In Ukraine, for the first time in world practice, a complete reconstruction of an ancient icon was carried out based on impressions on medieval lead seals, Suspilne reports.. They restored the central icon of the Chernigov bishopric, created at the beginning of the 11th century and probably lost during the Mongol invasion of the 13th century.

The reconstruction was initiated by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) together with the Sheremetev Museum and the Antikvar Publishing House.. The author of the restoration was the icon painter Andrei Komarnitsky, and the scientific supervision was carried out by the head of the UINP Alexander Alferov.

According to Alferov, the icon of the Savior was the main shrine of the cathedral of the Chernigov diocese, created at the beginning of the 11th century. Although no written references survived after her disappearance, the reconstruction of the image was possible thanks to three lead seals found in the museum collection, on which this image was depicted.

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During the work, the team used a comparative iconographic analysis of ancient Russian and Byzantine monuments of the 11th-12th centuries - in particular miniatures of the Trier Psalter, the Ostromir Gospel, mosaics of Sophia of Kyiv and icons of Alypius of Pechersk. Icon painter Andrei Komarnitsky reproduced the image using the traditional technique of tetrachromy - a limited color range characteristic of Kievan Rus.

" The gesture of blessing that is visible on the seals is extremely rare, and it is precisely from such details that one can determine the time affiliation of the original sample,” said the master.

As Alferov noted, the found seal turned out to be more than a hundred years older than the founding of Moscow.. This has not only artistic, but also symbolic meaning - it confirms the antiquity of the Ukrainian Christian tradition and statehood.

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The Antikvar Publishing House, which is also preparing a thematic issue of the magazine of the same name dedicated to reconstruction. According to the director of the publishing house Anna Sherman, on October 22 at 12:

00 in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov there will be a presentation of the issue and a ceremonial transfer of the icon to the National Architectural and Historical Reserve " The team’s immediate plans include six new reconstructions of other lost Ukrainian icons.

The art project “Icons on Arms Crates,” in which artists transform wooden fragments of military crates into images of faith and perseverance, was presented for the first time in Africa. The exhibition, which has been running for over ten years and has already been presented in more than a hundred cities around the world, demonstrates how symbols of death and destruction are transformed into symbols of life.