A CARVED WOODEN ICON OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE TEMPLE SURROUNDED BY OLD TESTAMENT EPISODES

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A CARVED WOODEN ICON OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE TEMPLE SURROUNDED BY OLD TESTAMENT EPISODES
GREEK (MOUNT ATHOS), SIGNED BY THE MONK KOSMAS OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, DATED 1889
The central image showing the Mother of God entering in the Temple, accompanied by her parents and a group of candle-bearing maidens, other people witnessing the event also bearing candles, the Temple represented as a three-storey structure, decorated with elaborate architectural elements, the main scene surrounded by prophets holding open scrolls, those above and below shown half-length, at the sides (clockwise) Habakkuk, Jacob, Daniel and Moses more prominently depicted full-length, in addition to their scrolls carrying objects allegorically related to the Mother of God, the border of the icon depicting the following Old Testament events, each identified by an inscription in Greek majuscule: on the top register, the Passage of the Red Sea and the story of the prophet Jonas, on the right, the Sacrifice of Abraham, Daniel in the Lions' Den and David's Sin, below, the Glory of Solomon and the Glory of Joseph, at the left beginning from above, the Ascent of prophet Elijah, Jacob's Ladder and Joseph's prudence, the composition exquisitely carved with great attention to detail, rendered in three-dimensionally, set in a wooden and glazed case, the frame executed in marquetry, retaining the original lead glass
20½ x 16¾ in. (52 x 42.5 cm)

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Lot Essay

The icon is signed at the lower border: 1889 The work of Kosmas of the Holy Mountain. This must be the same monk who carved another icon, extremely similar in style to this lot, also focusing on the Presentation of the Mother of God in the Temple, but surrounded by the Tree of Life. The latter icon, which belongs to the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, is signed: The work of Kosmas of Lavra in 1884. This monk was possibly serving in the Monastery of the Great Lavra on Mount Athos, which indeed had a church dedicated to the Presentation of the Mother of God in the Temple. For the icon of the Tretyakov Gallery, see the catalogue of the exhibition: Athos. Monastic Life on the Holy Mountain (Helsinki, 2006), cat.no.4.17

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