An Examination of Russian Orthodox Iconography
Document Type
Poster
Campus where you would like to present
Ellensburg
Event Website
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source
Start Date
15-5-2019
End Date
15-5-2019
Abstract
This poster examines five religious icons from the collection of the Central Washington University Museum of Culture and Environment. There was little information about the icons in the museum records except they were presumed to be of Russian or Slavic origin. Most museums have numerous objects in their collections that have little to no information known about them. This is inherently problematic because it is a museum’s job to preserve cultural history through objects, which cannot be done if there is no information about the object within museum records. Providing historical background for objects in museum collections addresses the common issue of objects without provenance and cultural context. It was my goal to provide historic and cultural background information through completing catalog and condition reports on the objects and conducting research on Russian iconography. I also analyzed the images to find their religious meaning and received translations of the inscriptions on the objects to provide cultural context. Through my research I found that four of the five icons are reflective of Russian Orthodox iconographic styles and the other icon requires further research.
Winner, Outstanding Poster Presentation, College of Arts & Humanities
Recommended Citation
Bode, Olivia, "An Examination of Russian Orthodox Iconography" (2019). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 71.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Posters/71
Department/Program
History
An Examination of Russian Orthodox Iconography
Ellensburg
This poster examines five religious icons from the collection of the Central Washington University Museum of Culture and Environment. There was little information about the icons in the museum records except they were presumed to be of Russian or Slavic origin. Most museums have numerous objects in their collections that have little to no information known about them. This is inherently problematic because it is a museum’s job to preserve cultural history through objects, which cannot be done if there is no information about the object within museum records. Providing historical background for objects in museum collections addresses the common issue of objects without provenance and cultural context. It was my goal to provide historic and cultural background information through completing catalog and condition reports on the objects and conducting research on Russian iconography. I also analyzed the images to find their religious meaning and received translations of the inscriptions on the objects to provide cultural context. Through my research I found that four of the five icons are reflective of Russian Orthodox iconographic styles and the other icon requires further research.
Winner, Outstanding Poster Presentation, College of Arts & Humanities
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Posters/71
Faculty Mentor(s)
Roxane Easley