Narva Museum raising funds for restoration of 18th century Orthodox icon
Narva Museum has a large number of Orthodox icons in need of restoration or conservation, some of which have been waiting their turn for decades. Now, the museum has launched a donation campaign to raise funds for the cause.
The 18th century icon the museum is looking to raise funds for is an extraordinary one. Typically, icons were painted onto wood panels, but this one features gold and silver embroidery on linen and silk fabric; only the saints' faces were painted, ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported Saturday.
On top of the techniques used to make it, what also makes this particular icon unique is the choice of saints featured – Paul, Sergius and Catherine.
"The more masterful the craftsmanship, the rarer the technology, and the more unique the choice of saints an icon features, the more valuable it is even financially," explained icon historian Orest Kormašov. "This is one of the most interesting items in the museum's icon collection."
Narva Museum houses nearly 400 icons, 60 of which are on display in Narva Art Gallery's icon corner. The rest are in need of restoration and conservation.
This particular icon has been waiting its turn for 40 years already.
"No one has enough money to restore everything," acknowledged museum exhibition manager Anne Raud. "We decided that one more icon could be displayed – one that would capture people's interest, so they themselves could also contribute to help preserve and also display it."
The museum will need to raise around €3,000 to restore this historic icon.
Narva Museum's previous icon collection was destroyed in the 1950s, as Orthodox icons were deemed worthless by occupying Soviet authorities. Orthodox believers in Estonia still face challenges today, however, that does not mean that Orthodox heritage shouldn't be preserved.
"Orthodoxy is Christianity," Kormašov noted. "It's universal. And in fact, Orthodox icons reflect that very spiritual aspect inherent to all people, regardless of denomination."
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Aili Vahtla