Catalogue

Pilgrimage Icon of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr. 
Palestine, late 19th century.
 Stone, oil paint.
 Dimesniosn: 14.5 × 11 cm.
A pilgrimage icon painted on a naturally shaped stone plaque, depicting Saint Catherine the Great Martyr standing full-length against a simplified landscape ground. The saint is shown crowned and haloed, vested in richly ornamented garments, with her traditional attribute of the martyr’s wheel placed beside her. The irregular contour of the support, together with the plain reverse fitted with a suspension loop, preserves the character of the object as a devotional souvenir brought from the Holy Land.
Such icons, acquired by pilgrims in Jerusalem and other sacred places, held a particular place in Russian Orthodox devotional culture. They functioned not only as commemorative eulogiae, but also as intimate objects of private piety. Kept in domestic icon corners, donated to churches and monasteries, or handed down as family relics, they were valued for their direct material connection with the sacred geography of Palestine. In works of this kind, the tangible substance of the stone itself, often believed to have come from the banks of the River Jordan or other holy sites, intensified the devotional meaning of the image and transformed a modest painted object into a cherished relic of pilgrimage.

Starting price: 4000€
Estimate: 5000-7000€
Hammer Price: 7 000 €

A rare Eastern Ottoman 18th – 19th C. Shasmir sword with mameluke style blade.
A rare blade decorated from both sides with etching and gold (some losses). A characteristic floral motifs, Arabic inscriptions and cartouches. The blade has a yelman on the edge. Handle made of horn slabs. Brass crossguard.Dimensions:

Total length: 93 cm.
Blade length: 78 cm.
Blade width: 4.2 cm.

Starting price: 4000€
Estimate: 5000-6000€
Hammer Price: UNSOLD€

A Rare Russian Imperial Brass Samovar in Neoclassical Form – Late 19th Century.
This exquisite Russian Imperial brass samovar, dating from the late 19th century, showcases the elegance and craftsmanship of the era. Designed in a refined neoclassical style, the samovar is a stunning example of Russian artistry and tradition. Its beautifully polished brass body features intricate details that embody the neoclassical aesthetic, making it a standout piece for any collector or connoisseur of Russian antiques.

The samovar bears the maker’s mark of the prestigious I. Kaprizin and Sons manufactory, renowned for producing high-quality metalworks in Tula, the historical center of Russian samovar production. This adds significant provenance and authenticity to the piece, further elevating its value.
Height: 51.5 cm.

Starting price: 10000€
Estimate: 12000-15000€

Pilgrimage Icon with the Agony in the Garden
 Jerusalem. Russian icon painter, second half of the 19th century. 
Olive-wood slice, oil paint. Dimensions: 
24.5 × 16.5 cm.
A pilgrimage icon painted on a naturally cut slice of olive wood, depicting Christ in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before the apparition of the angel. The composition is rendered in an academic manner, with Christ shown kneeling in the foreground, draped in rose and deep blue robes, while the angel, vested in luminous white, appears above in a burst of soft golden light. The irregular contour of the olive-wood support preserves the character of the object as a devotional work intimately bound to the sacred landscape of the Holy Land.
Icons painted on sections of olive wood were among the most characteristic forms of pilgrimage production in Jerusalem during the second half of the 19th century. Their material carried a particular resonance, recalling the trees of Gethsemane and thus giving the image an added devotional immediacy. The present example stands out for its unusually large size and for the quality of its execution, which elevates it above the more modest, mass-produced eulogiae commonly brought back by pilgrims.
Of special interest is the reverse, which bears a red wax seal with initials surrounding a four-pointed cross, together with the handwritten date “1910.” This inscription likely records a later moment in the history of the icon, perhaps its presentation or donation. The seal has been associated, with some caution, with the circle of the Russian ecclesiastical mission in Jerusalem and may relate to the legacy of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin, the honoured head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in the Holy Land and one of the principal architects of Russian pilgrimage culture in Palestine. In this way, the icon may be understood not only as a personal object of devotion, but also as a tangible relic of the Russian religious presence in Jerusalem.

Starting price: 3500€
Estimate: 4000-6000€
Hammer Price: 5 000 €

A Polish samovar in the shape of a cannon. Brass, silver-plating. Warsaw, second half of the 19th century.
Height: 50 cm.

Starting price: 1400€
Estimate: 1800-2000€

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: 9 000 €