19. Russian icons

Week 19 12/1/15

I had heard good reviews about this Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA. We had a rainy couple of days so we headed for this indoor spot.

The museum building is an old courthouse, recently renovated as a museum. The displays were well-lit, attractive and informative. A free audio tour explained techniques, symbolism and many stories that are depicted in the icons. We learned about the painting process and watched a restoration in progress by a conservator. For the season there is a special exhibit about St. Nicholas who, although born in Turkey in an area that was then Greece, is the patron Saint of Russia. 

On the lowest of the three floors there are old jail cells made over as viewing rooms. There is also a nice self-serve tea room with a variety of Russian teas. On the tea room wall is a display of samovars and nesting dolls. In the 60's my father and mother brought home a samovar, similar to one of these, from a trip to the U.S.S.R.

The icons in this museum date from as early as 1450. Many had extremely detailed painting and lettering. There are magnifying glasses to borrow which help quite a bit. I thought it was interesting that many had a decorative/protective metal layer, usually silver. Some of the metal is cut to expose whole figures or else just faces, hands and feet. This is an example of one where the holes are so tiny that I couldn't see the little parts they were meant to reveal. This is a typical example where there is a section for each month of the year, with figures representing that month. It's impossible to see in this photograph the minuscule writing in the spaces above the figures.

Lessons were taught around the themes of feast days. Churches used the pictures and stories to explain the gospel. Rural areas in Russia did not have space or money for large icons, so traveling priests used folding icons like these to show the various feasts.

If you visit Clinton, I recommend that you eat in the new Clintons Bar and Grill, which is not a pub as the name might imply, but more of a nice restaurant.