ICON 'SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM AND SAINT STEFAN DECANSKI OF SERBIA' Greece, Mount Athos, late 19th century

oil, gold leaf on wood 22.5 x 19.5 cm Condition: overall good condition, without restoration The icon was probably painted by the Russian monks of St John Chrysostom on Mount Athos for the pilgrims and Serbian brothers of the Visoki Dečani monastery, founded in 1327 by Stefan Uroš III Dečanski Nemanjic, King of Serbia. It was at this time, at the end of the 19th century, that the monks of Saint John Chrysostom accepted Serbian Bishop Mikhail's proposal to manage and subsequently restore the Visoki Dečani monastery in Serbia