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Source Description

This panagia (a pectoral medallion worn by a bishop and bearing the image of Christ or the Mother of God) incorporates two techniques, "en ronde bosse" ("emal' po rez'be") and painted enamel. The high-relief figure of Christ Pantocrator is covered with a thickish opaque enamel. Engraving and chasing of the metal beneath the enamel not only delineates the figure, but it also helps to support the enamel. The medallion of Christ is bordered by rubies and is attached to the panagia by pins.Repoussé trefoil flowers decorate the border, their centers created by small, roughly cut rubies and emeralds. In between these repoussé flowers the surface is covered with a striking medium-blue opaque ground, on which are painted small flowers and leaves similar to Usolsk flowers (see Walters 44.417 and 44.626 for comparisons). Arthur Voyce, one of the first American specialists on the Moscow Kremlin, has called these pinkish flowers "Turkish," probably because they are similar to those found on Turkish textiles of the period (Voyce, "The Moscow Kremlin," Berkeley, University of California Press, 1954, p. 91). The medallion hangs from a small gold cross mounted with an enameled figure of the Crucifixion.The panagia was from the collection of Olga N. Bulygina and formerly belonged to her brother-in-law, Petr Abramovich Khvoshchinskii. She loaned it, along with 44 other objects, to the famous 1901 exhibition of antiquities from private collections, held at the Stroganov Institute in Moscow. It was exhibited again in the Moscow section in the St. Petersburg exhibition in 1904.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
29498
label
Panagia, Christ Pantocrator
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
29498
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Panagia, Christ Pantocrator
description
This panagia (a pectoral medallion worn by a bishop and bearing the image of Christ or the Mother of God) incorporates two techniques, "en ronde bosse" ("emal' po rez'be") and painted enamel. The high-relief figure of Christ Pantocrator is covered with a thickish opaque enamel. Engraving and chasing of the metal beneath the enamel not only delineates the figure, but it also helps to support the enamel. The medallion of Christ is bordered by rubies and is attached to the panagia by pins.Repoussé trefoil flowers decorate the border, their centers created by small, roughly cut rubies and emeralds. In between these repoussé flowers the surface is covered with a striking medium-blue opaque ground, on which are painted small flowers and leaves similar to Usolsk flowers (see Walters 44.417 and 44.626 for comparisons). Arthur Voyce, one of the first American specialists on the Moscow Kremlin, has called these pinkish flowers "Turkish," probably because they are similar to those found on Turkish textiles of the period (Voyce, "The Moscow Kremlin," Berkeley, University of California Press, 1954, p. 91). The medallion hangs from a small gold cross mounted with an enameled figure of the Crucifixion.The panagia was from the collection of Olga N. Bulygina and formerly belonged to her brother-in-law, Petr Abramovich Khvoshchinskii. She loaned it, along with 44 other objects, to the famous 1901 exhibition of antiquities from private collections, held at the Stroganov Institute in Moscow. It was exhibited again in the Moscow section in the St. Petersburg exhibition in 1904.
provenance
Petr Abramovich Khvoshchinskii [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Olga N. Bulygina, Moscow, [date of acquisition unknown] by inheritance [from her brother-in-law, Petr]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 17th century
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Enamels
plaques
medallions
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
12
height
7.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 4 3/4 x W: 2 15/16 in. (12 x 7.5 cm)
Source extras
med
gold, ""en ronde bosse"" and painted enamel, gemstones
creator_ids
6214
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
956
2406
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
a05719a7165d5f96
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
77ec87a6a14bc600
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no