Lot number 2355 - Auction 151
SEHR SELTENE GROSSE IKONE MIT DEM HEILIGEN NIKOLAUS VOM JAROSLAV-HOF UND IHRE LEGENDE

A VERY RARE LARGE ICON OF ST. NICHOLAS OF THE JAROSLAV COURTYARD AND HIS LEGEND Russian, early 19th century Tempera on wood panel, gold ground. Six border saints including the Guardian Angel and the Three Holy Hierarchs. Vertical crack restored. 42.8 x 37.6 cm. This unusually narrative icon combines the image of St. Nicholas with the legend of his miracle-working icon kept at the Jaroslav Courtyard in Novgorod. At the centre the saint appears in a circular medallion, surrounded by Church Slavonic inscriptions and the symbol of the Holy Spirit. Two medallions in the upper corners depict the miraculous transfer of the icon from Kiev to Novgorod in order to heal the ailing Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich. The wide scene beneath shows his recovery and the solemn procession to the church. An inscription records the subsequent founding of the Nikolaus-von-Lipno Monastery (1113) and the construction of the stone Cathedral of St. Nicholas at the Jaroslav Courtyard - the first stone building on that side of the city. Literature: E. Haustein-Bartsch (ed.), Pforte des Himmels, Bielefeld 2008, cat. 169.