VASILIEVICH ZAKHROVIVAN

he icon depicts a half-length portrait of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in a frontal pose, according to the canons of traditional Russian sacred painting. The Saint wears episcopal vestments, among which the omophorion decorated with large dark crosses stands out; he holds the closed book of the Gospels with his left hand, while raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing. On either side of his face, within two roundels (clipei), appear the miniature figures of Jesus Christ on the left, presenting the Gospel, and the Virgin Mary on the right, offering the omophorion itself. This iconographic detail evokes the miracle of the Council of Nicaea, during which Christ and the Mother of God reinstated Saint Nicholas to his episcopal dignity. 

The piece is mounted with a silver riza, fully hallmarked The piece features a finely embossed and chiselled silver rim, characterised by a rich perimeter frame with Baroque-style plant and floral motifs, a broad, radiating, openwork halo around the saint’s head, and identifying inscriptions in Slavic Cyrillic script, fully hallmarked with the 84 zolotniks (875/1000 silver mark usedi in Moscow in 1853, assayer Viktor Vasilyevich Savinsky, and with the mark of the silversmith Zakhrovivan Vasilievich.