Lot number 853 - Auction 147
GESCHENK AN DEN THRONPRÄTENDENTEN KYRILL WLADIMIROWTISCH ROMANOW: GOTTESMUTTER 'DIE SCHNELL ERHÖRENDE' (SKOROPOSLUSNITSA)

A GIFT TO THE PRETENDER TO THE THRONE, KYRILL VLADIMIROVICH ROMANOV: THE MOTHER OF GOD 'SHE WHO QUICKLY HEARS' (SKOROPOSLUSHNITSA) Mount Athos, dated 1925 Oil on wood panel. Rendered in bright colours on a gilded background. On the reverse, a Cyrillic inscription dated October 1, 1925. The edges minimally chipped. 36 × 28.6 cm. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov (1876-1938) was a grandson of Tsar Alexander II and a nephew of Tsar Nicholas II. Following the Bolshevik Revolution and the fall of the Romanov dynasty, he declared himself Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias in exile in Coburg in 1924. Though his claim to the throne remained controversial, it gained support among certain monarchist émigré circles. Kirill maintained close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church abroad and was at times honored with spiritually and symbolically significant gifts-such as this icon from Mount Athos. His political stance and symbolic role as a figurehead of the monarchist movement made him a notable personality in the history of the Russian diaspora in the 20th century.