Rare 19th-century icon embroidered with silver threads attempted to be taken from Ukraine to Thailand
Kyiv • UNN
Kyiv customs officers discovered a rare embroidered icon "Theotokos of the Sign" from the first half of the 19th century in an international postal shipment to Thailand. The sender, a Kyiv resident, did not provide the required permits, so the icon was seized.
A rare 19th-century icon embroidered with silver threads was illegally attempted to be taken out of Ukraine to Thailand, but was stopped by Kyiv customs officers, the State Customs Service reported on Friday, writes UNN.
Details
"Kyiv customs officers prevented the illegal export abroad of a rare embroidered icon 'Theotokos of the Sign', created in the first half of the 19th century. The cultural treasure was discovered during customs control of an international postal shipment heading from Ukraine to Thailand," the customs service stated.
According to experts from the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the icon combines techniques of oil painting and embroidery. Silk threads, sequins, as well as flat and twisted silver threads were used for its decoration.
Specialists believe the icon was created in a professional workshop that continued the ancient traditions of monastic embroidery. It is the specific features of the execution technique, the use of silver threads, sequins, and floral ornamentation that made it possible to date the artifact to the first half of the 19th century.
In Ukraine, workshops producing embroidered church items operated until the beginning of the 20th century, in particular at the Kyiv Florivsky Convent.
Experts note that far fewer embroidered icons have survived to the present day than painted ones, and also fewer than other embroidered items of church use.
"That is why this icon is particularly valuable. It has scientific, historical, and museum significance and can be used for research and reconstruction of domestic and church interiors of that time," the State Customs Service emphasized.
The sender of the international postal shipment was a female resident of Kyiv. No permit documents required for the export of cultural treasures outside Ukraine were provided to the customs, the customs officers noted.
The Kyiv Customs drew up a protocol on violation of customs regulations. The icon has been seized pending a court decision in the case.