Lot Essay
The icon should be compared with two paintings of the same subject respectively in the former Morosov and Ostroukhov collections and today in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Most scholars (Lazarev, Muratov, Alpatov) date these to the 15th Century, (as do Antonova and Mniova, see Katalogu Drevnerusskoi Zhivopis, Moscow, 1963, Vol.I, Nos.110 and 124, pp.160, 161, 170 and 171, pl.86). A more recent publication ascribes them to the early 16th Century (see Dmitry Likhachov, Vera Laurina and V. Pushkariov, Novgorod Icons 12th-17th Century, Oxford and Leningrad, 1980, p.318, pls.171 and 172.
These appear to be the earliest extant examples of the subject in panel paintings and the prototype for the three groups of variants. In the second group there are only two examples. One, formerly in the Riabushinsky Collection, is now in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, the other is the offered example. These two are so close in form and detail as to suggest an origin in the same workshop. (See K. Onasch, Icons, London, 1963, pl.118, p.392; illustrated here as fig.1). Here the composition is divided horizontally, although the two-tier effect almost disappears with the lower part of the composition drawn into the upper part by the mountain tops which extend above the wave-like undulating line. The effect is to symbolise the harmony between the upper world of saints and angels and the lower world of men and animals.
This vision of unity is lost in the third group, where additional subjects are included in a lower tier; there are two examples in the Russian Museum, St.Petersburg. See V. I. Lazarev, Novgorodian Icon Painting, Moscow, 1963, No.44 for an icon that includes Saints Blaise and Modest in the lower tier; and also Novgorod Icons 12th-17th Century, op. cit., p.324, pls.193-194, where the additional subjects are Saints Blaise and Spiridon. The latter panel is attributed to the Lake Onega area, a northern province of Novgorod.
Saints Florus and Laurus, the patron saints of horses, were twin brothers in second century Bysantium and Illyria. Architechtural stone masons by profession, they gave all their income to the poor. They were commissioned to construct a heathen temple in a nearby country, where they gave alms and preached the Gospel. The son of the Pagan High Priest damaged his eye on a splinter of stone, the brothers prayed for his recovery and healed him with the sign of the cross. The boy's family consequently converted to Christianity and the building, upon completion, was dedicated to the worship fo the Holy Trinity. For their efforts they were badly tortured by the local governor and returned to Illyria, where they were brought before the governor Licinios. They refused to renounce Christ, and he ordered that they be thrown down a dry well and buried alive.
Years later, it was observed that horses were drinking from a miraculous spring that welled up at the exact spot where the brothers had been buried. Upon investigation the miraculously preserved bodies of the brothers were discovered and transferred to Constantinople. The water from the well became celebrated for its power to hear horses.
The cult of Florus and Laurus became widespread in Russia where they were venerated not only as the patron saints of horses but as healers. The Festival of Florus and Laurus is celebrated on the 18th August. Known as the Horse Festival it was the custom in Rural areas of Russia, for horses to be driven to a river or lake. After a brief service or Molebin, the water was blessed by the priest, the horses bathed and given respite from their labours for the rest of the day.
The cult of the Cappadocian grooms and horse doctors, the martyred brothers Spevsippos (the lookout for horses), Elevsippos (the horse-breaker), and Melevsippos (the catcher of black horses), were renowned for their skills in catching and taming horses. Their cult extended from Georgia to Cappadocia, having particular influence in Novgorod.
These appear to be the earliest extant examples of the subject in panel paintings and the prototype for the three groups of variants. In the second group there are only two examples. One, formerly in the Riabushinsky Collection, is now in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, the other is the offered example. These two are so close in form and detail as to suggest an origin in the same workshop. (See K. Onasch, Icons, London, 1963, pl.118, p.392; illustrated here as fig.1). Here the composition is divided horizontally, although the two-tier effect almost disappears with the lower part of the composition drawn into the upper part by the mountain tops which extend above the wave-like undulating line. The effect is to symbolise the harmony between the upper world of saints and angels and the lower world of men and animals.
This vision of unity is lost in the third group, where additional subjects are included in a lower tier; there are two examples in the Russian Museum, St.Petersburg. See V. I. Lazarev, Novgorodian Icon Painting, Moscow, 1963, No.44 for an icon that includes Saints Blaise and Modest in the lower tier; and also Novgorod Icons 12th-17th Century, op. cit., p.324, pls.193-194, where the additional subjects are Saints Blaise and Spiridon. The latter panel is attributed to the Lake Onega area, a northern province of Novgorod.
Saints Florus and Laurus, the patron saints of horses, were twin brothers in second century Bysantium and Illyria. Architechtural stone masons by profession, they gave all their income to the poor. They were commissioned to construct a heathen temple in a nearby country, where they gave alms and preached the Gospel. The son of the Pagan High Priest damaged his eye on a splinter of stone, the brothers prayed for his recovery and healed him with the sign of the cross. The boy's family consequently converted to Christianity and the building, upon completion, was dedicated to the worship fo the Holy Trinity. For their efforts they were badly tortured by the local governor and returned to Illyria, where they were brought before the governor Licinios. They refused to renounce Christ, and he ordered that they be thrown down a dry well and buried alive.
Years later, it was observed that horses were drinking from a miraculous spring that welled up at the exact spot where the brothers had been buried. Upon investigation the miraculously preserved bodies of the brothers were discovered and transferred to Constantinople. The water from the well became celebrated for its power to hear horses.
The cult of Florus and Laurus became widespread in Russia where they were venerated not only as the patron saints of horses but as healers. The Festival of Florus and Laurus is celebrated on the 18th August. Known as the Horse Festival it was the custom in Rural areas of Russia, for horses to be driven to a river or lake. After a brief service or Molebin, the water was blessed by the priest, the horses bathed and given respite from their labours for the rest of the day.
The cult of the Cappadocian grooms and horse doctors, the martyred brothers Spevsippos (the lookout for horses), Elevsippos (the horse-breaker), and Melevsippos (the catcher of black horses), were renowned for their skills in catching and taming horses. Their cult extended from Georgia to Cappadocia, having particular influence in Novgorod.