskaya Street and Bogoyavlensky Lane. The chapel was closed and demolished in 1929.Starting price: 6000€
Estimate: 7500-9000€
Hammer Price: € -
Lot 0260
Trinity-Sergius Lavra Reliquary Crucifix with Silver Mount, 17th–18th Century
Estimate: 4500-6000€
Lot 0260
Trinity-Sergius Lavra Reliquary Crucifix with Silver Mount, 17th–18th Century
Estimate: 4500-6000€Rare reliquary Cross with the Crucifixion. Workshops of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 17th-18th century. Wood, silver; carving
Dimensions: 11 x 7 x 2,5 cm . A four-ended wooden reliquary cross, enclosed within a broad silver frame that follows the contour of the arms. The obverse is carved with the composition of the Crucifixion: Christ is shown on the Golgotha Cross, flanked by standing figures of the Virgin and Saint John the Theologian. In the upper terminal appears a bust of God the Father, while the inscriptions IC XC placed on the crossbeam and above Christ’s head. The lower section contains additional haloed figures, completing the devotional program of the front.
The reverse is centered by a full-length image of the Mother of God. Above is the Dove of the Holy Spirit in rays, while the lateral and lower terminals are occupied by further carved saintly figures. The cross is fitted with four screws at the terminals, and a suspension loop is attached to the upper screw, indicating that it was intended as a hanging devotional object. Its construction also points to a reliquary function.
The combination of a carved wooden core and a severe silver mount is characteristic of the devotional works associated with the workshops of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. See similar items in Sergiev Possad and Pereslavl-Zalesskiy State museums.Starting price: 3500€
Estimate: 4500-6000€
Hammer Price: €