ICON ‘MOTHER OF GOD THE BURNING BUSH’ WITH SAINTS IN SILVER OKLAD Vologda region, early 19th century

Oklad: silver, chasing, engraving, gilding Hallmarks: master’s mark in Cyrillic ‘V.S’ for Semenov Vasily (1852-1873) ?; assay master’s mark in Cyrillic ‘A.M’ above the date 1852; silver standard mark ‘84’ and the coat of arms of St. Petersburg; inscription in Cyrillic ‘vesu 1 funt 29 1/2 zolotniki’ (approximately 530 gr.) wood, levkas, tempera 33 x 27 cm Condition: overall good condition, partially renewed, presumably, in the middle of the 19th century, when the silver oklad was made, some modern restorations One of the Old Testament images of the Mother of God is the burning bush that Moses saw burn without ever being consumed. This bush signified the Immaculate Conception of Christ by the Holy Spirit. After having been a Mother, she remained a Virgin. In the center of the icon is the image of the Mother of God with the Child, and in the rays of the eight-pointed star are angels adoring the Mother of God, as a symbol of the adoration of the heavenly forces of the miraculous birth of God from the Virgin.