A restored 18th-century icon has been returned to the Cherkasy Regional Museum of Local Lore. Previously, the icon could not be exhibited due to its poor condition. It used to be in a village house in the Chyhyryn region, and since the 1990s, it has been stored in the museum's ethnology cabinet.
Source: Суспільне Черкаси
As Iryna Sobko, director of the local history museum, told Suspilne, the work of art was restored thanks to philanthropists' efforts.
The icon of the Holy Prophet King David and the Prophet Aaron had been in a museum cabinet for two decades, said Iryna Sobko.
“For more than 20 years, it was kept in a cabinet in my office. In the 90s, Mykola Kornienko, former head of the ethnography department, found this icon while on an expedition to Chyhyryn. It is part of an 18th-century Ukrainian Baroque iconostasis.”
Most likely, the icon belonged to the Medvediv Monastery, believes restorer Nataliia Kunets. Time and circumstances affected both the icon's frame and the image.
“Mykola Pavlovych and Halyna Ivanivna found the icon in an old house. A young family was throwing away garbage there. They gave this icon away as they didn't know what to do with it.”
Nataliia compares her restoration work to that of a doctor. She added that it took more than a month to remove a layer of silver and plasticine to restore the authentic look.
“Restoration work is primarily about responsibility, for you cannot do anything as you wish. You have to keep the object as authentic as possible, as the author intended.”
"For the local history museum, the return of the icon is a New Year's gift," said director Iryna Sobko. Because of its poor condition, the icon could not be exhibited.
“Victoria Naumchuk, who now heads this department, worked hard to find people who would finance the restoration of this object. It took more than 20 years, but as we know, the one who seeks finds.”
Maryna Diachenko from Cherkasy financed the restoration of the Holy Prophet King David and Prophet Aaron icon. During the presentation, she said that she did it while "following her heart".
“It gives me the opportunity to leave a mark that will remain with our future generations. Art allows a person to enter into a dialogue with themself and with time. Art opens one's soul.”
"From now on, the icon will become an exhibit of the museum's ethnography department, where everyone will be able to see it," said Iryna Sobko.