Egg tempera, gold leaf, and gesso on wood panel.
Extended size: 139.7 x 46.4 cm (55 x 18 1/4 in).


consisting of 15 panels arranged in four rows and depicting in the center of the first row Christ the Almighty flanked by the Virgin, John the Forerunner (the Baptist), and the archangels Michael and Gabriel in a composition known as Deesis. Next to them, from left to right, are Archdeacon Stephen, St. Zosima, St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Gregory, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Savatiy, and St. Thecla. The second row features feasts of the Orthodox church, including from left to right: The Virgin Nativity, Presentation of the Virgin, The Annunciation, The Nativity of Christ, The Presentation of Christ, The Baptism of Christ, The Entry into Jerusalem, The Crucifixion, The Harrowing of Hell (The Resurrection), The Transfiguration, The Ascension, The Pentecost, The Dormition of the Virgin, The Raising of the Two Cross, The Intercession of the Virgin, and the Good Samaritan. In the third row, the prophets arranged in groups of two pay homage to the Virgin of Znamenie (Sign), and, in the fourth row, the Old Testament forefathers Mafusal, Abel, Joseph, Benjamin, Isaac, Abraham, Adam, Noah, Asir, Lot, Jacob, Seth, Joseph and Enoch flank the image of Christ. Egg tempera, gold leaf, and gesso on wood panel. Extended size: 139.7 x 46.4 cm (55 x 18 1/4 in).

PROVENANCE
Acquired through inheritance by the descendants of Alexander Ivanovich Nelidov (1835-1910), Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Italy and France
Collection of the Nelidov family to the present day

EXHIBITED
Russian Icons, Loan Exhibition, The Century Club, 7 West Forty-third St., New York, December 4 - January 4, 1941
A Survey of Russian Painting - Fifteenth Century to the Present, The Gallery of Modern Art, Columbus Circle, New York, June 14 - Septermber 17, 1967

LOT NOTES
Sold with a typed letter from the noted icon collector George Riabov [see additional images], stating that the icon is from the second half of the 16th Century. Also sold with a signed hand-written letter on monogrammed paper [see additional images] by the icon historian Pavel Muratoff, in French, dated July 4, 1925, stating that the icon belonging to Prince W. Golitsyn of the Transfiguration is a Byzantine work of art from the 16th Century.