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€
Hammer Price: €
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