Dumbarton Oaks - Icon of St. Martinian

Icon of St. Martinian

Post-Byzantine
18th century - 19th century
8.2 cm x 2.5 cm x 0.8 cm (3 1/4 in. x 1 in. x 5/16 in.)
egg tempera on wood
BZ.1999.6

Not on view

Permalink: http://museum.doaks.org/objects-1/info/35999

Additional Images

full view, front

Description

Small icon painted in egg tempera on wood, depicting "St. Martinian." The nimbed saint stands, looking to his right, holding a book in both hands. He wears a long red robe with a vegetal gold-colored decoration. A gold-colored background is empty between the saint and the inscription at the top which identifies him. According to note accompanying the icon, this was formerly part of an icon in the Imperial Chapel of the Feodo[r]ovna Cathedral, Tsardkoye S[el]o.

Acquisition History

Possibly purchased from the Hammer Galleries, New York, Russian Imperial Treasures, in c. 1937;

Found during a 1998 inventory at Dumbarton Oaks and given an accession number. Icon was in a small box with a Merry Christmas label inscribed "To Mildred from Caroline."[1]

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Byzantine Collection, Washington, D.C.

Notes:
[1] Caroline is likely Caroline D. Phillips, a friend of Mildred Barnes and Robert Woods Bliss.

Object Last Modified: 11/16/2023