THE MOTHER OF GOD OF KAZAN IN A SILVER AND ENAMELLED OKLAD END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, MIXED MEDIA, MAKER'S MARK OF IVAN TARABROV IN CYRILLIC, MOSCOW, CIRCA 1900 31.8 by 27.2 cm. Related literature: For similar icons, see I. Tarnogradsky and I. Buseva-Davydova, The Holy Images. Russian Icons of the 15th-20th Centuries from Private Collections, Moscow, 2006, cat. no. 213. The oklad is marked by the Moscow Regional Assaying Control with the initials of I. S. Lebedev, the controller of the region from 1899, hallmarked '84, and stamped by the stamp I.T. of I. F. Tarabrov, the owner of gold- and silver-smith workshops between 1893 and 1913. The icon reproduces the wonder-working image of the Mother of God of Kazan, which was very popular in Russian art in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. It is painted in the style characteristic for that period, combining the technique used in oil paintings with soft modelling of the faces based on dark colours in attempt to imitate ancient icons in the way their production was imagined at that time. The wide embossed margins of the oklad are ornamented with schematic palmettes and a three-dimensional border, wrapped up with a double cord, making a rich and elegant frame for the image. The precious decoration of the icon is enhanced by enamelled haloes and crown. The ornamental enamelled mounts in the corners are reminiscent of clasps of medieval books, beautifully complementing the Russian Art Nouveau style of the main image. The ornaments of white flowers and pearl-lined loops and the outlines of the raised parts of the mounts make the icon particularly attractive. The folds of the embossed and gadrooned silver vestments of the oklad, covering the painted robes completely, are made with particular care and masterly precision. The golden-thread embroidery of the Virgin's omophorion is rendered with great skill and is reminiscent of other items made by Tarabrov's firm, such as the oklad of another Kazanskaya icon from the collection of I. Tarnogradsky (Moscow).