Nicholas and Alexandra Wedding Icon, 1894

Silver gilt, enamel rubies, emeralds, sapphies, tourmalines, garnet
30.3 x 30.3 cm (open); 30.3 x 16.5 cm (closed)
Provenance: presented to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna by her sister Grand Duchess Elizaveta. November 14, 1894. Armand Hammer, Mrs. Ferdinand William Reobling, Jr.; private collection, Pennsylvania.
From the FORBES Magazine Collection, New York, all rights reserved.

This icon was a gift marking the marriage of Tsar Nicholas II and his bride Alexandra. Presented to Alexandra by her sister Grand Duchess Elizaveta, the triptych is dated November 14, 1894, the day of the imperial couple's wedding. When open, the three hinged panels of the icon depict Our Lady of Kazan flanked by the patron saints of Nicholas and Alexandra. The top of the center panel depicts The Holy Napkin containing the Savior Not Made With Hands with the image of the living Savior made for King Agbar of Edessa. When closed the top panels are decorated with paintings of the Annunciation as well as cruciform miniatures of the Virgin and Child and Christ. Miniatures of the Four Evangelists set in tabernacle panels adorn the lower panels. Formerly part of a private collection, the Nicholas and Alexandra Wedding Icon has not been on public view since the early 1940s.