Russian Christian Icon: St John the Baptist and Jesus, with oklad, 1550-1750 AD St John the Baptist holds a bowl with Jesus child with left hand. Why Jesus as a child? -May be to show immaturity of the soul before baptizing. Right hand makes a gesture of baptizing. There is a leave from the bible with a short message in old Slavic language. There are two inscriptions on the metal oklad: in the left corner – 4 letters (probably for St John); in the right corner – 3 letters PRE, which means pure. Height: 14” inches = 36 cm Width: 12” inches = 31.5 cm Weight: 1670 g = 3 lb. 10 oz. A lot of carved writings on the back in Old Russian Staroslavic language. We could not read, but a specialist can read it. Condition: scattered small areas of loss of the paint, otherwise very good for this age