Commemorative Icon of Saint Nicholas (Nicholas of Winter) in a Silver Oklad and Wooden Kiot

Description

Memorial Icon of Saint Nicholas (Nicholas of Winter) in a Silver Oklad and Wooden Kiot
Moscow, 1896
Wood, oil painting, silver oklad
Workshop of Antip Kuzmichev

Dimensions:
Kiot with crest: 35 × 25.7 × 7.8 cm
Icon: 18 × 14.7 × 2.5 cm

Inscription on the presentation plaque:
“To Feldfebel (Sergeant) of the 10th Company, 89th Belomorsky Infantry Regiment, Ivan Tapper, in remembrance from the Company Commander Captain Hidlevsky and the lower ranks of the company. City of Reval, 1900.” This memorial icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, one of the most venerated saints in Russia and patronical Saint of Russian army, is painted in oil on wood and enclosed in a finely crafted silver-gilt oklad (riza) and a wooden kiot (protective case). The oklad, made by the renowned Moscow silversmith Antip Kuzmichev, exemplifies the exquisite metalwork of late 19th-century Russia. Kuzmichev’s workshop, founded in 1856, was famous for its collaboration with the American firm Tiffany & Co., producing luxury silver and enamel objects for both Russian and international markets.

The engraved dedication connects this icon to the 89th Belomorsky Infantry Regiment of His Imperial Highness the Heir Tsarevich, part of the Imperial Russian Army. The regiment, whose lineage dates back to the early 18th century, was awarded numerous honors for its bravery in major military campaigns.

Such icons were often presented as tokens of respect and remembrance, symbolizing the bond between officers and soldiers. In this case, the icon was gifted to Sergeant Ivan Tapper by his commander and fellow soldiers while stationed in Reval (modern-day Tallinn) in 1900.