In the year 2000, the Moscow Patriarchate promised to show a collection of icons acquired for $12 million for the Christ the Savior Cathedral's Museum of Orthodox Culture

The Mystery of the Icons

In the year 2000, the Moscow Patriarchate promised to show a collection of icons acquired for $12 million for the Christ the Savior Cathedral's Museum of Orthodox Culture

By Tatyana Andriasova

Moscow News

At present the collection is at St. Daniel's Monastery, but there is no indication it may be put on display any time soon.

The money for the Patriarchate's collee-lion was provided [rum government con­tingency reserves on the express orders of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin (see MN No.34, 1998). The story, in brief, is as follows. In 1996, the Moscow Patriarchate was offered three loreign collections lor the Museum of Orthodox Culture. One be­longed to a Dutch art dealer, Michel van Rijn; the second was held by Prince Michael of Greece, while the third was presumably the property of a Swiss law firm although rumor had it that the real owner was a cer­tain Leonid Vinokurov resident in Germa­ny. Experts on ancient Russian culture were unanimous that only Prince Micha­el's collection was worth buying en bloc. Nonetheless, the Patriarchate preferred the Swiss collection, vowing to hold an exhi­bition in time for the inauguration of the Christ the Savior Cathedral..^'

But is the collection bought at such a sleep price really as good as it is made out to be? This question was also raised by a group of documentary film makers from Great Britain, who decided to con­duct their own investigation. The result was a film. "Presidents, Patriarchs, and Prolits," shown on BBC Television. Un-fotunately, the Britons failed to film any icons from the collection. But then Patriarch Alexy II granted them an interview,

and they met with Metropolitan Kirill, shop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (who purportedly had the final say in selecting the collection), as well as with Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. The top clerics keep silent about the newly acquired collection. It was only Archpricst Vsevolod Chaplin, in charge of public relations, who remarked casu­ally that the icons could be seen at an ex­hibition, without saying, however, when it would open. Art collector Michel van Rijn was rather more forthcoming and de­scribed in detail how he had been buying up the icons in Moscow in the 1970s: All deals were struck in restaurants; the icons were taken out of the country by diplo­mats from developing countries or by tourist coach drivers. They say the Patri­archate's motive in rejecting van Rijn's collection was the dubious authenticity of its items. Why Prince Michael's collec­tion proved not good enough, the British film makers, never found out: The Prince had evaded a meeting. The name of the owner of the third collection — the Swiss law firm Presidio Investments — was not in the phone directory. Meanwhile, Leonid Vinokurov, who was allegedly behind the collection, denied all knowledge of the deal. That, despite the fact that he had shown the icons in Zurich to three Rus­sian experts confidentially instructed by the Patriarchate to appraise them: Gerold Vzdornov and Mikhail Krasilin of the R&D Institute of Restoration, and Yuri Bobrov of the Arts Academy, St. Peters­burg division,

According to Gerold Vzdornov, a cor­responding member of the Russian Acad­emy of Sciences, the collection includes "some remarkable items — from the fourth through the 18^h century. There are not only icons but also stone, wood, and fabric artifacts among the rarities, and even one Fayum portrait." But they "need res-

St Elijah the Prophet. Russia, 16'^h century -from the Swiss collection

torauon before they can be exhibited." The Patriarchate is to provide money for the restoration work which, according to Vzdornov, will come nowhere near the sum spent on buying the collection.

This reporter failed to get any informa­
tion at the Patriarchate. Why the shroud
of mystery? After all, the rarities were
bought to be shown at a museum. Maybe
some people resent the idea that once put
on display, the icons could be seen by
experts who may question whether they
are really worth the S12 million paid for
them. Gerold Vzdornov maintains that the
collection was acquired at auctions in the
West. The film, however, makes it clear
that even at so prestigious an auction
house as Christie's, unique expensive
icons turn up very rarely: For the most
part these are average items,.worth be­
tween $15,000 and 20,000./ m

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