Description in Icons, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2004, cat. no. 245:
"It is proper" "Dostoyno yest"
Middle of 19th century
NMI 142

Wood: Alder (Alnus sp.), egg tempera.
Panel made of two boards with two
splines inlaid from opposite sides; back
painted grey with oil.

Inscriptions a t.: A) Signature in pencil
in Cyrillic letters: I Ars[...]; B) Ink
stamp of the Soviet State Export Committee

PROVENANCE: Olof Aschberg;
Gift of O.Aschberg 1933
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kjellin 1933, no 142; Kjellin
1956, p 251
CONSERVATION: Restored prior to entering
NM: cracks through the panel mended,
one of them with new wood and a metal
plate on the lower edge, insertions of wax
and scattered retouches; NM 1959: crack in
upper edge mended, blisters consolidated.
Wood loss from crack in bottom edge.

The upper register of the picture shows
the Mother of God with the Christ
Child on her knee, sitting on the heavenly
throne and attended by angels.
To the left and right of the heavenly
throne respectively are two hymn-writers,
John of Damascus and St Cosmas
of Mayum (Ru. Kozma Maiumskii),
both with scrolls showing the opening
words of the two central hymns of
their own composition to the Mother
of God. The text of the one on the left
begins: “O Tebe raduetsya...”(“In Thee
rejoiceth”) while that on the right
begins “Dostoyno yest...”(“It is proper...”).
The lower register is occupied by
prophets who foretold the birth of the
Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception
and the Nativity of Christ.
Most of them are carrying scrolls with
quotations from their respective prophesies.
Among them we notice Kings
Solomon and David and the prophets
Isaiah and Ezekiel.
The title of the whole of this iconography
tallies with the opening words
of one of the above mentioned hymns
to the Mother of God “Dostoyno yest”
(Gr. “Axion estin”), which occurs in the
liturgical service of St John Chrysostom.
This motif was especially
popular during the second half of the
16th century.1 It is related to the one
called Pokhvala Bogomateri in Russian
and “Apantes i profite.. ” in Greek (All
prophets ..). It dates back originally to
a late Byzantine tradition, which can
be seen for example on an icon in the
Byzantine Institute in Venice.2
Painted on old panel probably over
an earlier version.
1 Smirnova 1989, pp 304–305, fig 186.
2 Chatzidakis 1962, p 23.
[slut]