A RUSSIAN ICON OF THE PROTECTING VEIL (POKROV) OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN PALEKH STYLE, 19TH C., executed with great precision in details that often associated with Palekh and painted in extremely vibrant color hues, including rare pink, the icon shows Virgin Mary standing upon a cloud and holding her veil, surrounded by the apostles and Church Fathers, led by Peter, Paul and John the Baptist; below is hymnographer Romanos the Melodist, holding his hymn (kontakion) to the Virgin, while the 10th-century Byzantine saint Andrew the Fool points out to his disciple Epiphanius a vision that came to him while praying in the Church of the Blachernae in Constantinople, which domes we see behind the Virgin. Egg tempera, gold leaf, and gesso on a wood panel. Two insert splints on the back. 31.1 x 26.3 cm. (12 1/4 x 10 3/8 in.)