Lot number 2253 - Auction 151
MUSEALE IKONE MIT DER HEILIGEN KATHARINA

AN IMPORTANT ICON OF SAINT CATHERINE Russian, Moscow Kremlin Armoury, probably Tikhon Ivanov Filatyev, late 17th century Tempera on wood panel, later laid down on a secondary panel. Gilded halo and garment borders, with fine chrysography. 26.5 x 23 cm (excluding frame). The Saint is shown seated on a throne, holding the martyr's palm, with the wheel of her torture at her feet, a sword resting across her lap and a book in her left hand, set against a green ground. Her robes are enriched with delicate gold folds, the flesh modelled in subtle olive and brown tones with white highlights - characteristic of the masters of the Moscow Kremlin Armoury at the end of the 17th century. One of the earliest Russian examples of the so-called "Sinai-Cretan" iconography of St Catherine, created under the influence of Western European prototypes. Literature: Icons. Icon Museum Frankfurt a.M., Frankfurt 2005, cat. no. 97 (very similar). Expertise: Comes with Certificate of Authenticity from well-known icon expert V. V. Baranov.