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18th century, Russian School, Icon depicting the relics of St. Spyridon

About the Item

18th Century, Russian School Icon depicting the relics of St. Spiridon of Trimiton preserved in the temple of Kerkyra Tempera on panel, 26.5 x 19 cm Applied on gilt wood panel, cm tot 38 x 31 St. Spiridion of Trimiton (c. 270 - Dec. 12, 348) was bishop of Trimiton, now Tremetousia, on the island of Cyprus. Spiridion was born into a Christian family in the late 3rd century in Hesse, on the island of Cyprus. It is known that he spent his early years as a cattle herder but that following the death of his wife he devoted his life to religion. He was appointed bishop of his hometown and during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Maximian he was arrested and exiled. According to tradition, Spiridion attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325, advocating the doctrine of Jesus' essential equality with God the Father, but his presence is not documented. He died on December 12 in 348 and was buried in the Temple of the Holy Apostles in Trimitonte. His biography has been handed down by the hagiographer Simeon Metaphrastes and church historians Sozomenus, Tyrannus Rufinus, and Socrates Scholasticus. After the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottoman Empire, his tomb was opened, and the relics taken to Constantinople. Sources claim that her body was incorrupt and smelled of basil, which was considered proof of her sanctity. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the priest Geōrgios Kalochairetīs transported the relics to Corfu, which at that time belonged to the Venetian Republic, in 1456 and they were kept by the monk's family and later by the Bulgarians until a special church was built in 1589. The relic of the saint's right hand was given to Pope Clement VIII in 1592 and is kept in Rome in the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella. In this eighteenth-century icon, two angels are presented in the act of protecting and guarding the saint's relics at the temple in Kerkyra, Cyprus Island, where the venerated relics were kept before the construction of the place of worship dedicated to the saint in the second half of the sixteenth century. The uniqueness of the icons is already evident from the preparation of the support on which they are painted. The wooden board itself is a symbol of the cross, while the cloth is a symbol of the mandylion, or the veil of Veronica, or the Shroud; the plaster that is spread over the cloth, the levkas is a symbol of the stone. Icons were painted on wooden boards, usually linden, larch or fir. An excavation, called a "casket" or "ark," was generally made on the inner side of the tablet so as to leave a raised frame on the edges. The icon is not a personal interpretation but a ritual with precise canons to be respected; unlike paintings, whose author's name is often known, the icon must remain anonymous. Theology considered icons to be works of God himself, made through the hands of the iconographer
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 7.49 in (19 cm)Width: 10.24 in (26 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
  • Style:
    Other (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Wood
  • Place of Origin:
    Russia
  • Period:
    18th Century and Earlier
  • Date of Manufacture:
    18th 18th Century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Milan, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU5918245120432

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