Antique Mother of Pearl Icon Marriage of The Virgin Mary with St Joseph 18th Cen

An outstanding antique Mother of Pearl icon, 18th century Palestine. The icon has a warm golden tone and is finely hand-carved in high relief. It depicts a marriage ceremony between the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, with a richly attired high priest clasping the hands of Mary and Joseph. Joseph is depicted as placing the ring of betrothal on the finger of Our Lady. The icon comes with an elaborately hand-carved gilt wood Baroque style frame.
The carving is based on the well-known painting "Marriage of the Virgin," also known as "Lo Sposalizio." This painting was created by the famous Italian Renaissance artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, in 1504 for the Franciscan church of San Francesco, located in Città di Castello.
REFERENCES:
1. "Pilgrim Treasures from the Hermitage: Byzantium - Jerusalem" by Ernst Veen, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Vincent Boele, and Yuri Piatnitsky.
2. "CHRISTIAN IN THE HOLY LAND – The Art Of Melchites And Other Denominations Of Orthodox Church" Saint Petersburg 1998.
3. "El Arte Palestino de Tallar el Nacar" by Fabián Jiménez.
Please note that this particular medallion is a museum-quality artwork; it could be displayed in the most reputable world museums.
We will also provide the buyer with photocopies of the pages from the mentioned references together with a certificate of authenticity.
APPROXIMATE MEASUREMENTS:
Dimensions, including the frame corners: 18 cm x 13.5 cm (7.9 inches x 5.31 inches).
Dimensions of the opening: 10.5 cm x 6 cm (4.13 inches x 2.36 inches).