By Orthodox standards, this icon of the crucifixion has a relatively simple composition. To the bottom left are the three Marys: The Virgin, Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleopas. To the left, John the beloved disciple, a Roman legionary and Apostle Matthew. Above them, two female martyrs flank the arms of the cross, to the left […]
This icon depicts the matrilineal ancestry of Christ, which is not a very common iconography. It shows Christ in the lap of the Virgin Mary, who herself is depicted in the lap of Anna, her mother. Anna is crowned by angels.
This icon may be a variation on the type known as the ‘Weep not for me, mother’, which depicts the Virgin Mary with the dead body of Christ. It is similar to the Western pietà. The mourning figures are John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary. The icon is painted in a fairly conservative style which […]
In the late 16th century, according to church tradition, a vision of the Virgin appeared to a young girl in the city of Kazan in the form depicted in this icon. From this time on, the Kazanskaya became the most widely venerated image of the Mother of God in Russia. It became extremely popular in the […]
The Virgin of the Sign (Virgin Znamenie in Russia) is one of the most ancient Christian iconographies, with examples dating to the 3rd century CE. Since the 14th century, Russian churches have positioned the image at the centre of the top row of the iconostasis (icon screen) that separates the congregation from the altar in […]
This icon has a wooden blessing cross embedded into it. The faces of the figures on the frame and cross are of similar style, suggesting the cross and icon were created at around the same time. The icon frame is divided into three elements. At the top are images of a cherubim and a seraphim. […]
This is a Greek icon and it carries the inscription τα αγια τѡν αγ[ι]oν – The Holy of Holies. The feast of the Virgin’s Presentation, which falls on 21 November, is one of the five Marian ‘Great Feasts’. Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anna, are standing behind Mary on the lower left.
This Russian icon depicts the New Testament Trinity. It was produced by a schismatic group known as the Old Believers. The group known as the Old Believers emerged towards the end of the 17th century, triggered by Patriarch Nikon’s reforms which brought the Russian Orthodox church closer to contemporary Greek Orthodox rituals.
This 19th-century porcelain egg, decorated with an image of the Virgin and Child, carries the mark of the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Gordine and Hare built up a sizeable collection of Russian Easter eggs at Dorich House, including wooden, papier-mâché and porcelain examples. The practice of giving and receiving dyed red eggs at Easter dates back […]
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