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Folding triptych "Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Selected Feasts", inv. no. М-4479: photo 1 of 5
Photo 1 of 5
Folding triptych "Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Selected Feasts", inv. no. М-4479: photo 1 of 5
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Metal · Church plate

Folding triptych "Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Selected Feasts"

Inv. no. М-4479 · Metal

Project: Sloboda Ukraine Code. Church Antiquities

The icon is a folding triptych made of yellow metal, with rectangular leaves and a center panel with a shallow recessed "ark." The folding icon is covered with white, yellow, and light-blue enamel. The leaves are joined by convex round hinges. Full description

Date
19th century
Material
Metal, enamel
Technique
Casting, enameling, engraving
Dimensions
10.5 × 12 × 0.4 cm

Photo: M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum · CC BY 4.0

Description

The icon is a folding triptych made of yellow metal, with rectangular leaves and a center panel with a shallow recessed "ark." The folding icon is covered with white, yellow, and light-blue enamel. The leaves are joined by convex round hinges. At the center is an image of the Kazan Most Holy Mother of God. The image of the Mother of God with the Infant Christ, who blesses with his right hand, belongs to the Hodegetria type (from the Greek "She Who Shows the Way"). The Mother of God is shown bust-length, the Child knee-length, both frontal. The Mother of God inclines toward the Child on her right. She wears a maphorion and chiton, Christ a shirt-like garment and himation. To the left of the Mother of God's halo is the inscription "MR," to the right "ΘU"; above Christ's halo, "IC XC" (inscriptions in Church Slavonic; exact reproduction of the lettering is not possible in digital text). Around the image of the Mother of God is a rectangular frame with a geometric ornament. On the leaves are scenes of the Twelve Great Feasts: on the left, "The Entry into Jerusalem" and "The Presentation of the Lord"; on the right, "The Descent into Hell" and "The Ascension." The upper part of the central leaf is shaped, showing the Old Testament Trinity, seraphim, and God the Father, Lord of Sabaoth. The margins bear a floral ornament.

The triptych was seized by the Chop customs post in 1991–1993 and entered the museum's holdings by decision of the State Customs Committee of Ukraine and the National Committee for the Return of Cultural Property to Ukraine under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 1995.

Record

Inventory number
М-4479
Title
Folding triptych "Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Selected Feasts"
Collection group
Metal · Church plate
Date
19th century
Material
Metal, enamel
Technique
Casting, enameling, engraving
Dimensions
10.5 × 12 × 0.4 cm
Digitisation
Project “Sloboda Ukraine Code. Church Antiquities”, 2026
Tradition
Old Believers

Updated 15 Oct 2026

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