Some of the best examples display a high level of craftsmanship.
The panel offered by Hawley’s (22% buyer’s premium) in Beverley, East Yorkshire on November 26 measured and impressive 3ft (90cm) high and depicts a range of subjects from the Passion Cycle including the Last Supper, the Resurrection and the Ascension. They follow well-worn compositions, but it is unusual to find them together in a single icon.
Jerusalem mother of pearl and olivewood devotional panel, £19,500 at Hawley’s.
It had been a gift to an Anglican order by the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem to mark a visit to the Holy City in the 1920s and until 2007 had been displayed in the chapel at Laleham House, the Surrey Palladian-style manor that became a convent.
Although a niche and international market, pieces of this calibre can command five-figure sums. Despite some areas of damage, it was guided at £5000-8000 and sold at £19,500 to an online bidder via thesaleroom.com.
