Russia, Imperial. A Framed Icon Of Our Lady Of The Sign Of Novgorod, C.1900

A framed and extremely well-preserved icon of Our Lady of the Sign of Novgorod. Constructed of a gessoed and tooled wooden base with egg tempera, the obverse of the icon features a gilded base with an arabesque border, topped at the corners by black discs bearing Greek characters “MP ƟY” (“Mother of God”), surrounding a hand-painted image of the Theotokos with hands raised in prayer at the moment of the Annunciation, cloaked in a red veil with a blue undergarment symbolizing her holiness and humanity, respectively. She is overlaid by an image of Christ in the womb wearing robes and with his right hand raised in a blessing signifying his initials “IC XC” (“ΙΗϹΟΥϹ ΧΡΙϹΤΟϹ” or “JESUS CHRIST”), with the same initials flanking his head over the Theotokos’ robes. The background surrounding her head has been etched into an ornate halo, amplified by the striking gilt finish. The bottom of the image features a blackened banner bearing a Cyrillic inscription of “ЗНАМЕНІЕ ПР. БЦЫ” (abbreviated form of “OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS”). The icon is set within a multi-piece plaster frame featuring a black interior border and gilded frame. A sturdy card stock backer is nailed in place at the reverse, and is topped by a magnetic metal suspension loop. Unmarked, the icon measures 24.5 cm (w) x 29 cm (h) inclusive of its frame. Minor loss of gilt finish is visible to the image, and the lower edge of the obverse of the frame demonstrates a chip to the plaster. The icon is in an overall near extremely fine condition.

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