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Lot Essay
In need of hard currency, the Soviet government decided to sell works of art from museums abroad in the late twenties. Apart from silver, XVIII Century and Old Master paintings, icons were sold at the suggestion of I. Grabar and N. Angarskii. They were sold after 1932 by the Soviet company Antikvariat. See Ilin, N. & Semenova, N. Sold Treasures of Russia, (Moscow, 2000) p. 71, 75
The theme of St. George Slaying the Dragon is one of the most popular in Russian iconography. The dragon symbolized evil in the form of paganism. Therefore, the image of the saint slaying the dragon was the symbol of a heathen country being converted to Christianity. Saint George mounted on his white horse (symbolizing purity) is said to have fought a dragon outside the walls of a city in order to rescue the king's daughter who was being offered by a sacrifice. In this form , the story is first known through The Golden Legend, (13th century). St. George engaged the dragon in mortal combat and slew it. The king and all his people, who had witnessed the battle, were so awed by this sign of the power of the Lord that they were converted to Christianity.
During the eleventh and twelth centuries Saint George was the patron saint of Novgorod's reigning princes and later became the patron saint of Moscow.
The theme of St. George Slaying the Dragon is one of the most popular in Russian iconography. The dragon symbolized evil in the form of paganism. Therefore, the image of the saint slaying the dragon was the symbol of a heathen country being converted to Christianity. Saint George mounted on his white horse (symbolizing purity) is said to have fought a dragon outside the walls of a city in order to rescue the king's daughter who was being offered by a sacrifice. In this form , the story is first known through The Golden Legend, (13th century). St. George engaged the dragon in mortal combat and slew it. The king and all his people, who had witnessed the battle, were so awed by this sign of the power of the Lord that they were converted to Christianity.
During the eleventh and twelth centuries Saint George was the patron saint of Novgorod's reigning princes and later became the patron saint of Moscow.