Icon - St. Eudokia, St. Pachomius the Great

tempera, board, chalk-plaster backing, gilt; 27 x 22.5 x 3 cm.
Russia, Moscow, late 19th century.
Gilded background, with decorative engraving of a diagonal grille at the top topped with an arch. Border also gilded and engraved, decorated with multicolored enamel rocaille and acanthus motif.
Two brackets plunge into the icon's stile.
The icon shows the Saints in full form, Saint Eudokia with her hands folded in prayer, Saint Pachomius with his right hand raised, in his left hand he holds an unrolled scroll of scripture with text. Saints in monk's robes. Above, the Holy Spirit in the form of a Dove. St. Eudokia is approached with prayers by women unable to become pregnant.
Saint Pachomius the Great is the father of cenobitism (community life), a strict ascetic, symbolizing the foundations of monastic life.