Pair Of Wedding Icons Of Christ And Mary, Gilded Silver, Russia Moscow, Late 19th Century

Superb pair of icons depicting Christ and the Mother of God made in Moscow at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (before 1908).

This type of icons was usually given on the occasion of a wedding and used during the Orthodox religious ceremony. The priest would bless the groom with the image of Christ and the bride with that of the Mother of God. They were then placed in the center of the family prayer altar. Often separated over time, true pairs—like this one—are rare today.

These two elegant icons illustrate the high level of Russian iconographic craftsmanship of the late 19th century, combining graphic art and goldsmithing as well as precious materials such as gold and silver.
The icons, delicately painted in oil on a wooden panel, are enriched by a gilded "oklad", finely chased and worked with the "repoussé" technique. The reverse of each icon is protected by purple velvet.
One depicts Christ Pantocrator (Almighty) blessing with his right hand and holding the Bible with his left. The other is a representation of the Kazan Mother of God with Jesus on her left.
They are presented in their original glazed wooden box enriched with brass trim.
Each icon bears the following hallmarks:
1/ Russian silver title "84".
2/ Moscow hallmark (1899-1908).
3/ The initials "PV" in Cyrillic for Pavel Mixaïlovitch Volkov, silversmith active in Moscow from 1868 to 1908.
The reverse of each icon also bears the label of the Folomine shop in Kiev, which sold these icons at the time.

Perfect original condition with splendid patina. A pure and rare collector's item.
The set is sold with a certificate of authenticity.
Dimensions of each icon with its box: (H) 21 cm by (W) 19 cm
Dimensions of each icon alone: (H) 13.5 cm by (W) 11.3 cm.