Saint Helena the Empress, 1878

Estimate

15,000 - 20,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

tempera, panel
50.7 by 22cm, 20 by 8 3/4 in.

signed Malishev and dated 1878, with dedicatory inscription on the reverse

Provenance

Dedicated to the daughter of Duke Sasso, born 27 February 1877, died 28 February 1877

Catalogue Note

Fabrizio Ruffo, Duke of Sasso Ruffo (1846-1911) married Princess Natalia (Lily) Alexandrovna Mestschersky in 1877 in St Petersburg. Although Helena, their second child for whom this icon was presumably made in memoriam, was tragically short lived, their youngest daughter, Elisabeth (1886-1940), married secondly Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia in 1918.