3192
Adoration of Our Lady of the Incombustible Bush
Probably Russia after 1800. Egg tempera over chalk and gold ground on panel. Assembly of saints with Christ. In the upper part three fields with representations of the Nativity of Mary, the Mother of God of the Incombustible Bush and the Adoration of the Mother of God. Verso carvings in Cyrillic letters.
H 54, W 45 cm.
The theme of the Mother of God, which is compared to the Old Testament burning thorn bush, which feeds its flames but is not consumed by them, comes from Byzantium and first appears there around 1100. In 16th-century Russia, the theme got its characteristic star shape, consisting of two differently coloured squares with concave sides placed on top of each other. This type was received again and again, which probably stems from the popular meaning of the «thorn bush icon», as it was supposed to protect against fire hazards.
Provenance: private collection Lower Saxony.

Condition report