A RUSSIAN ICON OF SAINTS ANTHONY THE ROMAN AND EVDOKIA, 17TH CENTURY. On the upper margin Christ Emmanuel above stylized clouds representing the heavens delivers a blessing to the two saints below who are identified by the inscriptions above their head as "PREPODOBNUIY ANTONIY RIM[LYANIN]" (Venerable Anthony the Roman) and "PREPODOB[NAYA] MUCH[ENITSA] EVDOKIYA" (Venerable Martyr Evdokia). Here Anthony is depicted standing on a rock, as the traditional story of Anthony is that he was born in Rome and became a monk and that later while praying on a rock by the sea, he and his rock were washed out to sea in the year 1105.  He miraculously floated on his rock all the way to the Novgorod region in Russia, where he founded a monastery. Evdokia was said to have been born in the time of the Roman emperor Trajan, and lived a debauched life before her conversion, after which she dismissed her slaves, gave her wealth to the Church, and became a nun.  She soon became an abbess, and after some 56 years of monastic life she was martyred during a period of persecution. The verso of icon with the label of Anichkov Town Museum, and with vintage inscription identifying the icon as belonging to the collector Andrei Mikhailovich Postnikov and ascribing it to the Novgorod school, 15th century. 12.3 inches x 10.75 inches (31 x 27.5 cm).

Provenance:
Anichkov Town Museum (labeled on reverse)
Andrei Mikhailovich Postnikov (inscribed on reverse)
Christie’s London auction of November 20, 1997 as lot 76 illustrated on page 49


Exhibited:
Helsinki, Taidehalli, Ikoninayttely Ikonustallning, (1967), no. 19