Description in Icons, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2004, cat. no. 52:
Royal Doors
First quarter of 16th century, Central Russia (Tver?)
NMI 270

Wood: Pine (Pinus sp.), egg tempera
on canvas. Each half consists of a panel
made of single board with three splines
inlaid across the panel; metal suspension
rings at the sides, two on the left
and one on the right, remains of a
locking device on the insides of the
back of the panels.

Inscriptions a t. on left door: A)
Paper label: 1. With printed and handwritten
text in brown ink in Cyrillic
letters: MOSGOSTORG / Antikvarno-
Khudozhestvennyi Otdel (Department
of Antiquarian Art) / Nº C/01 546 /
Tsar[skie] vr[ata] Blagoveschenie Evangelisty
(Royal Doors Annunciation
The Evangelists) / 163 x 371/2 [cm]/ Tver
Sever (Tver North) / 15–16 vek [...]
(15–16th century) / bez oklada (without
silver cover) / [...] 100 r[ubley] /300
r[ubley] / sm.[otrite] 111541 (see 111541);
2. In black crayon: 150 / T’’: 3. In red
pencil: 7258; B) Ink stamp of the Soviet
State Export Committee; a t. on right
door: A) Paper label: 1. With printed
and hand-written text in brown ink
in Cyrillic letters: MOSGOSTORG /
Antikvarno-Khudozhestvennyi Otdel
(Department of Antiquarian Art) /
Nº C/ 01546 / [...] / 15–16 [...] / Tver
Sever (Tver North) / 159 x 371/2 [cm] /
bez oklada (without silver cover) /
sm.[otrite] Kart[oteku] (see card index)
/ 01546. / 100-r [..]; 2. In black crayon:
150 / T’’; B) Ink stamp of the Soviet
State Export Committee.

PROVENANCE: Antiquariat no 7258 ("Twer Schule, Ende 15. Jahrh."); Olof Aschberg 1935; Gift of O. Aschberg 1952
EXHIBITIONS: Gothenburg 1970, no 8;
Helsinki 1970 no 8; Stockholm 1988 no 7
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kjellin 1956, pp 38, 39, 144;
Felicetti 1972, p 45; Abel 1978:1, fig. 9; Abel
1979:1, pp 198–199; Abel 1981, p 256; Abel
1989:1, p 46; Abel 1989:2, pp 11–12
CONSERVATION: Restored prior to entering
NM: cleansed of overpaintings; colour
on background and borders removed; scattered
retouches and insertions of ground
with artificial craquelure; bottom part of
each half-door cut off, with severe damage
in the form of losses of paint and ground;
NM 1959: blisters consolidated, right half
of door mended at bottom by gluing on
primed wood; 1970: retouching and mend -
ing of impact damage. Ground and paint
layer losses round the edges; surface heavily
abraded; remains of dark varnish; crack
through the right half-door, with paint loss
in upper half of panel.

The iconography with the two-part
Annunciation at the top and the Four
Evangelists beneath it, and the characteristic
shape of the upper part are
typical of the 15th and 16th century
Russian tradition. The style, somewhat
provincial in character, belongs
to Central Russia. The pale palette,
with its elements of pink and blue,
may also possibly suggest that the icon
comes from Tver, as is suggested in
the note on the reverse.
[slut]