Lot number 1237 - Auction 151
SEHR SELTENE IKONE MIT DER GOTTESMUTTER 'IWERSKAJA' MIT REICHEM EDELSTEIN- UND PERL-BESATZ MIT OKLAD IM KIOT

A VERY RARE ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD 'IVERSKAYA' WITH JEWELLED OKLAD WITHIN A KYOT Russian, mid-19th century (icon), Russian, mid-19th century (oklad) Oil on wood panel. The brass oklad repoussé and chased with scrolls, set with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and pearls. 49.3 x 45.5 cm (with glazed kyot). The icon of the Mother of God of Iveron (Iverskaya) is among the most venerated Marian images of the Orthodox Church. Its origin is associated with the Monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos, from which its name derives. According to tradition, the icon was miraculously saved from destruction in the 9th century by a pious widow and carried across the sea to Athos, where it was received at the Iviron Monastery. Characteristic of this depiction is the type of the Hodigitria: the Mother of God points with her right hand towards Christ, who sits on her left arm, blessing the viewer. Notable is a red mark on the Virgin's cheek - explained by legend as the scar from an iconoclast's sword, from which blood is said to have flowed. Over the centuries, numerous copies of the icon were created, spreading its fame far beyond Athos. In Russia, the Iverskaya Mother of God became particularly beloved. From the 17th century onwards, she was revered as the "Protector of Moscow"; Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich commissioned a chapel at the Resurrection Gate of the Moscow Kremlin specifically for her image. Pilgrims and faithful venerated the icon as wonder-working and protective, both for the city and for individual believers.