Folding triptych, with cypress carving

A pectoral triptych, consisting of a central leaf and two side wings, joined by vertical hinge-loops. Each leaf ends at the top in a shaped, multi-lobed finial. The body of the triptych is made of silver, decorated with an engraved floral ornament in the form of lush, winding branches with scrollwork. Around the perimeter of the inner frames runs a relief border in the form of a zigzag line.

Inside the leaves, beneath a protective mica covering, are multi-scened insets of carved cypress. The carving is multi-figured and very fine, with architectural backdrops (multi-tiered buildings with arched window openings) and figures of saints. On the central leaf are six scenes, among which "The Descent from the Cross" and "The Entombment" can be made out. Due to the fineness, soiling, and damage to the covering, part of the scenes and the iconographic inscriptions on the central leaf and the right wing are currently illegible.

Note: triptychs with fine relief carving in cypress or boxwood, set in a metal body, belong to a widespread type of personal (pectoral or travel) devotional images in the Orthodox tradition. Such works are known, among other things, as products of monastic carving workshops (including Athonite and Kyiv/Lavra workshops of fine cypress carving), where multi-scened compositions with feasts and multi-figure scenes were arranged within a small area, protected by mica beneath a metal overlay or engraved cover.

The object belonged to the collection of the pre-war Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. It was evacuated in 1941, and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.