Russian oil on board icon painting depicting Christian Saints; (from left to right) St. Zenaida, St. Cecilia, St. Nadezhda, St. Peter, and St. Vladimir. The painting is housed within an ornate giltwood frame which is further housed in a larger glass-paned shadow box.

St. Zenaida was the cousin of the apostle Paul and often has the epithet "Friend of Peace," as she was known to be an advocate for peace, serenity, and charity. She and her sister were further known for their practice of medicine and opening clinics to assist the poor. St. Cecelia, sometimes spelled Cecily or Tsetsiliya, was one of the more famous early virgin martyrs of the Christian church and is the patron saint of music and musicians. St. Peter is best known as the first Pope or Bishop of Rome. He is often thought of as one of the most important apostles or followers of Jesus Christ. St. Vladimir is best known for introducing Christianity to Russia after envoys he sent out attended a Divine Liturgy at the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Finally, St. Nadezhda, the daughter of St. Sophia, and is sometimes referred to as Hope, is depicted in smaller form in the center of the composition as she was martyred as a child.
Sight; height: 13 1/4 in x width: 11 1/2 in. Framed; height: 34 in x width: 25 in. Wear throughout, consistent with its age. Despite its age, the color is bold. There are areas with natural wood splits throughout the painting; particularly, there is an area that shows the underlying board near the head of the figure with a red drape. There are areas that lost paint throughout the piece, most noticeably above the far left figure, there is 2 inches long line that lost paint. There is a network of black dots to the right top. There is a black accretion on the inscription above the far right figure. Golden gildings for halos are peeled off and show white primer. There is white accretion by the hand of St. Vladimir. When inspected under UV light, there is no sign of restoration either in the painting or the frame. When inspected out of frame it appears that three sides of the panel have been cut and reduced to fit the frame; only the top edge has not been cut.
Wear to the outer wooden frame. On its back, there is a 2 3/4 in x 1 1/2 in big tape residue. Below the tape residue, there is a horizontal gap because of the two wooden panels not closing tightly- it does not show the canvas. There is a loss to the top left corner. The golden inner frame has heavy wear throughout; there are long cracks that length ranges from 4 inches to 16 inches on all four sides; discoloration throughout, particularly in recessed areas. Dust collected to its surface, particularly in recessed areas. Some loss throughout the frame. Please contact us for a detailed condition report. Please note that the lack of a condition statement does not imply perfect condition. Email condition@revereauctions.com with any condition questions.