Museum complex

THE BOWING CROSS WITH THE IMAGES OF THE REV. ZOSIMA, SAVVATIY AND HERMAN OF SOLOVKI

Solovetsky Monastery
XVII century
Wood, mica, silver, gesso, tempera. Carving, engraving, gilding, painting
35,2 х 17 х 1,3 cm
Receipt: purchased on auction in 1892
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Solovetsky Monastery was founded in the first half of the XV Century. By the middle of the XVII Century it became one of the richest and most independent Christian Monasteries in Russia. It was located on the Islands of the White Sea, surrounded by a strong stone wall, filled with a large number of military supplies and it had a large Strelets garrison. The monastery was an invulnerable border fortress that blocked the access to the port of Arkhangelsk. On the vast territory owned by the monastery – the Islands and the sea coasts, there were large enterprises that brought a huge income at the time. The monastery owned fisheries, saltworks, mica mines, tanning huts and potash factories.
In Russian wood carving were very popular four-pointed crosses with the images of the cross of Golgotha with torturing instruments against the background of the Jerusalem wall or the Temple of Jerusalem. As a rule, a significant part of the surface of the cross would be filled with carved inscriptions or images of the Saviour and selected saints. Such crosses were created mainly in the Northern regions of Russia, and mainly in the Solovetsky Monastery, which influenced the entire artistic creativity of this region. In the lower part of the cross there are four figures of Solovetsky saints – venerable Zosima, Savvaty, Herman and Saint Philip, whose earthly activity was directly connected with the Solovetsky monastery. Their veneration spread throughout Russia, in different social strata.

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