A silver-gilt, cloisonné and champlevé enamel icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, Ivan Ozeritskii, Moscow, 1874
Auction Closed
November 25, 06:21 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
the head of Mother of God and Christ framed by an openwork gilded halo decorated with strapwork and divided by cabochon rubies, reserved on an engraved scale-patterned gilt ground with applied champlevé enamel plaques, bordered by cloisonné enamel foliate motifs in hues of blue, green and red on a sablé ground, surrounded by strapwork in relief, the raised edges with cloisonné enamel foliates on a royal-blue ground, struck to lower edge with maker's initials, 84 standard
32 x 27 cm; 12 1/2 x 10 5/8 in.
Ivan Ivanovich Ozeritski was a silversmith and jeweller active from the late 19th to early 20th century in Moscow. He made oklads, as well as other masterpieces in silver and is noted for having made the silver cross for novelist Nikolai Gogol's tombstone.
In 1931, Moscow authorities decided to demolish the monastery that housed Gogol's grave and had Gogol’s remains transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. The cross was removed at the time. Interestingly, during this process it was discovered that Gogol had been laid to rest facing downwards. In 1952, the cross and tombstone were replaced with a bust of Gogol, and in 2009, this in turn was removed and the original stone and cross were re-created.
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