Our Lady of Kazan, antique Russian Icon, 1400-1650 BC, Andrey Rublev school (?) Beautiful Russian icon, painted by a talented artist, possibly from Andrey Rublev School. Size: 32.1 cm x 27.9 cm Provenance: From the huge collection, of approximately 3000 Russian icons, of a rich man from Basel, Switzerland. He used to travel to Moscow in 1970’s-1980 to buy icons. REFERENCE: Our Lady of Kazan, also called Mother of God of Kazan (Russian: Казанская Богоматерь, romanized: Kazanskaya Bogomater'), is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Mary as the protector and patroness of the city of Kazan, and a palladium of all of Russia and Rus', known as the Holy Protectress of Russia. As is the case for any holy entity under a Patriarchate in communion within the greater Eastern Orthodox Church, it is venerated by all Orthodox faithful. According to legend, the icon was originally acquired from Constantinople, lost in 1438, and miraculously recovered in pristine state over 140 years later in 1579. Two major cathedrals, the Kazan Cathedral, Moscow, and the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, are consecrated to Our Lady of Kazan, and they display copies of the icon, as do numerous churches throughout the land. The original icon in Kazan was stolen, and probably destroyed, in 1904. The "Fátima image" is a 16th-century copy of the icon, or possibly the 16th-century original, stolen from St. Petersburg in 1917 and purchased by F. A. Mitchell-Hedges in 1953. It was housed in Fátima, Portugal from 1970 to 1993, then in the study of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican from 1993 to 2004, when it was returned to Kazan, where it is now kept in the Kazan Monastery of the Theotokos. Copies of the image are also venerated in the Catholic Church. Feast days of Our Lady of Kazan are 21 July, and 4 November (which is also the Russian Day of National Unity). KOVCHEG: When an icon panel (and the finished icon) has a recessed square or rectangular central area for the main image, that recessed area is called a KOVCHEG (Ковчег). That is the Russian word for “ark” but it is an old-fashioned word, as is “ark” in English. By “ark” is meant a box or chest in which something may be placed and kept. We can think of it as a box, which is why in very old paintings, Noah’s ark from the biblical story looks like a floating box more than a ship, and old chests from medieval times and somewhat later were also called “arks.” An ark can be a box or coffer in which something sacred is kept, like a relic of a saint. But the simple thing to remember is that an icon with a recessed central area is said to have a KOVCHEG. You can just call it an “ark” in English if you wish, but you should know the Russian term. Some icons may even have a “double” ark, with the inner recessed more than the outer. Ковче́г (от ст.-слав. «ковъчегъ» — ящик, ларь, сосуд) — в иконописи — углублённое среднее поле на лицевой поверхности иконной доски. Формой более или менее повторяет форму доски (чаще всего — прямоугольный). Глубина — до 5 мм. Края доски, не занятые ковчегом, называются полями, переход от полей к ковчегу — лузгой. О причинах появления ковчега чётких и общепризнанных теорий не существует. Можно выделить эстетические и технологические предположения. Согласно первым, поля иконы визуально образуют раму, пространственно углублённая живопись отделяется от окружающей среды, образуется подобие «окна» в мир изображаемого. По технологическим теориям, ковчежное углубление спасает иконную доску от неизбежной деформации (выгибания) со временем, кроме того, углубление могло помогать последней стадии иконописи — нанесению защитного слоя, образуя ванночку для тёплой олифы над поверхностью живописи. Наличие или отсутствие ковчега, его глубина, форма и прочие особенности позволяют судить о времени создания иконы. Древние иконы почти всегда имеют ковчег. В XIV—XV веках поля икон обычно узкие, ковчег вытянутой формы. Во второй половине XVI века при сохранении тех же пропорций доски, ковчег стремится к квадрату, поля становятся шире, иногда появляется двойной ковчег, при этом внутренний ковчег более углублен, в живописи полям отводится бо́льшее значение. В конце XVI — XVII веке появляются иконы без ковчега, хотя живописно ковчег обозначен: на месте лузги обводка контрастной фону краской, выделены поля иконы. С XVIII века в иконописи исчезает и иллюзия ковчега, икону часто вставляют в богато декорированную рамку (пришедшую из европейской живописи). REFERENCE: Andrei Rublev (Russian: Андрей Рублёв, romanized: Andrey Rublyov,[1] IPA: [ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf] ⓘ; c. 1360 – c. 1430)[2][3] was a Russian artist considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 29 January.[4