A Russian Icon of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, 18th century

good condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The size, shape and quality of this icon suggest that it was once part of the Festival Row of a church iconostasis. The subject of this icon represents one of the Cardinal Feasts of the Russian Orthodox Church.  It is the instance when the aged prophet Simeon glanced at the infant presented to him and recognized the future Savior of Humanity; it is the instant when the last prophet of the Old Testament met with the Lord who ushers in the New Testament. This is truly a moment of the meeting of Christ's Judaic past with Christianity's future, and for that reason the Byzantine name for this event is also known as "Ypapanti", literally meaning "The Meeting" in Greek. On Russian and Greek icons the event is always shown taking place against an architectural background. This is done not only to represent the actual setting of the temple, but also to provide the iconographic means to symbolically represent the meeting of the Synagogue with the Church through a cloth that drapes the buildings on the left and on the right. In this icon, a single drape is bunched within a cupola rising over the center of the composition and the figure of the Virgin Mary. This iconographic detail is not accidental but, instead it represents a theologic statement about the position and nature of the Mother of God as being the one who unifies the Old and the New Testament, and as being the one who is the transition and through whom the prophesy of the Old Testament became reality through the Incarnation of the Savior.