Lot 130
A UNIQUE RUSSIAN FAMILY ICON, MOSCOW, CIRCA 1890. The inscription along the lower margin of this icon gives good insight into the realm of family icons of the period it reads; 'The images of these saints were painted for the nobleman and slave for God, Timofej (Timothy) Nabokov, his wife Matrona, and his children for Christmas and on the same day was blessed at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow'. The icon depicts the images of six saints with a tree between them and at top the Holy Visage. Identified by the inscriptions within their haloes, from left to right top to bottom they are, The Holy Martyr Irina, The Holy Martyr Matrona (wife) The Holy Apostle Timothy (Husband), The Holy John the Forerunner, The Holy Venerable Marcellus, and the Holy Mary Magdalene. Interestingly there is a rather large tree between them perhaps an allusion to The Tree of Jesse, inasmuch as Orthodox Christians believe that all the baptized are born into the family of Christ, as expressed to a degree in the image of the Jesse Tree; Isaiah 11:1 'There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow its roots.' Matthews Gospel opens with the words: 'The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.' With this beginning Matthew makes clear Jesus' whole lineage: He is of God's chosen people, by his descent from Abraham, and he is the 'shoot of Jesse' by his descent from Jesse's son, King David and the baptized are, by inheritance, a part of that family. It is interesting to speculate as to whether this 'nobleman' Timothy Nabokov, is somehow related to Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (1870-1922) father of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977) noted Russian-American author, entomologist, and chess problem composer.
Estimate:  $1,000 - 1,500   € 750 - 1,125

Price Realized: $1,920.00