The Last Kondakov. Rediscovery of a manuscript
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | orientalia christiana periodica |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Art, architecture, cultural heritage |
| Keywords | Kondakov ikonography Mother of God Vatican Manuscript |
| Description | After decades of oblivion, a document has come to light that, for years now, has aroused the curiosity of Byzantine scholars and many others. It is the last work of Nikodim Pavlovich Kondakov (1844-1925), the “legendary” manuscript that was given to the Vatican in the 1920's and later considered missing. After many noteworthy texts Kondakov had begun publishing his mature works: the great monograph on the iconography of Christ and the three volumes of his celebrated Ikonografija Bogomateri (The Iconography of the Mother of God). While the first two volumes of The Iconography of the Mother of God were published in St. Petersburg in 1914 and 1915, the Russian Revolution of 1917 didn't permit the publication of the third. Now Kondakov in exile, the final volume of his Ikonografija Bogomateri had been acquired by the Vatican. The publication never took place but the manuscript did reach the Pontifical Oriental Institute (PIO) in January of 1926 for translation and publication in French. It is in the archives of the PIO that it was found. |