Saint Nicholas of Myra with a silver riza, Moskow, 1908-1926

Oil on panel

Height x width: 22 x 18 cm

The saint is depicted in a half-length portrait, posed with solemn, hieratic frontality. His right hand is raised in the canonical gesture of blessing according to the Eastern rite, while his left hand supports a closed Book of the Gospels, the cover of which is embellished with a monumental embossed cross. The saint’s face bears the traditional, canonically established features: a high, stern forehead, arched eyebrows, a short white beard, and large, wide-open eyes that lend his gaze an intense spiritual focus. Almost the entire panel is covered by a precious, sumptuous metal riza (revetment), intricately worked using embossing, engraving, and chasing techniques. The vestments faithfully replicate rich episcopal attire, featuring a broad omophorion—adorned with crosses set within four-lobed motifs—and an epitrachelion with geometric patterns beneath it. On either side of Saint Nicholas’s head—which emerges from the metal surface, topped by a raised, orange-red headdress—a miniature theophany unfolds amidst the clouds: to the left, Jesus Christ appears, offering the Gospel, while to the right, the Mother of God holds the omophorion, signifying the divine legitimation of his episcopal ministry. The metal background is finely incised with a dense, honeycomb-like geometric texture that creates shifting light effects, and the entire composition is framed by a raised border featuring palmette motifs and interwoven foliage in the Neo-Russian style.

The riza   is fully hallmarked with the 84 zolotniks (875/1000) silver mark used in Moscow between 1908 and 1926, and with the mark of an unidentified silversmith.