Description: A fine 19th century Russian icon depicting Saint Alexis of Moscow and Saint Yevdokiya. Age is estimated pre-1880AD. Hand painted tempura on wood with gilded highlights. Natural fine glazing with craqueler! 2 hand carved SHPONKI inserted horizontally on reverse to prevent bowing. (*See text below for information) This and 2 others I am selling were collected some 3 decades ago and have proper export stamps attached on reverse. 12.5" x 9.25" x 7/8" A few dings and light scratches, see photos. All together a beautiful piece of Russian Orthodox Devotion! Ships Priority with Insurance. The other term you really need to know is the word for the wooden slats inserted into the unpainted back of an icon panel. These wooden inserts were used in an attempt to keep the wooden panel from warping. They did not always work, so one sees many icons that are convex in shape when seen from the front, and often the paint surface in the front of the panel may have a vertical crack running through it where the panel has begun to split apart where two boards were glued together to make the panel, because of the warping of the panel over time. Careful icon makers chose from just which part of the tree their panels were cut, because that affected how likely the panel was to eventually warp. The best panels were cut from right across the central heart of the tree. Those were least likely to warp. But again, the thing to remember here is the name of those slats inserted in the back to prevent warping, and that name is SHPONKI (Шпонки– plural). One usually finds two SHPONKI, one coming in from either side toward the center, but occasionally just one SHPONKA (Шпонка — singular) is found. You may call them “slats” in English if you wish, but again, you should know the Russian term. You should also be aware that some very cheap icons had no shponki at all, and some icons that appear at first not to have them really have them inserted into a groove cut into the top and bottom ends of the icon panel, making them hidden. So be sure to examine the panel carefully.
Price: 475 USD
Location: Emeryville, California
End Time: 2024-12-20T09:31:29.000Z
Shipping Cost: 25 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Religion: Christianity
Country/Region of Manufacture: Russian Federation
Handmade: Yes
