Lot 0268
Russian Icon “St. Prince Alexander Nevsky” in Silver Riza
Estimate: 1500-2000€
Icon of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky in Silver Riza
Moscow, mid-19th century
Icon: wood, oil painting
Riza: silver (84 zolotnik), chased and mounted
Maker’s mark: BC
Dimensions: 22.5 × 18 × 3 cm
Riza weight: 135.3 g
This elegant icondepicts Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky, one of the most venerated Russian military saints and a national hero. The saint is portrayed standing, dressed in princely armor and a cloak, his gaze turned heavenward toward Christ Pantocrator, who appears in the upper left blessing the prince.
The finely painted composition is overlaid with a richly ornamented massive silver riza (revetment) in the baroque style, elaborately chased with floral cartouches and architectural motifs.
Starting price: 1300€
Estimate: 1500-2000€
Hammer Price: €
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Lot 0269
Icon of the Vladimir Mother of God with Silver-Gilt Oklad, Moscow, M. D. Shein workshop, 1867
Estimate: 2500-3500€
Lot 0269
Icon of the Vladimir Mother of God with Silver-Gilt Oklad, Moscow, M. D. Shein workshop, 1867
Estimate: 2500-3500€A Fine Icon of the Vladimir Mother of God in a silver-gilt oklad.
Moscow, icon mid 19th century; oklad: Moscow, workshop of Mikhail Dmitrievich Shein, 1867.
Wood, tempera; silver, parcel gilding, repoussé, chasing, engraving, applied ornament, coloured glass.
Dimensions: 31.5 x 27.5 x 3.5 cm.
Marks: maker’s mark “МШ” for Mikhail Dmitrievich Shein; Moscow assay mark “П.А / 1867”; 84 zolotnik silver standard; Moscow city mark with St George.
A Russian icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, one of the most revered Byzantine-derived iconographic types in Orthodox art. The Virgin is shown in the tender Eleusa type, inclining her head toward the Christ Child, whose cheek is pressed against hers.
The icon is set in a richly worked silver-gilt oklad. The ground is densely chased with scrolling floral ornament, small blossoms and foliate tendrils. The halo of the Mother of God is separately applied and gilded, with engraved vegetal decoration and inset red and colourless glass pastes. The gilded collar of the Christ Child bears the sacred abbreviation “ОѾ””, while small name plaques identify the figures with the inscriptions “IC XC” and “ВЛАДИМИРСКАЯ”.
The four corners of the oklad are decorated with gilded relief images of the Evangelists seated at writing desks within architectural settings. The border is finished with beaded and ribbed bands, typical of mid-19th-century Moscow silverwork.
Mikhail Dmitrievich Shein was a Moscow silversmith and owner of a silver workshop, whose mark consists of the initials “МШ”. Works by Shein, including an icon oklad and a cream jug, are known in the collection of the State Historical Museum. (https://catalog.shm.ru/entity/OBJECT/1713520?index=1&paginator=entity-set&entityType=OBJECT&entityId=1713522&attribute=like_predm&ysclid=moh447zzvk36607535)Starting price: 2000€
Estimate: 2500-3500€
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Lot 0270
Finely Painted Russian Icon of St. John the Baptist with St. Anna and Guardian Angel
Estimate: 500-600€
Lot 0270
Finely Painted Russian Icon of St. John the Baptist with St. Anna and Guardian Angel
Estimate: 500-600€Icon of Saint John the Baptist
Central Russia, second half of the 19th century
Tempera on wood
Dimensions: 35.5 × 30.5 cmA finely painted Russian icon depicting Saint John the Baptist, portrayed half-length and holding a chalice containing the image of the infant Christ — a symbolic reference to his prophecy of the coming of the Savior and his role as the Forerunner. In his left hand, the saint holds a scroll with a passage from the Gospel.
The borders feature Saint Anna on the left and a Guardian Angel on the right, painted within small decorative panels.
Starting price: 400€
Estimate: 500-600€
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Lot 0266
Russian Icon of “The Mother of God of Korsun”
Estimate: 3000-3500€
Lot 0266
Russian Icon of “The Mother of God of Korsun”
Estimate: 3000-3500€Icon “The Mother of God of Korsun”
Vladimir, 1857
Icon: wood, tempera, gold leaf
Riza: silver 84, chasing, engraving, gilding, niello, enamel, colored stones or glass
Master: F. Che
Dimensions: 33 × 27.5 × 5 cm
Riza weight: 558.5 gAn baroque-style 19th-century Russian icon of The Mother of God of Korsun, covered with a finely worked silver riza richly decorated with chasing, gilded details, and inset colored stones. The engraved inscription identifies the icon as “Korsun Mother of God, 1857.”
According to ancient tradition, the original Korsun icon was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist and brought from Ephesus to Kiev by Prince Vladimir after his baptism in 988. The image later resided in Novgorod and then in Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral, where it became one of Russia’s most revered relics.
Another legend connects the icon with St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, who received it as a gift from the Byzantine Emperor and Patriarch in the 12th century. It was later brought to Toropets by Princess Paraskeva, wife of St. Alexander Nevsky, and became famous for its miracles and protection of the city.
Icons of the Korsun type belong to the “Tenderness” (Umilenie) family, symbolizing the deep spiritual and human bond between the Virgin and the Christ Child.
Starting price: 2500€
Estimate: 3000-3500€
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Lot 0267
Russian Icon “John The Evangelist”
Estimate: 3000-3500€
Lot 0267
Russian Icon “John The Evangelist”
Estimate: 3000-3500€Icon “John the Evangelist”
Yaroslavl, late 18th century
Tempera on wood, gesso, gold leaf and melted gold
Riza: silver (84 zolotniks), gilding, chasing
Moscow, 1814, maker’s mark AG
Dimensions: 33 × 28 × 4.5 cm
Riza weight: 349.5 gThis refined icon depicts Saint John the Evangelist, portrayed in deep reflection as he writes the Gospel under the guidance of an angel. The composition is filled with warmth and psychological depth, characteristic of the Yaroslavl School of the 18th century — one of the most expressive traditions of Russian icon painting.
The Yaroslavl school emerged in the 16th–17th centuries during a period of artistic flourishing. Many of its painters came from artisan backgrounds, which shaped their unique visual language: soft color transitions, emotional faces, and lively gestures. Unlike the austere icons of earlier centuries, Yaroslavl works combined devotion with a deeply human sensibility.
By the 17th century, Yaroslavl had become a major center of iconography. Its artists contributed to the decoration of key cathedrals, including the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl. Despite the growing influence of Western art, Yaroslavl icon painters preserved traditional techniques and aesthetics well into the 19th century.
The silver-gilt riza in classicism style, crafted in Moscow in 1814, enhances the sacred image with delicate gilding and chased ornamentation, highlighting the saint’s spiritual authority and contemplative grace.
Starting price: 2500€
Estimate: 3000-3500€
Hammer Price: €